Brooks Laich is aware of the, in his own words, “massive, massive ripple effect” that a lockout has on more than just the players. He also said he’d feel bad if the lockout “cost one kid a chance to see an NHL hockey game or to meet one of the players or get an autograph or a picture.”
All the same, he still believes in what the NHLPA is fighting for so passionately that he’s prepared to miss the entire 2012-13 campaign, according to CSNWashington.
“One, [NHL owners] want to roll back our contracts, which I don’t care what business you’re in, is going to kick a fire under a lot of people,” Laich said. “And the second part of it, which maybe goes overlooked a little bit because of the financial aspect, is that every contract ends with a handshake -- every single contract. Where I come from you honor your handshakes. If you don’t honor your word you have nothing.”
Laich said that if he signed a bad contract then he would accept responsibility and “work through that.”
“I was raised when you give a man your word and you shake a hand it’s as good as gold,” Laich said. “That’s something that I think really upsets the players, that we’re not being treated that way.”
The current CBA is set to expire today. If the two sides aren’t able to come to terms before midnight, then the lockout will have begun.
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