With the now advanced (45 day) cancellation of games, the showdown is heading for a drop-dead date around the end of November for the season.
After that, I suspect the NHL will word on their own agreement on a best scenario basis (phased in 38M Cap imo) and present it to the NHLPA with a take-it-or-leave-it scenario. Perhaps a March 15 deadline to accept (or slightly tinker with) the offer.
If NHLPA does not accept/agree, then the owners will supercede them and just completely disregard them. Players rights/contracts will remain in effect as owners will not raid other teams. A Draft, including unsigned prospects re-entering, will be established with a weighted order of selection and held in June, in Ottawa as previously agreed.
Teams would field their roster based on those who indicate they will play - with a shutout date for the year for those under contract who will not come. The roster would be created from Draft picks, AHL, free agents and current roster players who choose to play. Hockey resumes under new management rules with Training Camp in September 05.
And there is absolutely nothing the NHLPA can do about it.
As for rules: I'd like to see a 70 game season (or less), first playoff round best of 5, and some rule changes already under consideration that refs must enforce or lose their jobs. Mandatory sheilds. But this paragraph is for another thread discussion.