Bill Daly, Defender of EARTH and the Common Hockey Fan (Just don't let me see him in tights) - Well, that is how the NHL would have you see things.

The world's most annoying second-in-command decided to open up his mouth, again, and insult the collective intelligence of hockey fans from Vancouver to Vaduz.

Let's chop this to pieces, Gőlbez style -

"Let's be clear on where the responsibility lies for where we find ourselves today: it lies exclusively at the feet of union leadership who, despite numerous and repeated approaches by the league over many years, utterly ignored - and, in some cases, knowingly exacerbated - the financial distress the league was experiencing,"

Exclusively at the fault of the union, Bill? You sound like an ambulance-chasing lawyer...was that your past job?

Unless the NHLPA has gypsy powers of mind-control, how can you blame the NHLPA exclusively for the 'mess' we are in today? Did the NHLPA force the Bruins to pay Martin Lapointe $5mil/season? Is it Bobby Holik's fault that the Rangers decided to pay him $8mil to ply his trade? Is it the NHLPA's fault that the NHL teams can't hire skilled 'business' managers that know how to run a 'business'??

Of course the players took advantage of the stupid owners and overmatched GMs!! When you have to negotiate your own individual contract, you will take whatever the hell you can get. You wouldn't be any different, Bill.

"Then, as if to suggest it is the league who must agree to negotiate only on its terms, the union proceeds to hold the game and its fans hostage over its complete and absolute refusal to negotiate any system that is premised on a negotiated - not arbitrary, but negotiated - and rational relationship between player costs and league-wide revenues.

Actually, the "Cost Certainty or Bust" negotiating tactic of the NHL's is just the same as the NHLPA's "No Cost Certainty" stance. Both sides are perfectly entrenched, so this is the pot calling the kettle black (or whatever the hell that saying is).

...and need I remind you, Billy, that it is the NHL that is 'holding hostages' here. The NHL is the one that has cancelled games and decided not to proceed with any actual hockey playing in NHL areans. The NHLPA was fully prepared to go ahead, so they didn't stop anything.

...and please explain to the fans why the NHLPA should ever negotiate a system based on a 'rational' relationship between player costs and revenues when it is obvious that (most of) the NHL teams do not truthfully report such numbers

"I can only hope that the players understand and appreciate the union's chosen strategy in this process: ignore the economic problems, delay in offering meaningful relief, and refuse to negotiate over an economic system that will ensure that the problems will not be repeated."

Well, the last NHLPA offer sure seemed to indicate that the players realize that there are some financial problems in the NHL. I can't rememeber too many labour negotiations where the workers offer almost a QUARTER of their entire salary as a rollback...and let's not forget the other concessions the NHLPA offered. We know their offer would still allow for some inflation, but not at the current rate.

"Everyone who is even the least bit knowledgeable about our CBA and how it operates saw right through the proposal almost immediately for exactly what it was: a union offer designed to 'buy' continued salary inflation at unsustainable levels, and the maintenance of an economic system that necessarily fosters financial and competitive disparities among clubs."

!!!! If the NHL clubs were so damn knowledgable about their own damn CBA, we wouldn't be in this damn mess, WOULD WE?

Look, I understand what the union was trying to do with their offer, just like I understand what the NHL was trying to do with their counter-offer. The fact remains that the NHL clubs obviously never understood their current CBA - I just wish the NHL would come flat out and say "Most teams are run by a bunch of idiots would couldn't manage a Tim Horton's franchise". Truth by told, I'd have a lot more respect for the NHL if they just purely admitted their idiocy rather than hide behind the "NHLPA is mean and made me cry" tactic.

Oh, and just to get the NHLPA in here...here is Ted Saskin (media shill for Goodenow)

After the NHL's failure to explore our proposal of Dec. 9, the players made it crystal clear that we are not working on a new one and the onus remains on the NHL to come back with a proposal that could be the basis for an agreement

C'mon, Teddy, I find it hard to believe that the players made their 'best' offer on December 9th. Nobody makes their best offer before the last minute. The NHLPA are good negotiators, and I'm sure they have another trick up their proverbial sleeves.
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Well, I hate to take sides so blatently...but, if you say stupid things, and treat this particular hockey fan like an idiot, you deserve to have your crap thrown back in your face.