The start of this season's NHL campaign is in real jeopardy, with no agreement reached between the league and players union over how to divide up the sport's revenue.

Today NHL players braced for the league's stoppage, which would be the fourth in its history, to begin this weekend, says Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby, who was among the more than 280 player attending union meetings in New York.

Crosby added that “it's all not looking great” for the seasonto start on schedule on October 11.

He said he'll consider playing overseas if part of the NHL season is canceled, but noted that “things can change pretty quickly.”

NHL owners also met Thursday ahead of the expiration of the labor contract at midnight Saturday, with Commissioner Gary Bettman admitting that a lock-out is a real possibility.

Meanwhile, Buffalo Sabers goalie Ryan Miller says NHL Players' Association executive director Donald Fehr is doing a far better job communicating with members than the union's leadership did in the last lockout, which wiped out the 2004-05 season, so there is a hope that big ice hockey will return to North America by Christmas, as it happened in the NBA last season.