from Elliott Teaford of the DailyBreeze,

Didn't these same owners get everything they demanded when they locked out the players for the entire 2004-05 season? Didn't they get a salary cap, the cost certainty they said they needed to survive? Didn't they win their bet the fans would return in droves?

Of course they did.

So, if the owners got every single thing they wanted from the last labor mess, why are they doing it all over again? Precisely because they won that last fight so handily. They believe if they can do it again they can crush the union again and increase their profits again.

It's cynical, it's greedy and it's disgusting.

Now, it's true some franchises are struggling financially. But if the Coyotes can't turn a buck in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Ariz., or the Blue Jackets can't cut it in Columbus, Ohio, then maybe those teams should be relocated to Toronto, Quebec City, Seattle or wherever there's a viable market.

Maybe a team in South Florida can't work financially but can in Portland, Ore.

I don't have all the answers.

What I do know is the players and fans are getting the short end of the hockey stick.

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