Negotiations on a labor deal between the National Hockey League (NHL) and locked-out players ground to a near standstill on Thursday, with time running out on salvaging even a partial season.

The optimism that surrounded talks on Wednesday vanished quickly as the NHL Players Association dialed up the pressure, calling on the membership to vote again to give its executive board the power to file a disclaimer of interest that would dissolve the union and free individual players to file anti-trust lawsuits against the league.

The move came less than 24 hours after the union opted not to play the disclaimer card and let a self-imposed on Wednesday midnight deadline pass, allowing negotiations to continue into the late evening.