Randall Graves*
Guest
The NHL is just trying to get good PR and pin all the blame on the players, Funny Bettman didn't say anything in 99 when he re-newed the CBA and went on to add teams.Castor Troy said:Exactly. IMO the NHL is saying all the right things, and is playing the NHLPA's cards before the NHLPA can do so. After watching all of Bettman's conference, and this is coming from a guy who absolutely despises Gary Bettman, I'm a lot more convinced that the owners know what they are doing. For right or wrong, they seem to be at the stage where they admit mistakes and are looking to the future. The NHLPA, however, has yet to give me that impression. They refuse to deal with the details of this dispute and instead sit there and regurgitate their "no salary cap" ideal over and over.
The NHL has continually addressed in the media and to the fans exactly what their views are and then they showed us the numbers and figures to back it up. Whether you believe the numbers or not is another thing, but I ask where are the players numbers to refute these claims? I haven't seen one verifiable claim coming out of the players. Instead, they have simply said that they want a free market, which means no salary cap. Again, I'm not trying to argue which side is in the right, I'm just saying from where I sit, the NHL has done a MUCH better job of presenting their position.
Bettman sucks, Goodenow sucks but the players atleast took a week to review the NHL's 6 proposals...the owners immediately rejected what the players offered.
Both sides are at fault but a 2nd lockout in 10 years means we need new leadership.