Who is to blame

[Mozy]

regardless of who you support in this battle who is at fault for the slipping away of negotions this week?

I say the owners because the players never asked for more money, the conceeded to most of the owners demands in the end and when whats petty cash to them, 6.5 million dollars gets in the way of a new CBA its just bullshit, on top of the fact that now we are back to square one

[Cornuck]

Without an option for both - I won't be voting...

[Mozy]

i disagree, afterall one side must be the reason for most of this crap happening, and i dont beleive it lies solely on the shoulders of both sides, someone has to take the bunt of this and its probably going to be the owners, more specifically Bettman

[Grizzly]

i disagree, afterall one side must be the reason for most of this crap happening, and i dont beleive it lies solely on the shoulders of both sides, someone has to take the bunt of this and its probably going to be the owners, more specifically Bettman

Both are too blame ... from the owners signing outrageous contracts to the players holding out for more money ...

I would also disagree with you that its the owners taking the brunt of it (specifically Bettman) ... If you look at all the polls ... the tsn poll was 77 % siding with the owners and only 23 % siding with the players with this whole fiasco ... thats a pretty overwhelming majority blaming the players ... even look at the polls we have conducted on this website...

People may blame one side "more" than the other ... but they are both to blame.

Grizz

[ClamRussel]

True, but the owners are PRIMARILY responsible for causing this mess, the whole idea of "cost certainty" is because a select few OWNERS cannot be trusted & drive up salaries and the owners are the ones who REFUSE to NEGOTIATE whatsoever. This is NOT how "collective bargaining" is done, the key word being COLLECTIVE. All along I've thought the players were IDIOTS for their anti-cap philosophy...however, they DID come off that, they offered a roll-back that wasn't even being asked by the owners...the owners have offered NOTHING. The "linkage" thing was a red herring. The players weren't angels by any means but they are not to primarily to blame for the puck not being dropped. Their achiles heel is that they LOVE the game, the owners do not. Owning a team is a STATUS symbol for most owners, Melnyk is the exception, McCaw is the rule.

[Grizzly]

the whole idea of "cost certainty" is because a select few OWNERS cannot be trusted & drive up salaries and the owners are the ones who REFUSE to NEGOTIATE whatsoever.

Good point Clam ... I would like to emphasize though that it is "a select few owners who cannot be trusted".

Coming off the cap was good for the players to do ... but it was too late ... they bluffed to the last moment and the bluff was called. New set of cards and a new deal now for next year.

Grizz

[Madcombinepilot]

I think that all blaming someone can do is escalate the problem. With the two sides not talking laying the blame will only make matters worse. Who cares who is to blame? Will it affect the resolution in any way? Anyone who at this stage is still looking for someone to blame is wasting time, breath, and brain power. Its time to move on to looking for the solution, and the future, and stop dwelling in the past.

[Jovorock]

Sure both have their heads up their asses. But 25 teams can't trust 5, so they need a cap. The players should of known that with no US tv deal there isn't enough money to play these high salaries?

[Mozy]

not getting tv deals is a huge slap in the face of the players IMO they just havent felt the sting yet