Mayor of MacAppolis said:
Not true at all. Gary Bettman is carrying out the mandatge put forth by his employers, the NHL board of Governors. I would wager that he has the support of at least 75% of that board.
Who is Bob Goodenow answering to? Who's agenda is he pushing ahead with? Is he listening to the Mike Commodores and Pierre Dagenais?
Yes he is. That's his job. He's a professional. He's not getting carried away by emotions. That's what fans do, not guys like Bettman and Goodenow.
He's been consistently good at what he does for the past 10-15 years. He was not born yesterday. He knows what he has to do and you better believe that he knows the pulse of the bulk of the players intentions. He's there for the players and not for the game of hockey. But at the same time, the two are intrinsecally tied together and I'm sure he's aware of that.
It all depends on what was the mandate that was given to him by the players.
If it's never accept a cap, I don't think you can blame him for playing hardball. It's not his decision.
If it's to negotiate the best possible deal without missing the season, then everything is still going as planned. There's still some time left to negotiate, and Goodenow is doing everything he can to hold the ship tight and try to put pressure on the owners. He hasn't got much leverage left. If he was given the mandate not to miss a full season, then this one will go down at the last possible minute, sometime in the next week or so.