Season that wasn’t officially called off
After five months, the obvious becomes official
NHL, NHLPA trade correspondence
The philosophical differences that defined this dispute were too great to overcome, and so the NHL has the ignoble distinction of being the first professional sports league in North America to miss an entire season because of a labor dispute. The Stanley Cup, pro sport’s most honored trophy, the only trophy inscribed with the names of every winning player from every winning team, will not be awarded for the first time since a 1919 influenza epidemic forced the cancellation of the final series.
Someone at the NHL offices in New York must know that I’m a huge fan. I got an email advising me that the 2004-05 season has been cancelled due to the lockout…like I hadn’t already heard the news. Still, it was nice of them to think of me.
Now that the 2004-05 season has officially been cancelled, those of who live for the Stanley Cup playoffs will have to find another diverson. I suppose I can devote that time to my family, seeing as how they manage to indulge my annual mid-April through mid-June obsession. I suppose it would be unreasonable to expect Texas natives to understand the significance of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but I am grateful to Susan and Eric for ceding the big-screen television in the living room to me for those two months.
I’m disappointed now, of course, but I don’t think the significance of all of this will hit me until around mid-April, when the Stanley Cup Playoffs would normally start.
Dear Jack,
The National Hockey League announced today that, because a new collective bargaining agreement has not been realized, it no longer is practical to conduct an abbreviated 2004-05 season.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman issued the following statement:
“Every professional sports league owes its very existence to its fans. Everyone associated with the National Hockey League owes our fans an apology for being unable to accomplish what is necessary for our game and our fans. We are truly sorry.”
Sorry? Not as sorry as you’re going to be when you finally begin playing again. I wonder if the league is prepared to be a regional sport again. As last as the mid-60s, the NHL had teams only in the Northeast and Canada, excepting Chicago and Detroit. In 1967, the NHL granted expansion franchises to St. Louis and Minnesota, but it was still a league that attracted attention only north of the Mason-Dixon Line and in Canada. Now, though, the NHL has 30 teams spread from Phoenix to Vancouver to Montreal to Miami. This lost season may well set the NHL back to a time when it was little more than a regional obsession.
My feelings and my anger right now are a bit too raw to be able to reflect objectively on where the NHL will go from here. To cancel an entire season is the ultimate act of futility. To compare it to killing the Golden Goose may well be an accurate representation. It’s going to take some time for most fans to sort out when, or if, they will come back to the game. I am angry, and I am hurt, but I cannot at this point honestly state how much my anger will hold me back when and/or if the NHL returns.
In a sense, the NHL now has a golden opportunity in front of it. If it comes back in September, the league has the chance to start with a clean slate. Even if the league restarts with replacement players, the league can demonstrate that they care about their fans. They can bring ticket prices down to a level that most fans can actually afford, they can make the game more fan-friendly, they can even institute rule changes to eliminate the clutching, grabbing, and obstruction that has almost ruined the NHL brand of hockey.
Of course, WILL the NHL actually take advantage of the opportunity in front of it? Will Gary Bettman and his band of merrymakers recognize that they MUST convince fans that they now get it, that they realize that without the fans, there IS no NHL? I’m trying to be optimistic, but Bettman has yet to display anything resembling nimble, inspired leadership.
If the NHL decides to begin the 2005-06 season with replacement players, it may well be several years before the league can begin to credibly say that it is back. At least we won’t be paying ridiculous ticket prices so a middling 3rd-line winger can pull down his $3 million/year salary. If this travesty can prevent the NHL from becoming the NBA on ice, it may eventually prove to be a good thing. It’s just hard to see that from where I sit just now.
If you’re interested, you can find a letter from Gary Bettman to NHL fans here. A transcript of NHPLA Executive Director Bob Goodenow’s news conference is available here.
