MONTREAL - NHL fans are expressing frustration with the inability of the owners and players to reach a deal to get the puck moving on the hockey season.

One diehard Habs fan, who sports a CH tattoo, articulated the increasing sense of pessimism about a possible settlement.

“There's a lot of work to be done, a lot of compromises to be made. Right now I don't think either side is willing to go much further,” said Bob Baxter.

NHL players have been receiving 57 percent of overall league revenues as dictated by the previous bargaining agreement. Owners are proposing that be lowered to 49 percent in the new deal.

There was even a request for an injunction against the lockout in Quebec, but it was rejected.

“We know how important hockey is to Quebec,” said Alexandra Dagg of the NHL Players' Association. “We took this action in Quebec to try and stop the owners’ lockout of the Montreal Canadiens.”

Several fans interviewed by CTV Montreal appeared profoundly fed up by the ongoing standoff.

“When there's this much revenue to split, it's difficult for them to come to an agreement, so I'm not really surprised,” said hockey aficionado Bruce Witt. “There's too much money involved. So it's a little greedy on both sides.”

Another said that fans might not be able to identify with their hockey heroes’ big-money grievance.

“It's more of a privilege to play hockey than a right, so anybody who does get to play in the NHL is quite lucky to begin with,” said hockey fan Don Gordon.

“You can say that the average man on the street makes about $45,000 a year and they have to watch millionaires fighting over contracts, that's ridiculous,” he said.

Local businesses that rely on revenues brought by hockey fans are also worried about their future.

“We already stopped hiring for the season. Normally at this time we would be hiring more staff but we've had to slow that down,” said Steven Vincelli who manages the Baton Rouge restaurant, an establishment which thrives on feeding hockey appetites.

Vincelli said that the restaurant is doing its all to keep going.

“We're contacting all of the hotels in the area, telling them that we're available and we're open and we talking to the concierges and asking them to send us as much of their business over here as possible,” he said.