from John Shannon of Sportsnet,

It was late in Thursday's Press Conference. Gary Bettman had probably been on the podium for 10 minutes too long. You knew he was now fully on adrenaline. The media were inching towards the door to begin filing on one of the most bizarre, theatrical days of anyone's adult life, and a simple question came from the back...

"Gary, are you concerned that franchises will be in peril if there is no hockey this season?"

The answer was just a simple, yet had much more meaning: "My bigger concern is if we make the wrong deal we'll have more franchises in jeopardy."

And that, in a nut shell, is why there was no agreement in New York City this week. It is a message that the NHL really has not trumpeted enough during this lock out. As wealthy as some teams are there are other in this league riddled with debt. And before you jump up and yell, that the teams are in the wrong locales, stop it! This isn't a public trust, it's a private club. A business where the owners decide where the teams play. If you don't like that, tough! It's a private business, with economic issues that need to be addressed. And the players and the owners both bear the responsibility of addressing those issues.

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