You guys are dead on. Fehr was hoping to use the loss of playoff revenue as leverage against the owners. It is the right call to force the negotiations to happen in September and October. I am normally a pro-labor guy, but when the "workers" are making more in a season than I do in my lifetime my sympathies are removed. I am a season ticket holder, (even though I live in the sun belt) and every game I miss is going squarely on the shoulders of Fehr. I used to love baseball, as much as I love hockey and could tell you the batting average of every player in the National League. After Fehr's work I now watch a handful of games a year. That same thing will happen to fans in the us to hockey, and without the Walmart of sports television, ESPN, promoting the game I worry about the future.
I will be shocked if the Coyotes do not end up in Quebec City by next season, and although they more than deserve to have a team back I think it is a shame that some markets fan bases are being judged in 10 years what other markets have had 100 to build.
Part of the negotiations may involve expansion north of the border. As much as I don't want the talent pool diluted any more, I can see the promise of more jobs for the players, and expansion fees for the owners is something that would be advantageous for both sides.
In any case this all seems like a needless waste, and in the end just hurts fans and the employees of the areas that will be unnecessarily out of work. The NHL and NHLPA need to just #GETITDONE.