Throughout the 2003-'04 National Hockey League season, rumors of a possible lockout have loomed over the league, both on and off the ice. As of today, the owners, represented by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL Player's Association, led by union chief Bob Goodenow, are meeting in Toronto to negotiate terms. The two sides have until Sept. 15, the official end of their current collective bargaining agreement, to resolve their differences.
Currently, the primary issue has been coming up with a game plan to stop the league from hemorrhaging money. According to The Associated Press, owners are claiming losses of about $273 million in the 2002-'03 season. Attendance has dropped for one-third of the league's 30 franchises. The losses are also expected to factor heavily into the renegotiation of the television contracts this year, as the league has suffered its lowest ratings amongst the major sports leagues with shares of 0.5 and 0.2 on ESPN and ESPN2, prompting the network to offer to pay only half the price of their current agreement.
One explanation as to why the NHL is experiencing such financial woes is due to Bettman possibly over-expanding the league during the 1990s. When Bettman took over in 1993, there were 21 franchises in the league. Today, there are 30 franchises, and in such nontraditional hockey markets as Nashville, Miami and San Jose. And while the money to install these franchises provided a temporary boom, it is this rapid expansion that NHLPA-member agent and UW law school graduate William Zito Jr. says is thinning the overall NHL market.
\The players didn't run to Gary Bettman and say, 'We need new franchises.' The owners did that! So now what happens? The collective bargaining agreement creates a situation in some markets that makes it difficult to succeed .... So why is there a team in Nashville?"" inquires Zito Jr.
Meanwhile, the owners are taking a stance on the current collective bargaining negotiations towards imposing a ""cost certainty"" to player salaries, otherwise known as a salary cap. This has led to the current stalemate in negotiations, as the players' union is adamantly opposed to any salary cap imposition.
According to Zito Jr., the issue for the players is not a possible cut to their salaries, but rather the right to allow the markets to dictate their salaries instead of a hard-line cap.
""The players are mindful that it's not always an open market, but markets are very real. Gary Bettman is trying to say, 'we want to force this down the players' throats,'"" Zito Jr. said. ""[The players] are not saying, 'we want to make more money'. The players are saying 'let the markets dictate.'""
Although individual agents do not represent the NHLPA in any way in the collective bargaining process, Zito Jr. and a handful of other agents met with Goodenow earlier this season. There, the union chief explained the players' stance even further to the agents, even going as far as showing them the players association's offer that the owners reject, stating that owners refuse to even consider anything without a salary cap.
""[Goodenow] said, 'These are proposals that we presented to Gary Bettman in the fall.' There was a five percent pay cut across the board. It had to do with an increasing tax according to payroll. And Gary Bettman said, 'No. Here's what we want: a hard salary cap,'"" Zito Jr. said.
""And this is the question to every question regarding the owners' lockout: Is there a [collective bargaining agreement] that does not have a salary cap and could possibly work? The worst answer they could give is maybe. You can't say no! How do you know that there's not one that works? Right now, Gary Bettman is saying no there's not. And you can't say that without a straight face and expect to be taken as a credible person,"" Zito Jr. said.
At this time, both the NHL officials and NHL players union officials have declined to comment. But with no progress in sight, the possiblity that the current playoffs will be the last fans will see of Brett Hull, Jerome Iginla or Eddie Belfour is looking more and more inevitable. And for some of these struggling franchises, there might not be an overtime to go into.
The NHL and the players union are discussing reducing the schedule to 72 games. The union sees less games as less fatigue for the players, creating a better product, while the NHL could create a more appealing schedule with more games on weekends.
