The San Jose Sharks were getting a look at Winnipeg and the hockey renaissance going on in this market when one of their players suggested that another Canadian franchise might not be a bad idea.

"For the players, we make our living off the revenue the teams bring in and the change from Atlanta to Winnipeg is going to be great for the players in terms of revenue," said the player, who preferred not to be identified.

"We go to Phoenix and we see what's going on there. They report these big attendance numbers but the building is half-empty. I understand how the players would want to play there, it's a beautiful place.

"But if it can't work financially that affects us all. Why wouldn't we want another team in Canada or wherever that is going to add to the pie rather than shrink it?"

The shrinking pie, of course, is the big-ticket item in the upcoming collective bargaining agreement talks between the NHL and the players' association.

Both the NFL and NBA clawed back a piece of the players' revenue share in their recent deals and the NHL wants to trim back the 57 per cent the players will take away after this season.

There will be other issues; mechanisms such as entry level contracts, term of contracts and salary arbitration that both sides will want to adjust but none of those are believed to be deal breakers.

For the players, the status quo in terms of the deal's economics would be suitable. They had the opportunity to extend this deal by one year and they picked up the option.

For the owners, who have stood and watched their counterparts in football and basketball take back revenue, a claw-back is the aim.

There are several teams losing money and the current economics don't work in their view. They want to retain a bigger portion of the income and spend less on salaries. Obviously the players don't like the sound of that.

Which brings us back to markets that don't work right now and markets that are obvious winners such as Quebec City and Toronto.

Estimates peg the Thrashers' revenue from last season in the neighbourhood of $40 million, while the Jets should have revenue well over $100 million.

Both Quebec City and Toronto would increase the size of the pie regardless of how it is split. If the pie gets bigger but the players get a smaller percentage -- the volume of the slice could still be larger.

Early reports from the ownership side on the heels of the NHLPA's refusal to grant its consent to the proposed realignment package is there are some sour owners.

Realignment was not viewed as a CBA issue and was important to a number of owners. The union has stated they need more information to study the package, but ownership has labelled the move political and the beginning of the back and forth between the two sides.

Here in Winnipeg the prospect of a work stoppage is chilling. The Jets have the kind of momentum that could set them up as a business for some time and a lockout or strike is at the very least a speed bump and could prove to be more damaging.

The current model works for the Jets but that's not to say True North owners Mark Chipman and David Thomson wouldn't welcome improvements to their end.

But we're guessing they'll be doves rather than hawks and hoping for peace.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @garylawless

Gary Lawless, Winnipeg Free Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 13, 2012 C2