NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly issued the following statement regarding the two days of meetings that concluded today with representatives of the NHL Players? Association under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service:

"Today, we concluded two days of mediation with FMCS mediators and representatives of the NHL Players' Association. After spending several hours with both sides over two days, the presiding mediators concluded that the parties remained far apart, and that no progress toward a resolution could be made through further mediation at this point in time. We are disappointed that the mediation process was not successful."