NHL LOCKOUT IN 2012?

A little-noticed blog report in the midst of the death of Derek Boogard, and the arrest of Matthew Barnaby, was an article by Toronto Star reporter Damien Cox predicting that the NHL is getting ready to lockout the players in a year and a half if a new CBA is not reached by then. Personally speaking, I would not be that concerned, if the reporter were someone else, and not Cox, who is respected throughout the hockey world. That being said, I do wonder if he is reading too much into the fact that the NHL filed a brief in support of the NFL in their lockout battle with the decertified NFLPA. If the NHL were to impose another lockout, that could be disastrous, as the NHL seems to have finally gotten it's act together after the 2004-05 lockout. It seems like the best hope for the fans, is for the courts to rule in favor of decertified players, which would stop strikes(since there is essentially no union) and lockouts (ditto).