The NHL and the players' union have set the players' escrow rate at 8.5 percent for the first quarter of this season, the lowest rate since the first year after the lockout, according to a source. Players set money aside in an escrow account in order to protect owners in the event players earn more than the allotted 57 percent of hockey-related revenues at the end of the season. The league and the union are still negotiating the final escrow number for the 2010-11 season.