The NHL has to make a deal with Fehr, or lose a season. He set this up from the beginning to ensure that instead of a Ted Saskin as his deputy, perhaps concealing a knife, there was his brother. The negotiating committee wasn’t allowed to be a side door, or a back door. The league’s attempts to circumvent Fehr — releasing entire proposals one day after saying they would not negotiate publicly, the Edwards threat, the player-owner meetings themselves — haven’t worked. This is the guy they have to deal with. There was never another option.

-Bruce Arthur of the National Post where you can read more on making a deal with Fehr.