Meetings between NHL owners and players on Tuesday have produced optimism that an abbreviated season could be saved. A total of 18 current players attended the day's meetings after being invited by the NHL Players Association. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr did not attend Tuesday's meetings, but remain in New York while talks are ongoing.

The league's Board of Governors has scheduled a meeting for 11 a.m. Eastern today to be followed by a 1 p.m. press conference from Bettman. The league has already cancelled games through December 14th including the Winter Classic and All-Star Weekend. It is believed that if and when a deal is reached, it would take just 10 days for the season to begin.