from Sean Gordon of the Globe and Mail,

That's more or less how the players have felt since the beginning of this lockout thingy, so there's not a whole lot of bold new information to offer up and it's best not to invest too much hope in the latest incremental developments, but hey, it's a more encouraging sign than if there were rage and desperation.

Or worse yet, indifference.

If in fact the league is willing to re-engineer its 'make-whole' provision on current contracts - aimed at transitioning the revenue split in a new CBA to 50-50 from the current 57-43 - in such a way where the players aren't out of pocket in the upcoming season, this could get sorted out pretty quickly.

"I think there's a deal there to be done, more so than a couple of weeks ago," said one player who doesn't want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the talks.

At the same time, the player said, "I worry ego could get involved, and if that's the case all bets are off. I hope that's not the case"

That's not a reference to NHLPA boss Don Fehr's ego, but to that of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

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