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Did the NHL underestimate Donald Fehr? He hopes not

Donald Fehr

NHL players’ association head Donald Fehr speaks to reporters following collective bargaining talks in Toronto on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

AP

While the NHL and the players’ union continue to be at odds with how talks have gone, CSNPhilly.com’s Tim Panaccio posed a good question: Did the owners underestimate Donald Fehr?

Panaccio asked the NHLPA Executive Director himself that question.

“I don’t know, I certainly hope not,” Fehr said.

When it comes to the owners’ lockout strategy, Fehr said they’re following in the footsteps of the NFL and NBA, but when it comes to what the owners are trying to do, Fehr isn’t a mind reader.

“So when they said they were going to lock out and made hints about it months ago, everybody believed them, and the fact that the players believed them and are still unwilling to accept what’s on the table – the massive reductions the owners want – suggests to me, that the answer to the question as to the player’s resolve should be self-evident. But I don’t know what they believe. I have no idea.”

Fehr says he hopes the owners didn’t think the players would cave in by now, especially after what went down in 2004-05. The only thing all this talk does is make fans think they’ll be in for a hockey-free winter.