from Michael Grange of Sportsnet,

What a mess the league has on its hands.

They should be talking about money. The players should be focused on the very real possibility that whatever share of hockey-related revenue they do get will be from a much smaller pool of funds if the season is shortened. The league may be exaggerating when it says they've lost $350-million in revenues already, having cancelled the pre-season and the first month of the regular season, but it's hard to imagine it hasn't hurt the business and thus the players' earning power.

There should be discussion of exactly how far apart the two sides are in real dollars - some estimates put it as low as $100-million a year over the life of a five or six year agreement - and how to further narrow the gap. It's a trivial amount in a deal that could be worth $20-billion.

Chances are if the focus remained that narrow, Bettman wouldn't be in his New York office twiddling his thumbs, hoping the NHLPA comes trembling to their next - as yet unscheduled - meeting.

But instead of talking about money, it's become something bigger.

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