] The $2.1 billion league that existed at the end of last
] season, when Auburn Hills mogul Bill Davidson's Tampa Bay
] Lightning won the Stanley Cup, could shrink to half that,
] NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told the head of the
] players' union when the season was canceled.
]
] Tom Wilson, president of the Davidson company that owns
] the Lightning, has said as much publicly, warning that
] the league could shrink to $800 million if a deal isn't
] done by the start of next season.

This is the most telling prognostication. No matter what happens, the market that the NHL will return to will be even smaller than the one it left behind under duress. With that as an almost indesputable fact, how can the NHLPA expect to get a better deal than what's already been proposed?

The likely scenario is that star players like Iginla, Lidstrom, Jagr, and Kovalev will be LUCKY to make 1/2 of their previous revenue under any situation when the league returns. And ultimately, that screws the little guys - the Tootoos and Heatleys and journeymen in the league that don't even make enough to find adequate agents.

So in the end, the PA (more specifically Goodenow) has done nothing to help the players cause and in fact, has pretty much destroyed their credibility altogether. Whatever deal ends up getting ratified will be the same deal that could've been ratified before the 04/05 season even started and all this damage could've been avoided. Instead, they'll get a shoddy deal which gives them a smaller piece of a much smaller pie. Thanks Bob!

Owners see 6 ways to save the NHL