The more level headed people on both sides know losing the season would be completely pointless for everyone, especially when the dies really aren’t that far apart.

My answer to Dadoun’s question is an “unequivocal” yes ! There can no longer be any question that this entire business is a “contrived” plan, being driven by Gary Bettman and several “key” power owners, for the explicit purpose of pursuing their own “hidden” agenda. The elimination of October and November from the schedule was obviously one of their goals and they now appear to have achieved that. In looking forward, I remain convinced that the plan all along has been to begin play “asap” thereafter. My original assertion called for play to resume this coming weekend, which obviously can’t happen now. Nonetheless, even the best of plans are sometimes subject to change and so I now see this thing being resolved over the coming few days. In the meantime, all of these fake press conferences and heated statements by various players are interesting no doubt. But taken as a whole, they amount to nothing more than semantics. The real and ultimate decision making is being done by one man and one man alone … that’s right, our man Gary Bruce Bettman !