from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,

Owners’ Lockout III appears on its way to a resolution. The 2012-13 season seems likely to commence no later than Jan. 19. That is, if negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA don’t break down over the next week and the framework of the collective bargaining agreement on the table is adopted, as it must.

For what the players — who have fought the good fight every step of the way — must weigh is whether a deal that better serves the rank-and-file will be available in the ashes of a canceled season and whether players whose NHL windows are closing could possibly recoup the losses that would accompany cancellation.

It’s time, for the first time, for these players to be selfish and put themselves first, ahead of the generation that will follow. Some locked out three times, many more locked out twice, these world-class athletes have paid enough of a price.

This is going to be a bad deal (again, all within context) for the players, a very bad deal for players whose contracts expire at the end of this season, and a worse deal for the fans in big markets who pay the freight for their small-market cousins, but whose teams will be limited by a tightening cap and the NHL’s commitment to genetic engineering.

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