If there was hope the NHL and NHLPA would potentially work out a last minute deal, it’s gone now.
The NHL confirmed there won’t be any further discussions between the two sides today. With the current CBA expiring at 11:59 p.m. ET and the owners voting unanimously to lock out the players once it expires, the impasse between both sides becomes reality at midnight.
Katie Strang of ESPN-New York hears from NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly who says, “Neither side is in a position to move off its last proposal.”
Once the lockout begins officially, it’ll mark the league’s third such work stoppage since 1994 and the fourth work stoppage since the players’ strike in 1992.