EA NHL Exclusive?

EA Nabs NHL License on 1UP (thanks PiTiFUL) is a story based some brief happenings on the EA Sports Website that may have tipped off a future announcement. According to the story, several graphics appeared for a while on the site with the words "exclusive license," indicating the possibility that a deal has been signed for pro hockey rights, along the lines of the exclusive deal EA inked last year with the NFL (story). The article quotes both EA and NHL2K publisher 2K Sports as calling the apparent revelation a mistake, though attempts to contact the NHL about this (in spite of all the time on their hands) were unsuccessful.