An NHL lockout is virtual certainty now.

The deadline for a deal between the league & its players is midnight Saturday.  The NHL says it isn't meeting with the union beforehand.

Abe Hefter with our sister station, CJAD 800 in Montreal believes a lockout is exactly what both sides wanted all along.

He says the league & players were working off separate utopian pitches & haven't bothered to get on the same page.

The NHL wants to cut the players' share of revenues from 57% down to a maximum of 49%.  The players are holding out for a 54% take.

The work stoppage would be the 4th in the NHL since 1992.

How long could fans have to do without hockey?  Hefter doesn't know, but does not expect the dispute to be resolved for quite awhile.

The last lockout in 2004-5 wiped out the entire season.