Please excuse my ignorance...
But really, why can't the owners just offered less? Player A's 3 mil/year contract expires...offer 1.5 mil. If all the other owners are on line, then it should work...no lockout, no egomaniacal showdown, nothing. In 3-5 years, problem solved, no?
I mean the players are essentially paid according to what the high bidder offers, so if you remove the high bids...problem solved, right?
I really have a hard time taking either side here, but the owners were the ones who overspent in the first place, weren't they?
Now put yourself in a player's place. You have just played 2 years at 3 mil/year, you have investments, lawyers, accountants trainers, chefs on retainer, houses, staff, kids in private school...a standard of living, requiring a certain cashflow...suddenly, it gets cut in 1/2, of course you would fight to keep the status quo which after all, was handed to you on a silver platter by those silly owners.
If I had to take sides, I would certainly NOT side with stupid owners.
This is a very good thing, the NHL has been on a self destruct path for a long time.
Amazing how some folks (owners) can screw up a 2 billion dollar cash cow!