NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr

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.

While negotiators for the National Hockey League and the players union declined to say whether significant progress was made on Day 54 of the lockout, the two sides agreed to return to the bargaining table on Friday for the fourth straight day of talks.

If time spent at the bargaining table indicates progress, the NHL and the locked-out players' association finally could be on their way to making a deal to get hockey back on the ice.

The NHL wiped out the third week of the regular season Friday as the lockout dragged on, leaving no more wiggle room if the league hopes to play a full 82-game schedule.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman received three counterproposals from the players' association on Thursday and left the negotiating table "thoroughly disappointed." No new talks have been scheduled, and the possibility of a full hockey regular season is quickly shrinking.

NHL labor negotiations will resume Thursday after the players' union reviewed management's proposal and saw it as only a small step forward to ending the monthlong lockout.

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.

With no formal talks scheduled, the National Hockey League officially locked out its players at midnight Saturday, becoming the third major sports league to impose a work stoppage in the last 18 months.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman maintains the league will lock out players Sunday if a new labor deal isn't reached, and star player Sidney Crosby isn't optimistic the season will start on time.