It looks increasingly as though the NHL will become the first North American sports league to lose an entire season over a labour dispute.
The shutdown began in September with owners in the 30-team league saying they could not remain in business without a limit on player salaries. Players have refused to consider a salary cap and more than 300 have gone to play in Europe as a result. Several others have chosen to play for minor-league US clubs.
Sunday was to have been the NHL's All-Star Game in Atlanta. Instead, union and owners representatives attended talks with a mediator for more than four hours but failed to end the stalemate.
USA TODAY reports that the NHL has set 1pm ET Wednesday as the time to cancel the 2004-05 season, leaving a tiny window of opportunity for any final effort to resolve the lockout.
