Feb. 16, 2005 was an ordinary winter day for most people in this country. But for our neighbors to the north and to a few diehard hockey fans in the United States, it was the worst day in hockey history when NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the cancellation of the 2004-05 season.
Despite having more than a year to reach a collective bargaining agreement, neither the owners nor players were willing to make a deal to salvage the already shortened season.
What disgusts me is that neither side seems the least bit remorseful about the cancellation. It’s just been a nasty war of insults between the NHL Players Association’s Executive Director Bob Goodenow on one side and Bettman and NHL Executive Vice President Bill Daly on the other. Meanwhile, the athletes are either playing golf somewhere sunny or hockey in other leagues.
A year ago, Arthur Levitt, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, reported that the NHL lost $273 million in revenue during the 2002-03 season. However, in its Nov. 29 issue, Forbes magazine said the league lost $123 million – that’s $150 million less than what Levitt reported.
On the other hand, the players are enjoying 75 percent share of the league’s revenue, the highest among baseball, basketball and football. These guys aren’t hurting either. At this point, all that seems to matter is money, not the integrity of the game or the fans.
Both sides are to blame for this mess, and to be honest, I don’t know if the NHL will ever recover from it. The players and owners are so hellbent on keeping their pockets full of millions that they are willing to throw the league away. They must know that hockey is a distant last when it comes to popularity among the four major sports, so why quit now?
In addition, owners and players know that 30 teams are too many, ticket prices are too high and that the seats just aren’t filling up. They still have to wrestle with the issue of violence, especially with Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks pleading guilty to assault charges earlier this year. In 2004, Bertuzzi sucker punched Colorado Avalanche Steve Moore from behind, breaking his neck, jaw and giving him a concussion. Scoring has dropped and many are complaining that the game is getting too boring with the implementation of the neutral zone trap.
One of the saddest things to come out of this awful mess is the hundreds of people who were relying on having a season to feed their families and pay their bills. The non-contract employees (including ushers, concession workers, team officials, parking attendants and front office staff) all have to look elsewhere for a job.
While an usher struggles to figure out a way to pay his electric bill, an owner and a player struggle to figure out which golf course to play in their free time. Rest in peace, NHL.
