NHL will lock out players if no deal reached by Sept. 15

Commissioner Gary Bettman says the league will impose a lockout of its players if a new collective bargaining agreement cannot be reached by the expiration of the old deal on September 15. 

"I reconfirmed something that the union has been told multiple times over the last nine to 12 months: Namely, that the time is getting short and the owners are not prepared to operate under this collective bargaining agreement for another season, so we need to get to making a deal and doing it soon. And we believe there's ample time for the parties to get together and make a deal, and that's what we're going to be working towards," Bettman told reporters Thursday afternoon (via ESPN).

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr says the players would be willing to play next season under the paramaters of the existing CBA. The union is expected to present a counter-proposal next week.