The last two paragraphs of Sportsnet's Scott Morrison's take on the Kabuki theatre which the NHLPA and then the NHL enacted on Thursday night are, at least in some people's eyes, the real "end game" and purpose of the league's stance thus far:

Perhaps a more burning question, of course, is whether the owners, who were said to be irate when they left New York, are mad enough to kill the season and hope another executive director of the players' association disappears in the process.

It has worked in the past.

The rest of Morrison's column is thoughtful and articulate, but I think the, "Kill the season and we can kill Fehr" element cannot be understated.