[Stonecutter]

Bettman is a moron, who ran the league into the ground, so I can't fully blame the players for wanting to put the screws to him, but the fact is the sport simply isn't large enough to have salaries comparable to the other 3 major sports (I don't even know if hockey is a major sport anymore.)

What the league needs, is contraction. Nashville, San Jose, Charlotte, Anaheim, one of the Florida teams, Atlanta, Columbus, Phoenix. You could dump all of those teams and I won't shed a tear. The quality of play would skyrocket and the league would come out winners in the end. If this happens by the NHL's own will, great, if it happens because the NHL folds and the players start a new league, even better.