There was good news after 103 days of the first NHL lockout back on Jan. 11, 1995 when a new collective bargaining agreement was reached and a shortened 48-game season began nine days later, on Jan. 20.
But as the current labour stoppage hits Day 103 on Thursday, hockey fans are not expecting a similar announcement.
The NHL and NHL Players' Association have not been in contact for five days since last speaking by phone on Saturday. There are no new talks scheduled between the two sides.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said that in the current labour situation, a 48-game schedule would, at minimum, need to be saved to allow a season to be played.
The NHL players' union voted last week to allow its executive board to file a disclaimer of interest by next Wednesday. Such a move would dissolve the union and allow players to file a class-action anti-trust lawsuit against the league.
The NHL schedule has been cancelled through Jan. 14, and it's believed that mid-January represents an approximate deadline by which a new deal would have to reached to save the 2012-13 campaign.
