If the NHL owners and players can't reach a collective bargaining agreement by Sunday, Commissioner Gary Bettman has announced he will officially cancel the 2004-2005 season. If it happens, the NHL would become the first ever sports league in North America to cancel an entire season.

'It is clear to me that if we're not working on a written document memorializing our agreement this weekend, I don't see how we can play any semblance of the season,' Bettman said during a conference call earlier Wednesday. 'We will listen to everything the union has to say, but we've given all we can give and gone as far as we can go.'

Bettman delivered a surprise proposal to the players Wednesday in Toronto during secret meetings. The plan essentially agreed to take the players up on their 24 percent salary roll back offer but any one of four 'trigger points' would implement a hard salary cap if they are met. The players quickly rejected the proposal, saying it was just another attempt to get a salary cap in place.

'The NHL delivered a one-page concept to us which they tried to suggest represented a compromise,' NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow said. 'The league's proposal was a transparent attempt to impose on our December 9 proposal the effects of their twice-rejected February 2 triple-cap proposal.'

Perhaps the only good news for hockey fans was that talks would continue today and through the weekend. If an agreement could be reached by Sunday, Bettman indicated the league would play a 28 game schedule followed by the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Mr. Goodenow said the players would not issue a counterproposal in upcoming talks and did not sound very optimistic that a settlement could be reached. Still, he did not rule it out entirely.

'The prospect that we'd be able to conclude an agreement by the end of the weekend is very daunting,' Goodenow said. 'It is possible, but I don't want to discuss the levels of probability.'