28 Days Later... How Hockey Turned Art Into Reality

It's quite coincidental that Harrison Mooney at Puck Daddy referenced that film in his most recent article about the CBA "negotiations" as I just watched it last night. And perhaps I'm still in that "the world has gone to shit" mood the movie inspires for 98% of the time. My optimism that the NHL season would start on time—or at least within a few weeks of the start of October—has suffered a major blow.

I'm not going to go into details as you can read all about them here, but here's the basic gist.

27 days ago, we got our first tidbit of this summer's CBA negotiations as the NHL's initial proposal to the NHLPA was leaked. We learned that the owners were asking for some serious concessions from the players. Dread began to settle in.

That makes tomorrow 28 days later, and just like the movie of the same name, it would appear we're on the brink of a doomsday scenario. On Thursday, Commissioner Gary Bettman edged us a little closer to the edge with the announcement that we are indeed careening towards a lockout. If a new CBA isn't signed by September 15, well, hockey fan, it might be time to rub your eyes and go outside. Bettman, from TSN:

"We reiterated to the union that the owners will not play another year under the current agreement," he told a scrum of reporters in New York after the latest talks.

Ugh. I know this doesn't mean a lock out is inevitable, but it sure seems more likely.