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Dreger's tweeting that today's CBA meeting with mediators and discussion are currently only planned as a one-day event. So if we see another meeting scheduled for tomorrow, it can only be considered a good sign... No news yet, however, how well today's meetings have gone...

it's been the culture for the last 20 years or so for the pa and league to hate each other. new members on both sides it seems have been brought up to despise the other side. we need a reset and it starts with cleaning house in the leadership roles on both sides. it means both sides hate each other and don't trust each other one iota and are constantly engaging in bad faith negotiating. we need 2 sides that concentrate more on getting a deal done than seeing who can negotiate in bad faith more. and the owners are doing exactly that as well, yet you criticize them for it. seems to me like a double standard.

This has always been my stance all along. Both sides have sinned in these negotiations, and the resulting lost games are not due to Bettman alone. You can blame both sides pretty equally. What I find pretty outlandish is that those people sitting on their respective sides, either the owners or players, are unwilling to see the sins of their side but are totally open about seeing the faults of the side they are against. I just cannot understand for the life of me how someone can be supporting a side that has not negotiated in good faith from the start. The tactics of both sides really have been frustrating to say the least as well.

Yes, I know, its like that in any draft year... The way I see it, BOTH Emmy and Mursak are the expendable ones...If Eaves return is doubtful, one of those two have a bit more time here than they should. I believe in the end Miller and Eaves will be here over those two...

Brilliant. I think the bulk of the hockey-following public really has lost touch with this debate. They hear little bits and pieces of another "concession" by the owners, and when a deal doesn't happen the next day, it must be because Fehr's an *******. There is no "negotiation" here. This is more like a hostage situation where Bettman has kidnapped little bits and pieces of what the players already had, and letting them out piece by piece. At the end of the day, if he's only taking and not giving back, he's still the aggressor in all of this. Player salaries did not become inflated (AGAIN) because the players are "greedy" or "overpaid". The salaries went up because the 2005 CBA and its salary cap that the OWNERS unilaterally wanted and forced upon the NHLPA is fundamentally broken. To put the salary cap and floor so close together and to raise the cap so aggressively so that it nearly doubled in the course of 7 years is absurd. The struggling market teams literally HAD to start overpaying mid-level guys to even meet the salary floor. It's not like Crosby and Ovechkin are readily available on the free agent market. You fill out your team and keep your budget up by paying way too much for Jeff Finger, Mike Cammeileri, or Ville Leino. And worst of all, the same owners who now say they're all losing money were going out of their way to pay more ACTUAL money than the salary cap apparently allows. How do you expect the NHLPA to "give in", given that total lack of credibility on the other side?

I have found that most crimes and unpleasantness of a malicious nature are brought on by people who don't believe in Santa.

Agreed.

In the last few seasons we have brought up Helm, Abby, Ericsson, Howard, Kindl, Emmerton, and Mursak. We'll add Smith whenever the next season starts, with Nyquist, Brunner, and Tatar all likely in the competition, though they may need to wait a year. Maybe if we'd had the 9th overall pick in one of our recent drafts we'd have someone like Couture. Tougher to find those guys at 19 or later.

So anyone who doesn't feel the same way you do is a dumbass? You may not like the fact that MANY fans are going to boycott in response to the lockout, but they are entitled to their opinion just as you are entitled to yours. People will do what they will, and name calling isn't going to change that. If you can't see the reasons and potential benefits associated with boycotting, far be it from me to try to explain it to you. I'm shocked that only 2 hockey teams cracked the top 13. I didn't realize Dallas was having attendance problems to that extent either.

A 4th line of Williams-Emmerton-Wellwood would be great. Nevermind physical play and scrappiness on our 4th line, at least we'll be quick!