I feel the time is ripe to tackle what is, to Canadians, a very, very depressing story. No, it is not the sputtering economy; no, it is not about environmental doomsday; it is not even the impending 8 months of cold and darkness that we have started to bite into… …it is, for my Canadian friends and many others around the Northern Hemisphere, a far more devastating story…
… it looks like the NHL season will be cancelled.
The players union were locked out by owners in the summer after the players rejected the owners first offer to renew their work agreement. This offer, among other things, gave owners 57% of hockey related revenue. Last week, there was some hope with the owners offering an immediate 50%-50% split of hockey related revenue with players. This was contingent on players getting a pay-cut on contracts that were already signed. The players replied with a 50%-50% split to be phased in and with no pay-cuts on existing contracts. Both were rejected.
While I think the players win the moral argument… a contract is a contract… I fear if this season is cancelled, there may be no more NHL for the players to play in any more.