NHL lockout 2012: CBA talks go off rails

It’s uncertain when negotiations will resume. Fehr had said Thursday evening that he believed a settlement could be reached rather quickly, but his about-face was alarming.

“It looks like this is not going to be resolved in the immediate future. I hope that turns out to be wrong, but that’s certainly what the message is that we have today,” he said. “That’s not withstanding the fact that we are clearly very close if not on top of one another in connection with most of the major issues.”

There’s not even an agreement on how close the sides are. The NHL added $100 million to “make whole” this week, leading to Fehr’s positivity. But contract issues remained a sticking point.

Now everything is.

“Regrettably, we have been unable to close the divide on some critical issues that we feel are essential to the immediate and long-term health of our game,” Winnipeg Jets owner Mark Chipman said in a statement. “While I sense there are some members of the players association that understand our perspective on these issues, clearly there are many that don’t.”

Count most of those on the outside of negotiations as those who don’t understand or know what will happen next. Players reached Thursday night were tight-lipped about what’s next. Disclaimer of interest could be the NHLPA’s move to push the process along. Fehr wouldn’t say.

Something has to give, though, before the 2012-13 season goes the way of 2004-05.

” Am I unhappy about the prospect? You bet I am. It absolutely is something that torments me,” Bettman said about canceling a second season in eight years. “I’m not happy about this, but I’ve got to play the hand that I’m dealt.”

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