Sam Amick of FanHouse conducted an unofficial poll of owners, coaches and agents and the overwhelming sentiment is that is a lockout is inevitable.

One owner deemed it a "100 percent" certainty.

The owners want to go to a hard salary cap like the NHL, according to Amick.

"We reviewed their (latest) proposal with the owners," Stern said. "Basically where we are is that we're asking for fundamental changes in the system and the players, as (union director) Billy Hunter has said publicly, would very much like the present system to continue."