The NHL eliminated 16 more days from the regular-season schedule Monday, and if a deal with the players' association isn't reached soon the whole season could be lost.
Donald Fehr thought he and the hockey players he leads were close to a deal to save the season. The NHL said not so fast, and then took away everything that created all the optimism in the first place.
The best news on the 80th day of the NHL lockout was that hockey owners and players did most of their talking in front of each other instead of making public statements.
NHL owners and players have met in big groups. They've held smaller sessions. They're tried federal mediators. Nothing has worked, so they're going to try something different.
The National Hockey League season was supposed to be in full swing by now. Instead, the NHL is mired in a labor dispute, with the owners locking out the players and -- so far -- wiping out more than two months of the season. In question-and-answer form, here's a look at where things stand.
Negotiations had already hit a wall in the ongoing hockey labor fight, and now the NHL has suggested the sides take an official two-week break before getting back to the bargaining table.
The NHL put the course of ongoing labor negotiations back in the hands of the players' association, and left union head Donald Fehr with "some things to consider" Friday night. A bigger problem might be a wider gap between the sides than the players thought.
The stalled talks between the NHL and the players' association finally got a jumpstart. Commissioner Gary Bettman made a new offer to the NHLPA that proposes a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue and a full 82-game season starting Nov. 2.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman still hasn't spoken to players' union chief Donald Fehr since a brief meeting Wednesday, but negotiators on both sides are back in contact as the lockout drags on.