“A lot was said and a lot needs to be processed and I think it probably takes a day or two to think about it and come up with some new ideas,” Wild centre Zenon Konopka, who sat in on Friday’s session, said from New York on Saturday.

“It’s hard to know, to be honest with you,” said Konopka. “I think there’s going to be some new ideas in the next week or so. As for a proposal, you’ve got to think there’s going to be something before Sept. 15 but I can’t say that for sure.”

Over 200 players will meet with Don Fehr in New York on Wednesday and Thursday to get an update on where talks stand. Konopka added that the NHLPA are trying to get a CBA that will help small-market teams,

“As players we feel like we have to get to the root of the problem. We feel like we have to help small-market teams and we have to make sure they’re healthy going into the next three or four years,” said Konopka.

“If we can get those teams healthy, the whole league — including the players and fans — will be better for it.”

“They’re both going to get a lot of ice time,” Boucher. “I’m not expecting Lindback to come in here and play 65 games. He played 15 games the past two years, so it’s not fair to him. It’s not fair for the expectations.”

“We know he’s going to be good, but how good we don’t know,” Boucher said of Lindback. “That’s why Garon is perfect for him. He’ll be able to help him with how to manage things. And we know we can put Garon in net and get good results.”

“If he leaves, it’ll be a big blow to this franchise and this organization,” goalie Mike Smith said. “I think it’ll determine whether or not people sign back here or how we lure in free agents in the future. It’ll definitely be interesting to figure all that out.”

“We were gonna kind of wait to see what Shane did, too,” Smith said. “Obviously he’s a huge piece of the puzzle in Phoenix.”