Ottawa Senators player rep Chris Phillips calls for 'open discussions going both ways' to end NHL lockout By DON BRENNAN, QMI Agency

Chris Phillips takes part in an informal skate with fellow Ottawa Senators and other NHL players at the Bell Sensplex in Ottawa on Tuesday September 18,2012 (Errol McGihon/QMI Agency)

Popular is the belief that the lockout would end with a lock-in, that representatives for NHL owners and players should bolt themselves in a room until they reach an agreement that ends the dispute.

Whether it’s to further discuss the players' seemingly sensible “make whole” proposal and insistence that owners honour contracts they’ve signed, or find another way for owners to protect themselves from themselves when it comes to overspending.

“Hopefully that happens, but we’ll see what develops,” said Senators defenceman Chris Phillips, the team’s player rep. Most don’t buy the necessity for the “cooling off” periods that have interrupted negotiations time and again. However, Phillips can understand why they are sometimes called.

“I’ve been in a few meetings, and I guess we could lock ourselves in a room,” he said, “but to just get told the same thing or pound your head against the wall, that doesn’t really get you anywhere, either.

“There’s got to be open discussions going both ways. That’s the only way anything is going to get done.”

don.brennan@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: sundonib