Taken from Lightning: Lightning’s union rep is pessimistic — A St. Petersburg Times article by Tom Jones which features and interview with one of the lightning’s player reps — Tim Taylor.

“If the owners are still talking a $31-million salary cap, yeah, the season is going to go down the drain,” said Taylor, the Lightning’s player representative. “We want to negotiate a fair deal for both sides. I’m discouraged there haven’t been more talks. I feel bad for the fans. I hope this is temporary, but I don’t know.”

Riddle me this, Tim: How can you negotiate when neither side is willing to sit down and talk? How can you negotiate when the Union, that you are a member of, has only extended 2 offers to the owners in over a year and neither of them granted concessions from the players as-so-much the owners? Do you mind explaining that to me and the fans you and your Union are alienating?

You talk about the 31 million dollar cap — you don’t even seem to think that the number can be negotiated higher by the NHLPA if they were to try to collectively bargain?

“I felt good after the meeting,” Taylor said. “The guys who spoke out (recently) are minor leaguers, guys who have played 50 games in the NHL. They don’t speak for the majority. But you know what? The NHLPA is fighting for those guys, too.”

And yet the reason these players are speaking out is becuase the NHLPA doesn’t seem to be “fighting” for those guys. The bit-men will remain bit-men in this league when the dust clears and the stars will remain the stars… The issue isn’t how little players will make in the end, but how much players should be allowed to make and how much of the league revenues they should be allowed to make…

The Mike Commodore’s aren’t the problem - it’s the Chris Chelios’, the Tim Taylor’s and the Chris “Ten Million a Year and loving it!” Pronger’s of the NHL that are screwing up the works.

“We’re not trying to make more money. That’s not what this is about. We just want a fair deal.”

I’m still waiting for anyone in the NHLPA to define what is “fair”? 75 percent of revenues coming into the league is fair? Fair is alienating the people who pay your salaries (the fans)?

Stop acting above this, Tim Taylor, and other members of the NHLPA… Goodenow’s pomposity is only good enough for so long - and with either side not trying to resume talks, that pomposity has run it’s course and now it’s time to swallow your pride and start to try to deal.