Yesterday provided a glimmer of hope but clearly there isn't the "cost certainty" the League has been asking for in the NHLPA proposal to end the lockout. I think McKenzie has it about right- this is a good first step by the PA in admitting there's a problem (always a first step to solving a problem) but this isn't going to go far enough towards assuring the overall health of the NHL. In my mind, all you need is one club that can afford to pay taxes on top of the salaries, say the Leafs, to make an outrageous offer to a player and, due to arbitration, the inflatioinary pressure is still there. Most clubs can't afford that, just as the PA rightly supposes most of the clubs can't afford to overpay under the threat of huge luxury taxes. But I guess if the PA is willing somehow to guarantee the long-term effects of the tax, just as the 24% rollback guarantees current savings, we might yet have a season. Maybe the cap kicks in if an independent audit doesn't confirm the effects. Maybe there's an escrow fund. The good news is that they're talking again. Hopefully to a happy ending....