The devil, as always, is in the details. And when it comes to a labor negotiation, there are details upon details to consider. Still, there’s no denying this: the new offer the NHL submitted Tuesday to the NHL Players’ Association is the biggest step yet toward getting the NHL back on the ice.

In a long, fraught negotiation that has offered very few signs of progress, this was just short of a puff of white smoke. The NHL on Tuesday abandoned many of the more extreme proposals from its Declaration of Labor War offer earlier this summer and ended up where most people think the NHL and NHLPA will end up eventually, at a 50-50 split of revenue between players and owners.

If this works, the NHL intends to play a compressed, 82-game season beginning Nov. 1, preserving for both sides the revenue that goes with it.

Sounds good, but we’re not done yet. The players have acknowledged their share is going to decrease going forward. The issue has always been getting there.

On Thursday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman indicated he wasn't concerned about the impact of another lockout because, "We recovered well last time because we have the world's greatest fans."

As fans, how'd you take that statement? Feel taken for granted? Or honored by his faith in your loyalty?

Share your feelings in the comment section.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman toured the Triangle on Friday, visiting hotels and Raleigh's new Convention Center as he prepares to live up to his 2001 promise to bring an All-Star Game to the RBC Center.

Bettman wouldn't offer any hint of a potential date, but all indications are that the league has the Triangle penciled in for 2013.

"When we made the commitment, these were the things I was told were going to be in place," Bettman said. "We owe an All-Star Game, and I can't as I sit here today say when it will be, but we will get the Triangle into the rotation."