The Man Advantage: "The Song Remains the Same" for NHL

When the NHL lost the entire 2004-05 season due to CBA negotiations and the resulting lockout, fans prayed the NHL Players Association and franchise owners would have learned their lesson. No one expected another lockout seeming likely a month before the 2012-13 season is set to begin. Lo and behold, here we are eight years later with the same sense of impending doom looming over the NHL as we did the last time the NHLPA and Board of Governors sat down to discuss collective bargaining. 

As I said four months ago, the NHL cannot afford another lockout. As reported by BleacherReport, it took the NHL six years to see its ratings recover from the previous lockout—another lockout would be disastrous. Many big name players (such as Joe Thornton and Rick Nash) are already rumored to have offers on the table from European teams for this next season.

Last week, Chris Botta of SportsBusiness Journal reported that “NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman received almost $8 million in salary and benefits during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011”, more than double what he made before the 2004-05 lockout. Making this worse, the league reported a loss of $14.7 million for this past fiscal year. The league is "losing money," but the commissioner (as well as several other top league officials) all saw significant increases to their salary.

Add in the looming labor strike (and a NBC Sports contract that still leaves much to be desired) and it’s a situation that seems daunting, at the very least. For the last few months, the league has done nothing to reassure fans of a peaceful resolution to this dispute—the league cancelled its annual season opening games in Europe, and Detroit recently cancelled the 15^th annual Traverse City Prospect Tournament because of the labor uncertainty. The preseason is likely next, and a prolonged dispute might also cancel the All Star Game, if not the entire season.

If the NHL wants to regain its position as one of the “Big Four” North American sports, they have to come to a solution quickly. Donald Fehr and the Player’s Association remain optimistic, but, with less than a month from the September 15^th deadline, there has been no progress in negotiations. There is still a wide gap between the owners and the NHLPA’s demands. Any work stoppage would be disastrous for the league. The NFL and NBA have had years of good favor with fans and the media to lean upon with their potential work stoppages--the NHL doesn't have that same luxury. 

The writing’s on the wall, and fans, it doesn’t look good.