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| Shawn Horcoff isn't happy about being locked out again. (Getty Images) |
We know commssioner Gary Bettman isn't popular among players right now. Especially when we're a month into what is the third lockout of Bettman's tenure, which began in February 1993. Several players have sounded off publically (and then there was that recent player poll that said every player would like to vote him out as commissioner). The latest is Edmonton Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff.
In an interview with ESPN the magazine's Craig Custance, the Oilers forward said Bettman's comments about feeling sorry for the fans are a "blatant lie" and that he knows fans will come back and couldn't care less if they're frustrated.
"It’s the same thing every time with the owners. [Gary Bettman's] first defense is to cancel games and test the players," Horcoff told Custance. "There’s been no effort to negotiate on his stance. Their negotiation is, 'The players have to come down to us, or we’re not moving at all,' Gary has forced the players' hand into this situation and, frankly, he’s [ticked] us off. I think at the start, that first offer they gave out, that was a big, big mistake on Gary’s part."
The recent story about the NHL hiring a strategist to run focus groups seems to indicate that maybe, just maybe, they do care about what fans think. They just have a weird way of showing it by putting them through lockout after lockout.
The two sides are meeting on Tuesday and are scheduled to finally discuss core economic issues.
Horcoff has spent his entire NHL career with the Oilers and has three years remaining on a contract that pays him $5.5 million per season. He scored 13 goals in 81 games last season.
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