Owners need threat of lockout to exert pressure in CBA negotiations

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said on Thursday that the NHL will indeed lock out the players if a new deal isn’t in place by Sept. 15.

And that really shouldn’t be surprising.

A lockout is the owners’ best tool for getting what they want. They want to change the current system, they want the players to take less money or accept tougher free agent standards, so they have to threaten them to get the desired result. It happens all of the time in business. The players do not get serious about taking cutbacks until they miss a few paychecks and realize they will never get that money back.

That’s why Donald Fehr’s offer of playing while they