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“You don’t want to say this, but it seems like it’s been kinda in the works anyway.”

That’s a direct quote from Sidney Crosby, undoubtedly the biggest North American star in the league, in reference to the pending lockout. It’s incredibly sad and almost as maddening to think that the two sides, merely 7 years after they nearly ended the league, are prepared to take away hockey from all of us once again.

Ever since the owners made their first proposal earlier this summer, it seemed clear that they would rather go without a season than give any concessions to the players. It indicates a league that feels as though it has all the leverage. It seems like the owners feel like they can do without hockey for a lot longer than the players can.

In negotiations, it’s important that both sides come together for a common agreement, and through circumstantial evidence, it appears the owners have been unwilling to do that. My sincerest hope is that the lockout is very brief. My secondary, vindictive hope is that the owners suffer and learn a lesson somehow.

It pains me to continue talking about what are essentially legal and financial discussions. I know how to write about hockey, and not law or economics. As a result, until the lock out is resolved, I have decided to scale back my writing here at Ice Insiders to about 1 post a week. It flows nicely into the fact that I am about to take a couple of vacations, so I hope things are resolved by then.

Ice Insiders Chris Berry Interactive Chris Berry Interactive