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Columnist believes NHL needs “a hero” to break impasse

supermangetty

Various outlets report that Steve Fehr and Bill Daly spoke Sunday, but every indication is that “nothing substantive” happened. With December approaching, one might ask: how can this possibly be resolved?

The New York Post’s Larry Brooks thinks that the NHL needs “a hero” to emerge in the board room, pointing to an expected Dec. 5 Board of Governors meeting as a time when someone might swoop in to save the day.

The NHL needs such a hero or two (or four or five) to emerge from the ranks of the Board of Governors in order to put a stop to the madness in which hockey is enmeshed. When the board meets in New York on Dec. 5, the NHL’s survival as we know it will depend on practical men flexing their vocal cords in opposition to the cabal of militants who have seized the agenda and seem intent on committing what the Sabres’ Ryan Miller referred to on Friday as “brand suicide.”

Brooks points to a few candidates to heed the CBA signal, starting with big market teams.

He even wonders if New York Rangers owner James Dolan should speak up, even with his previous squabbles with Gary Bettman in mind.

Perhaps no one will listen to Dolan of the Rangers — who stands to lose at least $60 million if the puck isn’t dropped just as his team would be denied its shot at the Cup — just as no one listened to him a few years ago when he petitioned the board to dismiss Gary Bettman, but silence from the Blueshirts’ CEO simply would be unacceptable.

There have been slight rumblings of player discontent (seen most clearly in Roman Hamrlik’s comments), but perhaps powerful owners need to come forward, too?

Heroes tend to emerge in the darkest times, after all.