Oklahoma City Barons: Hockey fans should enjoy 'Fab Four' while it lasts

No franchise has been blessed with more “star power” than the Barons, the Edmonton Oilers' Triple-A affiliate.

Oklahoma City's roster features two former No. 1 overall draft picks, an NHL All-Star and a fabulous rookie defenseman being compared to former NHL greats.

But how much longer will Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Justin Schultz play in the Cox Convention Center?

Could Friday's game with San Antonio and a New Year's Eve game with the Texas Stars be the Fab Four's final games with the Barons?

Optimists claim NHL owners and the NHL Players Association will be forced to broker a deal soon to salvage a 48-game season and avoid a lost season similar to eight years ago.

Pessimists claim Eberle, Hall, Schultz and Nugent-Hopkins could play all season in Oklahoma City because the two sides are too stubborn to iron out delicate details to end the stalemate.

The lockout already has surpassed 100 days.

The next step is whether NHL players file a “disclaimer of interest,” a quicker way to decertify the union. Breaking up the NHLPA would prohibit players from collectively bargaining as a union but would file an antitrust lawsuit in an attempt to force owners to hammer out a deal.

It was reported that 706 players voted in favor of disbanding the union while only 22 voted against it. The union's executive board has until Wednesday to decide whether to file the “disclaimer of interest.”

In a pre-emptive move, owners filed an antitrust lawsuit against the players.

Whether the legal jockeying will be decided in court is uncertain. The two sides haven't traded proposals since Dec. 6, when significant progress was made. NHLPA boss Donald Fehr claimed the two sides were close. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman vehemently disagreed.