Quote of the Day

Reflecting the urgency to get a deal done in the next few weeks, or the gloves may come off and each side will then wait for the other to cannibalize itself first:

"The issue here is not whether we can solve this in time to play a meaningful season. The issue is, if we don't solve it now, we're not going to solve it because it's like dividing a wheat harvest after a hail storm. There's not going to be enough left to make a deal. This is the window. If we don't do this now, it is not going to happen. Not gonna happen. With catastrophic consequences for both sides. They have got to solve this now, or we're not playing until Christmas-time."

--Brian Burke, "TSN NHL Insiders" It's a very good point. While the fans want closure and a break from this drama, this might be the time to get a deal done. We have the momentum of both sides giving up major philosophical foundations of their stance (linkage and salary cap). The longer we wait, the more the NHL's economic prospects crumble, and then the NHL will be offering a cap at $20-30 million based on loss of revenue due to the lockout. So I wouldn't discourage both sides from meeting now, just to not flaunt their negotiations in public and make the fans think a miracle is going to happen until you know it's going to happen.