Athletistic/Hockey. The 2004/2005 season became a test for hockey forfeits. For the first time in its history, the National Hockey League (NHL) has completely canceled an entire season. Additionally, at that time there was no pandemic or large-scale world war. And the lockout was the cause.
The lockout lasted 310 days. The pretext was a conflict between the players’ union (AJLNH) and the league management. In the summer of 2004, the agreement between the union and the NHL ended. The stumbling block in the negotiations between the “important guys in expensive suits” was the question of the introduction of a strict salary cap, as well as the economic structure of the league’s teams. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman wanted significant pay cuts and a mandatory salary cap, but the players’ union didn’t agree with that. The parties were so far from an agreement that on September 15, a month before the official opening of the season, Gary Bettman announced the start of a lockout.
Background
This was not the first lockout. The first took place in April 1992 and was then initiated by the NHLPA. Then the question arose of the indexation of hockey players’ salaries. The strike began near the end of the season and lasted only 10 days. The missed matches were then rescheduled. The second lockout occurred during the 1994–95 season and shortened that campaign by almost half. The reasons were the same. Then the union won the dispute again and the NHL was forced to sign an agreement with the union on its terms. However, Gary Bettman learned his lessons and ten years later he wasn’t even going to compromise. The reasons for these harsh actions were the poor economy of the teams. In the mid-2000s, salaries for even average hockey players were incredibly inflated. The sports component also suffered, since the competition completely disappeared – poor teams could not compete with the money bags.
After the lockout was announced, many European hockey players began signing contracts with teams from their countries. It was during the 2004/2005 season that almost all Russian superstars, as well as many top foreign players, took part in the Russian championship. The most famous of them was Czech striker Jaromir Jagr, who came to entertain Omsk Avangard supporters.
Photo source: HC “Avangard”
A total of 388 people have signed contracts with different European clubs. 78 people played in Russia, 75 in Sweden, 51 in the Czech Republic, 45 in Finland, 43 in Switzerland. In addition, some players signed contracts with clubs from Belarus, Latvia, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Norway. From the remaining NHL players, the “World Stars” team was formed, which in December 2004 played 10 matches with different European teams.
Houston, we have problems.
Initially, all experts thought the lockout would last several months, but as Christmas approached, everyone would make concessions again and sign an agreement. But every week, that faith melted. In November 2004, the union began paying “unemployment benefits” to its members. Players received $10,000 per month. Union representatives and Gary Bettman attended various television and radio shows and attempted to convey their views to the public. Naturally, the majority of people were on the players’ side and even organized flash mobs to support the teams and call for Bettman’s resignation. However, the league held firm: a salary cap was necessary. Point.
In December, after nearly three months of inaction, the NHL players’ union presented a new proposal regarding the terms of the collective agreement. The main point of the proposal is to reduce the salaries of all hockey players by 24%, but ignoring the hard salary cap. Bettman’s answer was always the same: no. NHL officials explained this by saying that this proposal could help stabilize the teams’ financial situation for just a few years, but in no way solves problems that will arise in the future.
Against this backdrop, hockey advertising began to disappear from NHL team arenas and some enterprising stadium owners sublet them. If previously only Europeans managed to return to their home countries and sign temporary contracts with teams, now many Canadians decided to follow their example and began to leave en masse to Russia, Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland. It became clear that, for the first time, the season could be canceled altogether. And on February 6, 2005, Gary Bettman officially canceled the regular season and the 2005 Stanley Cup. It was all leading up to this, but it still came as a real shock to many. It was not until 1919 that the Cup became ownerless – the final series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Millionaires was abandoned after five games due to the severe Spanish flu epidemic that broke out in South America. North.
Photo source: NHL
Such a drastic measure on Bettman’s part left no chance for the players to continue to blackmail the league. They were faced with a choice: either receive $10,000 a month and hope for a miracle, or make concessions to the league and return to what they love. After that, the union had no choice but to accept all of the NHL’s terms and sign a new agreement on July 21 on the league’s terms.
The new agreement stipulated:
1) the introduction of a “hard salary cap”. In the 2005/2006 season, this amount was set at $39 million, with the possibility of further increases depending on the growth of the league itself;
2) establish a “salary floor”;
3) cancellation of the draw results
4) introduction of post-match penalties during regular season matches;
5) reduction of all existing player contracts by 24%;
6) cancel the red line;
7) introduction of a delayed offside position.
Results
Gary Bettman’s reform changed the NHL forever. Since then, any team, regardless of money, can succeed. The global financial and economic crisis of 2008 barely affected the NHL and all franchises withstood the economic pressure. After that there will be another lockout in the league (the 2012/2013 season, which lasted 119 days), but it will be much less irreconcilable and the main problem will be the distribution of money. In many ways, the NHL we see today and its successes are the personal credit of Harry Bettman. He proved himself to be a competent manager, capable of overcoming vital conditions. Years have shown him to be absolutely right. In conclusion, there is only one non-economic indicator: over the past 19 years, 12 teams have raised the Stanley Cup over their heads. The league has been leveled!
Nikita Serbakov, Athletistic
Source: Sport
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
