NHL season approach "best before" date

It's encouraging to see some real negotiations finally taking place between the NHL owners and players.  It seems a sense of desperation has finally taken hold because we are likely just a few weeks away from cancelling the entire season and who would benefit from that?

I've believed for some time now that an agreement could not be reached with Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr at the table.  So it comes as no surprise to me that talks without the "chief negotiators" have made progress.

So if a deal does get down this weekend, what happens to Bettman and Fehr?  Mostly likely nothing but what type of leadership did they show during the standoff other than obstinacy?  Can the two sides work together moving forward with Bettman and Fehr still around?