from Bob McKenzie of TSN,

My head is spinning, and if you've seen my noggin, you know that's no small feat. And to think we're likely just taking the first few steps this week towards walking through what is likely to be a very long, dark tunnel.

In some respects, I can't believe we're on the verge of another lockout, eight years after we went through a stoppage that cost us all an entire NHL season. And yet I'm not the least bit surprised at the vast gulf that exists, thus far anyway, between the positions of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Don Fehr. It has been entirely too predictable.

Based on what we've seen of the negotiations to this point, the overriding sense I get from the public opinion reaction of fans and media -- for what that is ultimately worth -- is that the NHL is looking for an awful lot, too much too fast. I would generally agree with that characterization.

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