(MCT) — LOS ANGELES—A series of bizarre turns in negotiations between the NHL and its players on Thursday extinguished the optimism generated during direct talks between players and owners early this week and put the league in position to lose a season for the second time since 2004.

Commissioner Gary Bettman was red-faced and angry, and NHL Players’ Association Executive Director Donald Fehr swiftly switched from declaring the sides were “close if not on top of one another” on major issues to saying he would tell fans, “It looks like this is not going to be resolved in the immediate future.”