NHL, players not talking for now

The NHL and the players' association have not been in contact since talks broke off before the weekend, two sources close to the negotiations told The Associated Press on Sunday on condition of anonymity.

The sides parted ways Friday after three days of negotiations.

There are no plans to meet again, and the season is dangerously close to being canceled. So far, the NHL board of governors hasn't set up a meeting, but that is not a necessary step for the season to be called off, one of the sources said.

Through Sunday, the 4 1/2-month lockout has wiped out 791 of the 1,230 regular-season games and the All-Star game.

The sides have a major stumbling block: a salary cap. The NHL has insisted on a link between league revenues and player costs, and the players' association has steadfastly refused that as a solution.

Commissioner Gary Bettman and players' association executive director Bob Goodenow rejoined the negotiations Thursday after sitting out the previous five bargaining sessions. The sides met for 13 hours during the last two days of talks.

No major league in North America has lost an entire season to a labor dispute. The Stanley Cup has been awarded every year since 1919, when a flu epidemic wiped out the final series between Montreal and Seattle.