I think this quote from Mario Lemieux helps show where some of the players are coming from:

A few years ago, I thought the owners were making a lot of money and were hiding some under the table," he said. "But then I got on this side and saw the losses this league was accumulating.
The NHL revenue stream is much different from that of European leagues, minor leagues, etc. Many of the players are probably thinking that if a bunch of money is coming in, they're more entitled to it than the owners are.

It's all kind of silly anyway. If it didn't cost so damn much to go to a game, maybe there would be a more reasonable pool of cash for the bastards to fight over.