The NHL Playoffs are underway, and we’ve already had enough excitement for an entire season for many fans in the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia series, High scoring games, violent, passionate fights, spectacular saves, suspensions between bitter rivals, let alone the other fourteen teams still playing hockey.
Nevertheless, the battle behind the games wages on. The NHL is on the cusp of another CBA negotiation period—last time the NHLPA and Board of Governors met to renegotiate the CBA, there was a lockout that wiped out the entire 05-06 season, damaging the league’s standing as one of the “Big Four” sports.
Nontraditional ma
rkets like Los Angeles (leading Vancouver 3-0), Florida (leading New Jersey 2-1), Nashville (leading Detroit 2-1), and Phoenix (leading Chicago 2-1) are doing quite well this postseason. The question is: is this good for the NHL? One of the major concerns going into the 2004 lockout was parity—small market teams felt as if they did not have as good a chance to compete with the large market teams (the New York Rangers especially).
rkets like Los Angeles (leading Vancouver 3-0), Florida (leading New Jersey 2-1), Nashville (leading Detroit 2-1), and Phoenix (leading Chicago 2-1) are doing quite well this postseason. The question is: is this good for the NHL? One of the major concerns going into the 2004 lockout was parity—small market teams felt as if they did not have as good a chance to compete with the large market teams (the New York Rangers especially).In the six (not counting this season) years since the lockout, we’ve seen six different champions between 10 different franchises. In the six seasons before the lockout, nine different teams made the Stanley Cup Finals, with 5 different champions. Since the lockout only two non-traditional market teams (Carolina in 05-06 and Anaheim in 06-07) have won the Cup. In the six seasons before the lockout, four nontraditional franchises made the finals (Anaheim, Dallas, Carolina, and Tampa Bay) made the finals, with two champions (Dallas in 1998-99, Tampa Bay in 2003-04). For all intents and purposes, there’s not been a remarkable difference.
The lockout has done little to help smaller/non-traditional market franchises. New Jersey, Florida, Columbus, New York Islanders, and Phoenix are all struggling financially, while two franchises (Phoenix and the now relocated Atlanta) have struggled to find ownership groups to solidify their futures financially.
Daniel Kaplan’s April 16 SBJ article, he discusses two first round foes, the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers, who have struggled to break even this past year. Without deep playoff runs, both are expected to finish millions in the red. This can partially be contributed to poor TV ratings. Florida’s 0.21 and New Jersey’s 0.34 ratings this past season ranked 30th and 27th in the entire NHL. To make matters worse, the teams average percentage of arena capacity at home games ranked 24th (86.6%) and 23rd (87.6%) in the league. Only one other playoff team, Phoenix (dead last, at 72.5%), had below 95% home attendance this season.
The league cannot continue to have franchises struggle so mightily. Something has to change. A major TV contract would go a long way, but the current NBC Universal deal leaves much to be desired compared to the other major sports. There has been very little progress on CBA negotiations thus far. The league cannot afford another season-damaging lockout.
