12 Hours Later...

Having had 12 hours to process the bad news of the day, ie the cancellation of the NHL 2004-05 season, I was as shocked at just how shocked I was that I watched Gary Bettman, commissioner of the National Hockey League, walk to the podium and pronounce the cancellation of the season and actually make it official.

I read, heard and processed the news in my office as I was juggling a half-dozen matters, so being distracted around 10:30 helped immensely. The deadline, which was stated in the League's letter to the executive director of the Players Association, Bob Goodenow, indicated that the League's "final" offer would expire at 11AM the following morning. So, come 11AM, with no response from the Players Association, the press conference scheduled for 1PM was held and the grim news announced.

Many of you reading this, for whatever reason, eye this entire situation with a large degree of skepticism and/or indifference, if at all. Many people outside Canada don't much care about hockey, and while I am in the minority of Americans who really loves the game (both as a player and as a fan) I understand the apathy which this labor dispute has garnered. But inasmuch as hockey is a distant fourth in terms of sport's national popularity, it also has a cult-like fanbase throughout this nation. And in Canada, it's so much a part of culture that "Hockey Night in Canada" easily and unanimously fills bars, living rooms and Saturday night schedules far more universally than Monday Night Football does in the US. Canadian kids enjoy baseball, basketball and football (in both American and Canadian guise), but hockey is religion. To wit, Marty Gaunt, Clean Line Motorsports general manager, a Canadian, observed thusly:

"As one of the few Canadian nationals in stock car racing, [the cancellation of the season] probably affects me more than almost anyone else. There are thousands of NHL fans in the United States, but I don't think they really understand the impact of no professional hockey in Canada. You tell an 8-year-old Canadian kid that there is no Santa Claus, he'll live with that. No hockey? He won't stop crying until it starts next winter."

The Santa Claus analogy is a good one, because today, for both young and old fans of this game, we all finally, soberly, somberly accepted yet another blow to our collective youth: hockey, like all sports, is about sport, competition, fun, enjoyment and smiles. Today's announcement was yet another nail in the coffin symbolizing how far removed from that naive, simple, enjoyable definition professional hockey, and professional sports in general, have become.

To expound on this briefly, I remember the day -- where I was, who I was with, and when -- Mickey Mantle's death was publicized. I also recall the moment Magic Johnson's retirement, coupled with the news that he was HIV-positive, was revealed. I remember Wayne Gretzky's retirement vividly, both the tumultuous days leading up to it, and the ceremony preceding his final game, and seeing grown men crying -- and not only my then-teammates seated in and around my apartment but also stoic, battle-hardened hockey veterans and players alike. Today, to paraphrase Don McLean's "American Pie," was the day the music died.

This problem will be solved eventually, whether it requires the implementation of replacement players, the partial or complete cancellation of next season, or a combination thereof. The two sides were close enough to a resolution, and frankly, had Goodenow's hard-line stance been softened in favor of more conciliatory dialogue that conveyed an interest to bargain rather than simply echo prior "player philosophy," a deal for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement might have been reached today, if not sooner. In my opinion, Gary Bettman has allowed the NHL to wither under his watch; the league has expanded far too rapidly (and part of the NHL's future might be to eliminate teams that are irrelevant once play resumes) and salaries have exploded without the league taking a stand. However, Gary Bettman has largely represented 30 owners who are relatively united in their vision and perspective on the game. Bob Goodenow, in stark contrast, is dictating rather than echoing player sentiment, and during the back-and-forth correspondence between he and Bettman in the final day of negotiations, his final statement to the League was extremely telling: he listed what the Players Association would be willing to accept as part of the new CBA, and then concluded with the following statement: "You will receive nothing further from us."

Asshole.

The lockout commenced five months ago when the League indicated that, without a salary cap, it could not continue to be financially viable. Goodenow told the players that the League's figures were not accurate and that under no circumstances should they accept a salary cap. Of course, as of February 15th, in revealing just how masturbatory Goodenow's foolish brinkmanship strategy really is, the night prior to the cancellation, the Players Association was willing to accept a salary cap of 52 million dollars per team. The NHL's figures, however, could not support a cap of more than 40 million dollars per team. At the last minute, the NHL increased the maximum cap per team to 42.5 million dollars per team as a last-ditch effort to salvage the season, but the Players Association balked.

