By Logan Swinkels
Effects of the National Hockey League (NHL) lockout are already starting to show. Many clubs are sending young draft prospects back to junior hockey clubs for further development, and many two-way contract NHL players are being sent to affiliate clubs in the American Hockey League (AHL).
The NHL has issued the following statement to hockey fans:
“Despite the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the National Hockey League has been, and remains, committed to negotiating around the clock to reach a new CBA that is fair to the Players and to the 30 NHL teams.
“Thanks to the conditions fostered by seven seasons under the previous CBA, competitive balance has created arguably the most meaningful regular season in pro sports; a different team has won the Stanley Cup every year; fans and sponsors have agreed the game is at its best, and the League has generated remarkable growth and momentum. While our last CBA negotiation resulted in a seismic change in the League's economic system, and produced corresponding on-ice benefits, our current negotiation is focused on a fairer and more sustainable division of revenues with the Players – as well as other necessary adjustments consistent with the objectives of the economic system we developed jointly with the NHL Players' Association seven years ago. Those adjustments are attainable through sensible, focused negotiation – not through rhetoric.
“This is a time of year for all attention to be focused on the ice, not on a meeting room. The League, the Clubs and the Players all have a stake in resolving our bargaining issues appropriately and getting the puck dropped as soon as possible. We owe it to each other, to the game and, most of all, to the fans.”
Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) has offered to take in NHL players during the lockout. Last season’s MVP Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Sergei Gonchar of the Ottawa Senators, are Russian superstars who have already taken up contracts, setting a precedent for hockey-less players to follow suit.
The KHL has put regulations in place for signing NHL players during the current lockout. Teams can sign a maximum of three NHL players and can only offer a salary up to 65 percent of what they would be earning at their NHL club.
The regular NHL season is scheduled to start October 11, but players and team owners won’t be missing paycheques until the end of October. It’s unlikely the labour dispute will be settled before then.
A key date will be January 1, the day of the NHL’s outdoor showpiece – the Winter Classic. If this were cancelled, it would be a major financial and popularity blow to the League.
For now, hockey fans will have to be content with watching classic documentaries and playing video games to satisfy their puck-and-ice cravings. It could be the only hockey action most fans will get for a while, as both the NHL and NHLPA are settling in for the long haul.
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