from Michael Grange of Sportsnet,

The NHL thinks its fans -- the greatest fans in the world as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman described them a few months ago -- are stupid. Or at least easily duped.

That has to be it. How else to explain why the league would spend good money on a Republican Party-affiliated, Washington-based communications company to figure out how best to, I'm not sure -- spin? Manage the message? Lie? -- as the lockout drags into its second month without sign of relief.

Common sense would suggest anything the NHL wants to communicate to its customers can be figured out on the back of a napkin.

How about: "We have locked out the players because we need to negotiate a new CBA that we believe will be better for the long term future of our owners and by extension the NHL and the game fans love. The players aren't happy, naturally, but they've engaged Don Fehr, the most respected labour negotiator in the industry, to represent their interests and we trust he will. We're hoping to get a deal done as soon as we can and get back to hockey with an agreement that works for everyone."

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