While games go unplayed, players and coaches bide time

DETROIT -- The hum from machinery tucked under the seats at Joe Louis Arena was the only sound heard.

The ice surface was empty -- and so were the stands.

Welcome to the NHL lockout.

The Detroit Red Wings were originally scheduled to play Carolina on Wednesday in their home opener -- always a festive event in Hockeytown -- but the lockout has at the very least put that game on hold.

The NHL told its 30 teams on Tuesday to book events to fill their arenas through early December because it doesn't look like games will be played any time soon.

"We're just trying to create more flexibility for scheduling options," NHL executive vice president Bill Daly said. "Two things have to happen that aren't. We have to be negotiating and we have to be drafting a new deal. Those two elements take time and they're not going to happen overnight.

"It's frustrating. The union has not chosen to get serious about negotiations."

NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin fired back.

"It's very clear that the league and its teams are far more concerned with booking concerts than negotiating a solution to end the owners' lockout," Saskin said.

Through Tuesday, the work stoppage has lasted 34 days and a full week of the season has been missed. The NHL and the NHL players association haven't met or spoken since a negotiating session in Toronto on Sept. 9 -- one week before the lockout was imposed -- and no talks are scheduled.

With no end to the labor impasse in sight, some players who have not taken their talents to Europe are skating a few times a week while coaches and management evaluate prospects in North America and overseas.

A handful of Red Wings have been getting together at a rink in suburban Detroit for casual games and workouts.