NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly on Wednesday gave hockey fans some optimism in a lockout that has been filled with pessimism.

In a radio interview with Hockey Night in Canada, Daly was asked a simple yes or no question: Will there be a 2012-13 NHL season? His response heartened fans from Nova Scotia to California.

"Yes," is all Daly said.

But almost immediately afterward, the verbiage returned to what it has been since mid-September: lots of posturing and little progress.

The NHL season has been cancelled through at least Dec. 30. The Winter Classic and NHL All-Star games are also history for at least this season.

"I think we're going to have further cancellations this week," Daly said, returning to a pessimistic tone.

No new negotiations are scheduled between the league and its players union. Further, it appears the work stoppage is headed to the courtroom for two different negotiating ploys. First, the NHL Players Association is expected to soon ask its players to vote and authorize the board to dissolve the union, essentially opening up the opportunity for players to sue the NHL.

If that happens, individual players could sue the league -- and potentially reap triple damages if they are successful. One target date mentioned for dissolution already is Jan. 2.

However, the threat of dissolution of the union has been successfully used in the past to quickly end previous lockouts in both Major League Baseball and the NBA.

NHLPA chief Donald Fehr told a Canadian radio station Wednesday that the union is not making an idle threat at potential dissolution and said such a ploy was not necessarily a labor tactic.