NHL Lockout: Who Is to Blame?

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The NHL lockout is now three days old, and there is no end in sight. Only seven years after the last lockout ended, NHL fans are now faced with the possibility that they might miss another season.

Who exactly is to blame for the lockout?

The answer is fairly simple, but it's fair if you want to agree with one particular side. The players are the headliners of the league, so they are more likely to receive the fans' allegiance, although there will be a group of people that side with Gary Bettman and the owners.

Here are the people and groups of people that are to blame for this latest NHL lockout.

Gary Bettman

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Otherewise known as Public Enemy No. 1, Gary Bettman has now locked out the players on three occasions.

After missing half a season in 1994 and a full season in 2004, it remains to be seen how long this lockout will last, although, with Bettman's history, the prospects of a short lockout don't seem good.

In the last lockout, Bettman and the owners got what they wanted in the salary cap. Now that teams are finding their ways around it, they want pretty much to reset the clock with the cap.

This time, Bettman and his right-hand man, Bill Daly, might not get their way again.

The Fehr Brothers

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The reason Gary Bettman might not get his way is that he's run into a business man that's just as stubborn as he. Don and Steve Fehr came over from Major League Baseball after negotiating that league's most recent CBA.

The Fehr brothers will not let the NHL get their way as they did last time. They will fight for every dollar the players deserve, and they are not going to go down without a fight.

That also does not make a short lockout a high possibility.

The Owners

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It is well known now that the first offer the owners gave the players included a five-year limit on contracts. Since that first offer, there have been at least eight contracts signed that are over five years in length.

There is also the fact that the day before the lockout, the owners spent over $100 million on players, ranging from Evander Kane to Kevin Klein.

If the owners can't control themselves and figure out what they're doing, this lockout will continue.

The Players

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I wouldn't put much blame on the players, but they do deserve at least a little bit of the blame. With the 57 percent the players got in the last CBA, they are not in a rush to lower that percentage by as much as the owners want them to.

The faster they come to a resolution on the hockey-related revenue, the faster the lockout will end.

Everyone

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As you can see, I have listed everyone included in the talks. That's because everyone involved in the talks is to blame.

There's no other way around it. When two sides have to come to an agreement, both sides are to blame when they can't.