Looks like it's gonna be official...

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Report: NHL Season to Be Scratched Tuesday

TORONTO (Sports Network) - National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman is expected to officially cancel the 2004-05 season at a Tuesday afternoon press conference, according to The Sports Network of Canada.

Despite several last-ditch attempts to iron out a new collective bargaining agreement, the NHL will become the first major North American sports league to call off an entire season. The Stanley Cup will not be awarded for only the second time since 1893, as it wasn't given out in 1919 due to a flu epidemic.

On Sunday, the same day the All-Star Game was supposed to be played in Atlanta, the NHL and NHL Players' Association met for more than five hours with federal mediators. Much like other talks that have occurred in recent weeks, no progress was reported by either side.

Last week, Bettman imposed a weekend deadline for an agreement to be reached, finally giving something resembling a drop-dead date. If an agreement could have been reached, the league had in place a 28-game regular season schedule followed by full playoffs.

The main sticking point between the league and union remains "cost certainty," or a direct relationship between salaries and revenues. Last week, the NHL offered a proposal that would begin under the terms of the NHLPA's December offer, which included a luxury tax instead of a salary cap. However, the proposed deal included four trigger points that could have switched the CBA to the terms of the NHL's February 2nd offer, which included a cap.

The NHL locked out its players on September 16th, and the stoppage reached its 152nd day on Monday.