CBA,Off the table? on the table? who is to blame?

Nobody, nobody is to blame. None of them care anymore, it is a pissing contest. Even the players at the bottom of the ladder appear to be getting sick of it. They are the ones who play hockey for a living and not just to be a star.

Owners made it explicitly clear that bringing Don Fehr into the room before a deal was officially signed would be a terrible move. Players did it, they paid, not literally. We paid, the employees of the stadiums paid, and the fans played. Players said they wanted this, they wanted that, and they were entitled to this. Some of it they are entitled to. But, as it is rarely looked at "don't mix business with pleasure." Even throw another cliche "don't mix work and friends." The players have done both, the Owners have shown little emotion or sympathy. Which is bad on their part, they should have a little sympathy for their 'money makers/seat fillers"

However you slice it, it is a bad PR move on both sides, and a huge blunder by the league in general. Also, those blaming Bettman as satan/jew/terrible human being. He is all of those things and more, I am right there with you (I've seen his Yarmulke). In this case he is only a messenger, ordered by the owners as now he serves no real role in how to slice the HRR. Scapegoat him if you want, but he isn't the one you want to scapegoat. He was the problem in 04, because his emotions towards Goodenow overtook the discussion during the work stoppage. Once he dealt with him, everything went business as usual. In 2012/13 he has no real purpose out there.

Players want 393 million from the 211 million offer from the owners. 300 million in the make whole provision as well as a sturdy pension plan were the focal points. Although we don't know much about what the players thought about the Make Whole, as they lied through their teeth in the media address. The pension plan was a backbreaker, because 20k difference between pension in Canada and pension in the US meant a lot to people who amass well over a couple million in their career.

Don Fehr has been the No Man, Steve Fehr tried to do all he could. They should really switch roles at this point. He won't, they won't, and the owners really don't want to deal with a guy with a limited vocabulary of "no".

NHLPA also chose some interesting people to oversee the meeting. Ron Hainsey, Campoli, Crosby, Backes, and in their biggest mistake in the whole lockout. Ryan Miller. A man who saw very little opportunity to succeed in Buffalo made that city pay to keep him. Really pay to keep him.

Players who are bitching about a 5 year max contract in UFA (7 for team extension) should really pipe down. Yes, the owners shouldn't offer that if they don't want to. The thing, is they don't have to. The players hold the ball in their court when it comes to contract talks. They want stability, and as we have seen in other sports (baseball:A Rod, any of the Redskins roster 2 years ago, Beckham) those deals never pan out. They don't help the club, they hinder it. The owners want you to earn the money and earn your contract.

I have some optimism, which is below 1% of the general hockey fan population. I believe they do reach a deal, as the players are going to start calling for Fehr's head. He is trying to get the best deal, but ripping down the bonds that owners and players may have. They could've signed last night as the deal was about half-way on all front. Something tells me Fehr told them to hold out. (via @adater on Twitter).

Anger went to apathy went to excitement and is now in a no-man's land.
Greed is a terrible thing, makes people do terrible things and it should not have a home in Hockey.

Wake up NHL and NHLPA, no mother or father wants their kid playing hockey when they know the big stage is ran by kids themselves.
Here's to the World Juniors.

Sincerely,
A hockey fan.
Devon

Thanks to @tsnbobmckenzie, @darrendreger, @jsportsnet @adater @reporterchris @NikKypreos @helenenothelen @DougMaclean for all your hard work out there.