As I observed, a difference of 12 million between 52 and 40 million is 12 million -- so move the cap to 46 million and everyone goes home happy (and the players play). Except that six million dollars per team translates to $180 million for 30 teams in total, which is a fairly large number; assuming the NHL's figures are accurate, and their maximum cap figure of $40 million is accurate, and the Players Association's figure of 52 million was their lowest acceptable salary cap figure, that translates into a difference of $360 million. That is an extremely wide gap. And despite all the suggestions that this dispute is based on philosophy, respect and remuneration, it's about money, plain and simple.

As much as Bob Goodenow has done what he feels is his best to protect the best interests of his players, it can be concluded that his distrust of the League's financial data is either smokescreen or his unwillingness to accept the truth about the game's financial health. Although he repeatedly suggested the NHL's figures were inaccurate, Mario Lemieux, a player-owner and a highly-respected individual within the NHL who is a lock for the Hall of Fame, indicated that he has perspective from both sides and knew his team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, were incurring loss that might force him to move the team from Pittsburgh. So Goodenow's suggestion that the numbers are wrong was a gamble that proved to be extremely costly, mostly for the people who he was chosen to protect: the players.

Bob Pulford, the General Manager of the Chicago Blackhawks, said "The pendulum has swung so far in the wrong direction that average [NHL player] salary is now $1.8 million. When we played, we drove Chevrolets, and now the players drive Mercedes and Porsches. ... I don't know that the players of our game understand the economics of our game, and I don't know that the union is wanting them to either."

There is clearly distrust on both sides, and bargaining in anything other than good faith almost always fails to bring about a bargain. So between the wide economic distance between the two sides and the distrust between them, it's clear this is a long way from being solved.

So now that there will be no season and no money for players this season, it occurred to me that Goodenow's actions have not only irreparably harmed the players (who will lose all wages for the 2004-05 season) as well as the game of hockey, which might eventually lose some of its teams to contraction. If two teams are contracted, that means that there will be 40 or more NHL-level roster spots eliminated. That means 40 or more players that will be unable to attain salaries that come with NHL status. Seems to me that Goodenow's gamble not only hurt the players in the short-term but in the long-term as well.

When two parties have a dispute, the way to compromise is to first establish the facts, and then see how the two parties can somehow meet in the middle thereof. A compromise never satisfies either party fully, and each side always forfeits some of its desires in order to procure the solution which each considers a requirement. Unfortunately, Mr. Goodenow's handling of this situation put money for his players over the integrity and the health of the game, and in doing so, he not only did irreparable damage to those factors but to his players as well.

It is my hope that the players remove Mr. Goodenow from his position as director of the Players Association and replace him with someone who keeps the perspective that the sport, above all else, is the first and foremost concern. The rancor, dogma and the disregard for the health of the industry in favor of the eventual rewards for its members is a strategy that has, and will continue, to fail.

If the present course is maintained, I hope the NHL begins scouring the minor leagues for replacement players to displace the current batch of NHL players. Once the lockout was imminent, NHL players began going to leagues in Europe and other continents to play; by doing so, they callously displaced a number of players who were happily playing for less money in their own communities. It would only be fair, in my opinion, for these players, as well as those in the minor leagues, to get the chance to play the game they love within a financially-viable framework.

While thinking about this topic the other night, it occurred to me that, as a New York Ranger fan, I will, for the most part, cheer for any player who plays for my team, and root against those players who play for other teams. I have respect for a number of players on other teams, but my allegiance, first and foremost, is to my team. And I would much rather support a team of players who are happy to wear the sweater (jersey) of my team than those who concern themselves more with how much they are paid to do so and less to be playing the game which we all love. So, in essence, I hope and anticipate that time when the game's health is, rightfully, put above the wants and desires of some of its players.

Or to paraphrase Wayne Gretzky, who is famous, despite his incredible skill and abilities, for putting the game above all players, including himself, once stated: "Players come and go, but the game is and always will be here."

Amen.