If Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow won't go to the negotiating table on their own, it's time their respective constituents forced them to sit down with each other.
That's the opinion of hockey legend Bobby Orr, who is now in the player agent business.
"The time has come for the owners and players to let their feelings be known to Gary and Bob," Orr told TSN in a telephone interview. "Neither one of them wants to be the first one to call the other because they think it's a sign of weakness. Well, I hate to think we are going to lose an NHL season because these two guys are afraid of looking weak.
"The owners have to make Gary sit down with Bob and the players have to make Bob sit down with Gary. If they don't get in a room and start a dialogue, nothing is going to happen. If you talk to people on both sides, they will tell you there is a deal to be made. But in order for the deal to be made, they have to be in the same room. They have to start talking."
And Orr said it's vital that it's Bettman and Goodenow doing the talking.
"At the end of the day these are the two guys who have to make the deal," Orr said. "You can have other people from the league and the Players' Association talking to each other but everything runs through Gary and Bob, so they might as well sit down and get it going. If they don't start talking soon, we lose the season. I know there are lots of owners and lots of players who don't want that to happen so it's up to them to speak up before it's too late. We're running out of time."