“(The owners) say it’s our turn, or whatever, but they don’t want to negotiate until we start missing some checks. I don’t see anything happening for the next couple months. I know that’s very pessimistic of me, and I really hope I’m wrong. But the eight (owners) … what if there’s 22 teams out there that want to play right now? How do eight teams control their fate? That bothers me the most.” — Csnbayarea.com

"It almost felt like (the owners) had an agenda going in there. We had three proposals, each of which goes toward 50. All we're asking them to do is honor the contracts that's been signed, and 50-50 from there on. But it seemed like they have no interest in doing that right now, whatsoever. — Detroit Free Press

“When you look at the offers, it’s pretty clear. I don’t know if their willingness to negotiate has really shown through their offers. They’ve been kind of hard-line offers, take it or leave it.” — Toronto Globe and Mail

"We want to play, we're the ones who are doing the show in the NHL, but Bettman thinks it makes him. It is unfortunate that the NHL have such a guy. It's a shame for the entire hockey world. Treats us like animals." — Czech media outlet, according to ProHockeyTalk.com

“Something is not right there. It’s confusing. All these owners, maybe this was their plan the whole time, to sign all these guys to these big contracts knowing full well they’re not going to pay the value of them. To me, that doesn’t sound like good-faith negotiating, yet they keep preaching it.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune

"The NHL gave fans and media hope. But in reality it is a deception. The league is trying to show that it is working to try and save the season, but they are not offering anything new. It's all the same. Owners and players are at war. Bettman is under heavy pressure and trying to protect himself from criticism. Yes he made an offer and said it was good. But good for who, for Bettman?" — TSN
 

"Let’s put it this way – it would be better [for the players] if the lockout continues. Players want a definite answer. If the NHL season is lost – let it be that way. I would then play in Russia for the whole season.” — Russian publication Sport-Express

"The two sides are close enough to a deal that missing the bulk of a season is wrong and missing an entire season is not only insane, it is a blatant disregard for the sport, the fans and the culture we have grown over decades — just to satisfy egos, not the needs of either side." — ESPN the Magazine

"It's disappointing that the approach for Gary [Bettman] and the ownership group has been to make these hard dates and final offers and not budging and on and on. There's no real answer to why except 'We think we can lock you out and your careers are short and we can shake you down'. Not a good feeling." — TSN.com

"It's kind of been ultimatum this, ultimatum that, back and forth. At this point, nothing's really surprising anymore. It's really too bad. I think compared to the last lockout, it seems almost foolish we are where we are. We should be able to hammer out a deal. We're a lot closer. We're bargaining over things that shouldn't be keeping us out of hockey right now." — Tyler Mason, FOXSportsNorth.com

“(Bettman's) the only guy in pro sports that likes lockouts. It’s ridiculous. The only people who have record revenue and try to cut everything from us are the owners. There needs to be a give-and-take. We’re willing to take less revenue. We’ll do a 50-50 split if they honor our contracts. That seems fair. When you sign a contract, you look the GM in the eye and you expect them to honor your contract.” — A.J. Perez, FOXSports.com

"Obviously I'm really frustrated. It's not good. You do try to look at the best case scenarios moving forward once the CBA does get done and you gotta look for the cancers and you gotta cut out the cancer. I think when you look at Bill Daly and Bettman they've been polluting this game for far too long." — TSN.com

"I personally think (Gary Bettman's) an idiot. Since he's come in, he's done nothing but damaged the game." — USA Today

"I think from Day 1, this has fallen into what we really thought was going to happen. I don't know if they [owners] think they're dealing with kids or that we're stupid or think the fans are stupid. It's a little mind-boggling when you see what's coming out of their side. I want to hear a change, that they're actually going to give us something in return for the things we've given them." — Vancouver Province

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is public enemy No. 1 in most hockey circles. See what NHL players are said about Bettman and the lockout. You may be surprised (or maybe not).