NEW YORK (MCT) – With no progress in negotiations and financial damage already being done by the 17-day owners’ lockout, the NHL could announce as soon as Wednesday it has canceled the scheduled Oct. 11 start to its regular season and a first segment of games.

“It’s something, obviously, we have to focus on in the short term and we’ll make an appropriate decision as the appropriate time,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Tuesday after a CBA meeting at the league’s Manhattan offices that lasted fewer than two hours. “We’re still focused on doing what we can to minimize the damage.”