from Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal,

So nothing existential is at stake in hockey's labor dispute. All that is left for owners to push for is to shrink the players' share of revenues and lock in lower costs moving forward. That would likely raise the values of their franchises.

The players, who gathered nearly 300 strong in New York recently, understand they have made out pretty well, too. But they don't want be treated like chumps. If the league needs more money to support its weaker franchises, the players don't want to be the only ones to supply it.

So, a few percentage points off the players' share, a little more revenue sharing. League lawyers and Fehr, the fiery former leader of baseball's union who was markedly calm last week as the deadline approached, know how this is done.

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