It's hard not to be snide here, but with the news that Donald Fehr, Gary Bettman, and Bill Daly will all decline paychecks should a lockout occur, some professionalism is needed.
Aw, forget it. Bwhahahahahaha. No paychecks. Like Bettman and Daly needed them to begin with, amirite?
Ok, got that out of my system. Objectivity back on. In the case of a lockout, which seems all but certain even though there might maybe be NHL/NHLPA meetings today a week after they were adjourned, no one involved in heading up either side's negiotations will accept pay. Presumably the reasoning behind this is twofold: they won't be doing any work anyway (and what work they've been doing has failed) and it would be a huge PR disaster if they, especailly Gary Bettman, continued to accept payment for a job not done.
Bettman and Daly both took a salary during the lockout-lost 2004-2005 season, which obviously irritated fans who felt that some blame fell on the NHL for a failure to get stuff done. This season, though, most fans feel like the blame is on the NHL's shoulders nearly 100%, and as tone-deaf as Bettman and Daly can be, it's probably true that they've noticed that the fans aren't happy with the league. Consider their salary-free season (or however long the lockout lasts) to be proof of that. An olive branch, if you will.
