NHL chief operating officer John Collins met with key league sponsors on Wednesday, according to The Canadian Press. Collins met with several big-name sponsors to discuss the current NHL lockout and to field questions from the group.

From the Press report:

A source indicated that representatives from Molson, Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Kraft, Sirius XM and Scotiabank participated in the meeting. One attendee called the session "productive" and applauded Collins for taking part.

"They were very transparent with us," said the source, who requested anonymity. "I was looking around the room and the long-term, cumulative contract dollars around the table were probably at the $100-million mark. It's a significant chunk of change for the league."

The NHL is now in the third week of the lockout, with no end in sight. The two sides met for five days over the weekend and into the week, but core economic issues were not discussed and both the NHL and NHLPA admitted not much progress was made.

The league is claiming losses of nearly $100 million because of the canceled preseason. Cancellations or delays to regular season games are expected to be announced soon.