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| Cleary is actually feeling some optimism about the lockout ending. (Getty Images) |
Optimism comes and goes during the NHL lockout and it usually has less shelf life than summer clothes in Siberia. But everybody is so desperate for hockey to return that we hop on any sign of optimism we can find.
Typically that hasn't included the players who are locked out. They have remained pretty solid on the side of union boss Donald Fehr, who hasn't seen an offer from the NHL that is appealing to him -- or at least that he has publicly let on.
But after this weekend's long chat between Bill Daly and Steve Fehr, some are starting to get a good feeling. (By the way, one reason to be grateful for the lockout is now we won't have to hear songs like Good Feeling and Gangnam Style over and over at every NHL arena.) That's how Red Wings forward Daniel Cleary is starting to feel.
"There's a lot of optimism I think, for sure; anytime Steve and Bill are saying the exact same thing I think it's positive," Cleary said. "We'll see today, but for sure there's some light.
"As a player, just talking amongst the guys today, definitely excited about seeing what's going to happen today. There's a ton of time to get a deal done, I still think there's a deal to be made."
Well how about that, isn't that a sight for sore eyes? A player in the NHL actually having some optimism about this black cloud that has been hovering over the league for too long now.
The all-day talk between Steve Fehr and Daly certainly was cause for a little optimism seeing how they were able to hang with each other all day without giving up. The meeting appears to have spawned more meetings this week, but right now it's still just optimism. There's a ton of time to get a deal done, as Cleary points out, but there's also still a ton to get done.
In his defense, Cleary knows that, too.
"We said all along, we've agreed to get to a 50-50 split of revenue, which was important for them," Cleary said. "We've also said that honoring contracts is pretty important for us. And if they get rid of the Make Whole, then obviously their intent is to honor contracts.
"It's still a little tricky, but even if it's deferred, as long as guys get their contracts honored, that'll be the most important thing."
It's amazing how this has worked. The NHL came out and canceled the Winter Classic and the calendar turned to November. Since then, the negotiations feel like they have truly begun in earnest. A full day of face-to-face talks, even if it's only with two players in the saga? That's good. That chat spawning off more talks and rumblings about the owners making amendments to their Make Whole provision? Even better. It's easy to see why some are starting to feel a little extra pep in their step.
Cleary is probably not completely privy to what's going on in the negotiations, but the union leaders have done their best to keep the players informed during this lockout, so he probably has an inkling of how things are going. Right now his optimism is certainly welcome.
Then again, it could just be his coping mechanism that prevents him from blubbering all lockout long as some of the rest of us are doing without the NHL.
"You got to be as positive as you can until it's official either way."
It can be hard to keep positive -- especially after the Winter Classic involving Cleary's Red Wings was called off -- but I admit it helps hearing some hope from a player.
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