It appears Danny Cleary and his fellow NHL players are prepared to lose a season or more before the current NHL lockout is resolved.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the veteran Red Wings forward thinks the lockout could last longer than the 2004 edition which saw an entire season cancelled.
"I think people don't think it can go a year," Cleary told the Free Press on Sunday. "As players, we think it can. Maybe longer."
Cleary feels both sides are waiting for the other side to blink in the current labour showdown and he is confident the players will not cave this time.
"I think the league is waiting for us to make the move, and we're waiting for them to move. So someone has to move. And I don't see it coming from our end," Cleary told the newspaper. "We've given them a couple of good options that they can work with, and they, obviously, feel it's not good enough."
The league has already cancelled some pre-season games and the Red Wings are scheduled to open the season in three weeks but Cleary doesn't himself in a game by then.
"It's not going to start on time," he said. "No way."
The NHL and NHL Players' Association are holding informal discussions in Toronto on Monday.
