while the poor will continue to be poor and we'll feel sorry for them. (Sense and Sensibility quote, iirc.) This is what justifies a lockout--- from a fan perspective? It's called a negotiation, both sides have to give up something at least for it to be a negotiation and not an extortion. Obviously the players have to give up a lot more than the owners since the structure (57-43 on HRR and 27-7 FA rules with no contract length restrictions) still favors them and since the leverage lies with the owners anyway. What I find amusing is how much the NHL trumpted the fact they sat out a year to get the cap and now the deal they lost a whole season for is so bad everything about it needs to be improved at the cost of losing another season I don't really get what's so wrong with the game with different Stanley Cup winners every year, cap ensuring small-market teams can get a crack at the big FA's. The only thing that needs to be changed is to eliminate the cap circumventing contracts. Everything else about this negotiation is flat greed. "to confer with another so as to arrive at the settlement of some matter" - Webster Wth. Players are completely free to go play in a league of their choice. Maybe the players should go to a career college in the off season to help start a league of their own. I have no idea what your point