The league met on November 3rd, followed by a seven hour negotiation on November 6th, a six hour meeting on November 7th and other sessions on November 8th and 9th. Prior to last Saturday, the two sides had not met since October 18th.
As things stand, the season is cancelled until November 30th (the equivalent of 326 games) and the Winter Classic has also been cancelled. The 2014 Winter Classic will be also be held at Michigan Stadium between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs; ticket holders for this sought after event have the option of receiving a refund for the ticket price or retaining the tickets for next year’s game.
No comments were made by either side on the content or subject matter of the meetings, only that key issues were discussed. Persistent reporters were unable to get any answers from both the League’s and Players Association’s representatives after the meetings which took place at an undisclosed location in New York. Gary Bettman made it clear in one interview that he did not want the media involved when he asked a reporter “How did you find us anyways?” It appears that the two sides have finally learned their lessons after painting each other the villain in previous weeks. Their former methods of releasing their offers to the media and portraying the opposing side as the unreasonable one that should just accept the offer ending the lockout, was obviously not productive.
The two sides are meeting and talking, which is more than what could be said of the weeks passed. However, with no release of meeting contents, it is hard to judge whether any progress is being made. Will the players and owners come to a compromise that satisfies both sides or will they wait it out and play a game of chicken until one side caves.?
Let’s not forget that aside from a few prosperous markets, a number of teams in the league lost money last season and have been for a while. According to an analysis conducted by Forbes Magazine during the 2010-2011 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, and Edmonton Oilers collectively produced a $212M profit with the remaining 25 teams losing a combined $86M. In the present (now out of date) bargaining agreement, the league shares $150M dollars with teams around the league, with propositions being made to increase that number to $190M and $250M by the owners and players respectively. Such an increase in revenue sharing must understandably have owners of the Leafs, Rangers, and Canadiens a little uneasy. Speculation could almost be made for a slight division in the owners’ camp on this issue, with the unprofitable markets identifying with the players’ wishes for more revenue sharing. But before I make it seem as though the league is in a state of disarray, with teams not being financially capable of putting a competitive squad on the ice each night, we should all remember that the NHL is one of the more balanced professional sports leagues around considering that the Phoenix Coyotes made it to the Conference Finals last season.
There may not be a 2012-2013 season, but that does not mean that the hockey world completely shuts down. For example, the celebration for the 2012 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees was this past Monday with this year’s inductees includeing Pavel Bure, Adam Oates, Joe Sakic, and Mats Sundin.
In other news, the Western Hockey League plays the Russian All-Stars in Vancouver tonight before the Subway Super Series draws to a close tomorrow in Victoria, BC. The series posts an all-star team of Russian junior players traveling across the country facing off against all-star teams From the QMJHL, OHL, and WHL for six games (two versus each Canadian junior league).
Life doesn’t end with the absence of an NHL season, but any hockey fan would agree that there is definitely something missing.
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