Thoughtful column from Mike Heika in the Dallas Morning News about how 'unofficial' talks can serve as icebreaker for hockey. One can only hope that it would be so. However, I do disagree with one thing he wrote:

Both sides are being bull-headed in this, and with good reason. But the bottom line is nobody would have to care about Forbes or the Levitt Report or opening anybody's books if the league would just get off cost certainty.

. I think that cost certainty can come in a lot of ways and that can mean tied to revenue sharing so long as the results contemplated by revenue sharing are guaranteed. The NHLPA has been very public in shrugging its shoulders when asked what happens if the savings they project under their plan don't materialize. Guys, you're going to start losing teams if they don't happen, and fewer teams means fewer hockey jobs for your members. Has that part of being a "labor union" left your head?