from Elliotte Friedman of CBC,

It is hard to come up with a new reason to care about talks between the NHL and NHL Players' Association, especially when the mood going in appears to be overwhelmingly negative. Fans either hate everyone involved or are watching something else, not that you can blame them. Media? Well, it's part of our job description. But you try to find something, in part because there are people financially dependent on two sides determined to go ahead with the worst suicide mission since Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.

So here's this week's question: Is the greater frustration among hockey people inside or outside the negotiating room? I don't know if it's right to say either the NHL or the NHLPA is cracking or bending, but there is growing discontent with how this process is unfolding. "Helpless" is how one team executive described his feelings right now.

"It's starting to remind me of 2004," said one veteran player. "Back then, you thought the big date was Dec. 1, then Dec. 15, then later. The next thing you knew, the season was cancelled."

continued plus 30 Thoughts (actually 20 this week)...