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Lamoriello on ending lockout: “Lock them in a room until they reach a verdict”

New Jersey Devils Name New Head Coach

NEWARK, NJ - JULY 19: President/CEO/General Manager Lou Lamoriello of the New Jersey Devils addresses the media after introducing Peter DeBoer (not pictured) as the new head coach of the New Jersey Devils at a press conference on July 19, 2011 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/Getty Images)

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On Wednesday, Lou Lamoriello offered a solution to end the work stoppage.

“Maybe we should do like they do with juries,” the Devils GM told the New York Post. “Lock them in a room until they reach a verdict.”

Lamoriello’s comments reflect the bleak outlook for a full 82-game regular season. At this point, locking the two parties in a room (and possibly throwing away the key) might be the only way to kickstart negotiations.

With the deadline looming, neither side seems to want to make the first move -- and Lamoriello acknowledged the optics are bad.

“There is nothing that looks good until there is a deal,” he told the the Star-Ledger. “It doesn’t look good because we don’t have anything concrete right now. We don’t hear anything.”

One interesting wrinkle: Lamoriello clammed up when the subject of last weekend’s 48-hour window for GMs to speak with players was raised.

The NHL allowed the window to be opened so questions could be answered about the league’s 50-50 revenue sharing proposal, but Lamoriello refused to say if he met with any Devils.

“Don’t even go there,” he repeated several times.