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NHL owners to lock out players Thursday
September 15, 2004

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, right, presents the Stanley Cup to Dave Andreychuk of the Tampa Bay Lightning in June 2004, on a happier occasion. Wednesday, Bettman criticized the NHL players union for not accepting a contract proposal from the NHL owners, and announced a lockout beginning Thursday. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

New York, N.Y. — (AP) - The National Hockey League will lock out its players Thursday, threatening to keep the sport off the ice for the entire 2004-05 season.

The long-expected decision was approved unanimously Wednesday by NHL owners, who are demanding cost certainty, which players say would be tantamount to a salary cap.

Commissioner Gary Bettman repeatedly belittled the union's bargaining position during a news conference to announce the lockout, talked about the possibility the confrontation would extend into the 2005-06 season and said the stoppage makes it less likely the NHL will participate in the 2006 Olympics.

He made clear that this entire season could be sacrificed and said play could not extend into July.

"If there's enough time to play some games, we'll do it," he said. "If not, we won't."

The sides have not met since a bargaining session last Thursday ended with the parties far apart, and there is almost no chance the season will start as scheduled on Oct. 13. Bettman told teams to release their arenas for other events for the next 30 days.

An honest partnership can never be achieved under the leagues 'my-way-or-the-highway' approach. ... Gary and the owners have chosen, through a lockout, to try to force players to accept a system they know players would never agree to. - Bob Goodenow, head of the NHL Players' Association

"Unfortunately, the league has rejected all opportunities for compromise, while stubbornly insisting that Gary Bettman has the single solution to every problem - a salary cap," union head Bob Goodenow said. "An honest partnership can never be achieved under the leagues `my-way-or-the-highway' approach. ... Gary and the owners have chosen, through a lockout, to try to force players to accept a system they know players would never agree to."

Bettman said the league's proposals would lower the average player salary from $1.8 million to $1.3 million and said past losses gave owners no other choice. He also made clear that declaring an impasse under U.S. labor law and imposing new work rules unilaterally was an option, but said it has not yet been considered.

"I think it's probably fair to say we're at an impasse right now," he said.

Owners have contributed $300 million to a league fund to help get them through a lockout, and the union has retained licensing money to help its members. Bettman said about 20 teams would lose less money during a lockout than they would if play continued.

"The present system doesn't work for us," said Jim Rutherford, the president and general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes. "We need a new system. We're all frustrated by it."

Players vow to resist a salary cap and, with the positions entrenched, a long stoppage is likely, one that could wipe out the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1919, when the series between Montreal and Seattle was stopped after five games due a Spanish influenza epidemic.

The 30 teams - 24 in the United States and six in Canada - had been set to start opening training camps on Thursday, the day after the expiration of the current labor contract. The deal was first agreed to in 1995 and extended two years later through Sept. 15, 2004. Bettman termed the extension "a mistake, in hindsight."

Officials from the Minnesota Wild, St. Paul's NHL franchise, issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, apologizing to the team's fans, business partners and employees.

"We hope the Minnesota Wild will be playing hockey soon, but for now, training camp for the Minnesota Wild will be delayed and the start of the season is in jeopardy," the team said. "The league has our support as we take this difficult but necessary step toward creating a new economic system that allows all teams to be competitive. We hope this will be accomplished soon."

Some NHL players are expected to sign with European leagues, and others could join a six-team, four-on-four circuit called the Original Stars Hockey League, which is set to start play Friday in Barrie, Ontario. Others could go to a revived World Hockey Association, which plans to open Oct. 29 with eight teams playing 76 games apiece.

Bettman said approximately 100 employees from the NHL's central staff of about 225 will be terminated to save money, most on Sept. 20.

The stoppage is the first for a North American major league since the 1997-98 NBA lockout canceled 464 games, cutting each club's regular-season schedule from 82 games to 50.

It is the third stoppage for the NHL following a 10-day strike in 1992 that caused the postponement of 30 games and a 103-day lockout in 1994-95 that eliminated 468 games, cutting each team's regular-season schedule from 84 games to 48. That lockout ended on Jan. 11, five days before the deadline set by Bettman to scuttle the season.

Baseball has had eight work stoppages, the last running for 7 and a half months in 1994-95. It caused the cancellation of 921 regular-season games over two years and wiped out the World Series for the first time since 1904. While the NFL has had four strikes, including two during the regular season, the sport has enjoyed labor peace since 1987.

NHL management claims it needs changes in the labor contract because teams are losing money, $273 million in 2002-03 and $224 million last season, according to the league.

The NHL's average salary has risen from $733,000 at the time of the last lockout to $1.8 million last season, according to the NHL players' association. While NHL revenue rose from $732 million in 1993-94 to $1.9 billion in 2002-03, the league says that player costs have increased from 57 percent of revenue to 75 percent over that period, figures the union disputes.

Unlike the other major sports, the NHL's revenue from broadcasting is relatively small, $449 million from national and local contracts and new media in 2002-03, according to the league. The five games of the Stanley Cup finals on ABC averaged just a 2.6 rating last spring and the two on ESPN a 1.2 cable rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. This year's Super Bowl had a 41.3 rating on CBS, while last year's World Series averaged a 12.8 on Fox and this year's NBA finals an 11.5 on ABC.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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