Will the NHL, union seek a federal mediator soon?

This lockout might end soon, but right now it seems like the NHL and NHLPA have some awfully significant differences of opinion.

So once again the topic turns to the possibility of introducing a federal mediator in the hopes of pushing the negotiations forward. Two weeks ago, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly “didn’t think that the introduction of a mediator into the process was timely or that it would necessarily further the process.” Still, he suggested that might change at some point.

So has it?

NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr recently suggested that the union is open to a mediator, but his impression is that the NHL “isn’t terribly interested it.”

Maybe it’s time to revise that impression.

“They haven’t approached us about it but if they did, certainly it’s something we’d take back to our group and consider,” Daly said according to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun.

Obviously that’s not the same as Daly committing to having a mediator, but based on Fehr and Daly’s recent statements, it seems like it’s at least a possibility.