Let's be clear, it is a lockout, not a strike.
The players are/were prepared to play, the owners did not want to continue in the manner to which the game had become.
One thing I find funny, the players get mad and upset when "replacement players" are mentioned. Yet, they did not care one bit when they went to Europe and took other players jobs......
Both sides are to blame, the owners for giving such contracts that now strangle them, and the players for not making solid adjustments. The players recent offer was nothing more than an attempt to get the fans on their side. But while offering one time relief, in a few years the mess would be worse than it is now.
Quite honestly, after playing Junior B hockey in the mid 1980's, the game has degraded to the point where I can't watch the garbage - CALL THE RULES!!!!
I would not miss the game if they never returned!
