Reality struck right on time Wednesday, as everyone knew it would, as Steve Yzerman always feared it would.

The NHL is shut down, maybe for six months, maybe 12, maybe longer. For the Red Wings’ longtime captain, who signed a one-year contract the day before, there was glum resignation in his voice.

“Potentially, that contract might mean nothing,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “I’m pleased I got it done but it doesn’t make you feel great, because I may not play a game.”

After a pause, he added this: “Before I say I’m done if we don’t play the whole year, let’s wait and see.”

Sad realities were striking all across NHL cities as the long-anticipated lockout became official. Nowhere in the U.S. did it hit harder than here, where fans love their hockey, and where Yzerman had to acknowledge, grudgingly, finally, that his career might be over.

He didn’t want to belabor the point because he still held some hope the league would resume in January. But even that hope has dimmed, and with the reality of a lockout that could last 18 months came a biting resolve.

In one sentence, Yzerman admitted his final NHL game indeed might have been in the playoffs against Calgary, when he staggered off with his cheekbone shattered by a puck.

In the next sentence, he argued the players’ case, that the sport needs some economic reform but not a salary cap.

Neither side is budging, and the brutal fact is, neither is likely to budge any time soon.

“It’s a real crisis for hockey,” Yzerman said. “But I really think there’s a solution, a good solution. We’re willing to go even farther than baseball did with a luxury tax. But the owners would have to consider revenue-sharing, and they won’t do it. They want a cap, and the players won’t agree to that. We don’t think a cap is necessary to save the NHL.”

Yzerman said he was aware that public support appears to favor the owners. Commissioner Gary Bettman reiterated that two-thirds of NHL teams are losing money, and he accused the players of being in denial.

“I fully expect that,” Yzerman said. “The owners have a bigger public-relations machine than we have. But we’re not a bunch of idiots. We recognize some changes need to be made, but they won’t even give us something to consider. So there’s nothing to talk about.

“People say a cap works in football, but that was an awful deal from the players’ perspective. It’s utopia for the owners. Ask that Dallas quarterback (Quincy Carter, who was cut) if he likes the deal. I understand why owners want it. Who wouldn’t want to guarantee a profit every year?”

The owners claim they lost $224 million last season. Without a major network TV contract, profit margins are slim.

But to Yzerman and other players, the numbers sound like rhetoric.

“What’s funny to me is, four or five years ago, everything was positive from Gary Bettman,” Yzerman said. “The game was growing. Now he spins it like everything’s negative when it serves his purpose. He’s going to test the resolve of the players, and we’re prepared to stick it out as long as we have to. It’s in our best interests to do a good deal, too. We’re not a greedy bunch of players that don’t care.”

This is a painful time for everyone in hockey, and we can argue later who’s to blame. For now, let’s blame everyone for letting a great sport reach this dire stage.

Some NHL owners will lay off workers, and Detroit bar owners will lay off employees, and fans will have empty winter nights.

Players will grapple with their own issues, pitted against owners who paid them well, damaging a sport they love. For Yzerman, a member of Oakland Hills and a participant in today’s Ryder Cup opening ceremonies, the angst was obvious.

“It’s sad, but we’ve been expecting it for three years,” he said. “It will be real discouraging if there’s no progress in the next three months. We’ve been told to expect to miss a full season, maybe 18 months. I always thought we’d be playing by January, but the more people I talk to, the more I think the season might not happen. If we’re out a year, I’ll have to reassess what I do.”

That means? Well, Yzerman knows what it means. Everyone knows what it means. He’s 39 and admits his body couldn’t handle a year away from the game.

“Part of the reason I wanted to come back (for a 22nd season) was because I hoped for a better finish for the team,” he said. “And I’m hoping my final year and my final game didn’t end with me being helped off the ice.”

There will be far too many casualties in this bitter dispute. The reality is, that could be one of them.