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I think that is the key point. The league and the players are at an impasse on money. You appear to believe that there exist a solution that is a win-win for both parties, and if only they had some more time to hash it out, then we'd be seeing hockey right now. I believe that this is a zero-sum game and there is no solution that does not require at least one party to give up a significant amount of cash going forward. The league believes that the way to achieve that solution is to put so much financial pressure on the players, that they would cave in to owners' demands. And therefore the league had to lock the players out. They could have started to negotiate in 2005, and still we would have this lockout.

I thought this was a neat little story from the Wings 97 Cup run. I actually remember this game and a play that was made after Fedorov came back into the game where he skated down the ice and beat Foote to an icing call and then tried to move the puck towards the net and drew a penalty. I remember the crowd going nuts because it was such an electric play. I never knew the injury he came back from was that bad though. http://www.freep.com/article/20120930/SPORTS05/309300242/Dr-John-Finley-The-former-Red-Wings-healer-of-Hockeytown

The players were the big losers last time. The just expired CBA was dictated by the owners and was designed to benefit them. Prior to the current CBA the players share of the revenue reached 74%. There was no salary cap. If the players won and kept the old system, the top salaries now would have been nearing $20 mil./year and the average salary would have been higher by at least a quarter, and given the existing then trend, probably even higher. Let me clarify it for you. The owners want to cut the players salaries and limit their growth in the future. Since the league revenues went up 50% over the life of the existing CBA, there was no rational way to explain to the players why they would have to give up another 20% of their salary every year, when the players have signed contracts on hand. Since the owners didn't have any rational arguments, they had to somehow force the players to give up money they were contractually promised. The lockout is the most obvious option. This is not only about greed. This is also about players' pride and self-respect. If the lockout lasts till January, and the players then win (that is their CBA offer,as it stands now, is adopted) the players would still lose more money then if they accepted the league offer right now. And the players know this. The players motivation is to make sure that in the future they will not be forced to give up part of their salary any time the owners feel like taking it, without a fight. So the next time the owners want to redistribute income in their favor, they will know that they would have a fight on their hands.

Big beneficiary? Prior to the last lockout, the players were getting 66% of all revenues. Those revenues rose nearly 50%, but player salaries rose less than 27%. But somehow the players are the big winners from the last lockout? Players are employees, so they're always going to "win" as long as they have a job, but don't even try to suggest they're making more than they would have been if they'd been able to defeat the hard cap. The revisionist history is ridiculous. The owners are acting like 57% is some obscenely unfair split, like the players held a gun to their heads to get that deal. It was the owners idea, and the numbers say even that split still leaves a decent profit margin. The owners asking players to take ANOTHER pay cut, when the league as a whole is profitable, is beyond ridiculous. It's retarded, and demonstrates just how little the owners value their most valuable asset. If, that's IF, the floor is a problem for too many teams, then the owners need to come up with a better way to solve that issue without taking from the players. The floor in 06 was around 74% of the midpoint. Now it's 87%. If they used a precentage instead of a fixed amount, the floor now would be around $46M. Pretty close to where it would be if the owners get the split they want. Problem solved without taking from the players. Owners should be thankful that players are willing to slow their salary growth to take a lower percentage. Instead they want an NFL split. If it were me, I'd say they can have it when they have NFL revenue. I'm sure the PA would be happy with 47% of $9 billion.

In my opinion, the players are not reasonable if they refuse to take a paycut. In my opinion, the owners are irresponsible if they refuse to take action against/for the losing teams. In my opinion, the players should be open for taking a paycut to get to a 50/50 split of revenue. In my opinion, the owners should be open to increase revenue sharing and/or relocating teams to big markets.

So you mean the PA could be partially to blame? I hate it when people talk about greed. Would any of you walk up to a player on the street and demand that they give you $1 million, or $23 million from an owner, or half that from one of each? Would you label them greedy bastards if they refused? Aren't we as fans being just as greedy in demanding to be entertained regardless of what either side would have to give up? Their greed doesn't bother me in the slightest. I only expect them to be reasonable, and for owners to take some responsibility for their poor business decisions and lack of foresight.

Nope, last movie I watched was the Avengers on dvd. The person below me is fed up with the lockout

So, in short, you are willing to take what the NHLPA says at face value, but when the NHL says something you don't believe it. All through that, you are saying that you are not taking sides. Good to know.....

Well even if there is a time difference, and the games aren't live I would still watch it. Think of it as watching a season of World Championship hockey.

http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2012/10/01/pavel-datsyuk-the-only-guy-left-we-all-agree-on/ Nice article about how well-liked Pav (and a few other star Red Wings) are. The video isn't great quality but I'll never get sick of Datsyuk highlights.