NEW YORK - Apologizing to fans on what he called "a sad, regrettable day," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the season on Wednesday, unable to wrest from the players' union the sweeping concessions he deemed essential to reinforcing the league's shaky economic footing.
The NHL, whose small TV revenues and limited fan appeal rank it behind Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NBA among the "big four" sports, became the first major North American sports league to lose an entire season because of a labor dispute. The Stanley Cup, awarded every year but one since 1893, will not be kissed and cradled and paraded before a roaring crowd this spring.
"We're done losing money as a league," a somber Bettman said at a news conference here. "We weren't looking to make a great deal, we were looking to make a fair deal. There's no reason, with the right economic system, we can't have 30 healthy, competitive teams."
The announcement ended two days of intense negotiations marked by major moves on both sides but not enough progress to produce a consensus and play the 28-game season the league had prepared last week.
Tacitly acknowledging Bettman's claims that clubs had lost money, if not agreeing with a league-commissioned report that put losses at more than $1.8 billion the last decade, the NHL Players' Association dropped its opposition to a salary cap. That concession came after the NHL proposed setting a cap at a negotiated figure and not linking it to league revenues. Players had resisted that link because they say they do not trust owners' accounting.
The union, whose members earned an average salary of $1.83 million in 2003-2004, proposed a cap late Monday of $52 million per team. The NHL proposed $40 million. Each budged, and the final difference appeared to be small: the Players' Assn. proposed operating under a salary cap of $49 million per team, while the NHL's maximum was $42.5 million. However, Bettman said the league-wide difference would have been $200 million "which we didn't have."
Tim Leiweke, president of the Kings and a member of the NHL's executive committee, said Bettman did what owners had asked him to do in attempting to fix the league's broken economic system - but added that no one felt triumphant.
"Smart people should have solved this by today," Leiweke said. "I'm ashamed of what we just did, and I hope all of us feel that way."
There were no negotiations between about 9:15 p.m. EST on Tuesday, when the union rejected Bettman's final $42.5-million cap proposal, and the 11 a.m. Wednesday deadline Bettman had set for the essence of a deal to be in place. The silence was a contrast to the frantic final hours of the last labor dispute, a decade ago, which was resolved in time to save 48 games of the 1994-95 season.
"We had momentum this week. This had a chance to get done," said Pat Brisson, an influential agent. "I blame the league. The league did not move much after the players moved so much. The league is to blame for not closing the gap."
Bettman, whose league generated revenues of $2.1 billion in 2002-03 but lost its five-year, $600-million TV contract with ABC/ESPN after last season, said the NHL had given all it could give. And NHLPA Executive Director Bob Goodenow, after saying the league "will receive nothing from us," kept his word.
"I hoped we'd never see the unthinkable," Goodenow said during a news conference in Toronto, where the union has its headquarters. "The players never asked for more money. They just asked for a marketplace to exist so they could negotiate with their clubs for what they're worth. ...
"Gary owes an apology because he started the lockout. Yes, we apologize to the fans. We've done an awful lot to get to a fair resolution, but it's the other side we have not been able to make contact with."
Each side said its previous proposals will be off the table when negotiations resume, after a cooling-off period. Bettman said the NHL will revert to linking payrolls and revenues "because nobody knows what the revenues are going to be." Goodenow said the 24 percent across-the-board pay cut players had taken was no longer automatic. "It's a fresh start," he said.
Bettman said the league will soon discuss plans for the entry draft and the 2005-2006 season. One option is to declare an impasse, unilaterally implement labor rules and bring in replacement players, which surely would result in legal battles.
Leiweke predicted next season might also be wiped out.
"I'm only one of 30 owners and just one voice," he said, "but I will tell Gary that we should not and will not come back until we get an economic system that works. ... This is not a sport that will easily survive."
How much it has been missed is open to question. Replacement programming on ESPN2 has averaged a 0.4 rating, double what the network's NHL telecasts averaged at this point last year.
Fans were quick to express their disgust.
"I mostly blame the players," said Kristen Mazza, 33, a King fan and UC Irvine business assistant who lives in Huntington Beach. "I don't have much sympathy for someone who makes more in one year than I'll make in 30 years."
"We're done losing money as a league," a somber Bettman said at a news conference here. "We weren't looking to make a great deal, we were looking to make a fair deal. There's no reason, with the right economic system, we can't have 30 healthy, competitive teams."
The announcement ended two days of intense negotiations marked by major moves on both sides but not enough progress to produce a consensus and play the 28-game season the league had prepared last week.
Tacitly acknowledging Bettman's claims that clubs had lost money, if not agreeing with a league-commissioned report that put losses at more than $1.8 billion the last decade, the NHL Players' Association dropped its opposition to a salary cap. That concession came after the NHL proposed setting a cap at a negotiated figure and not linking it to league revenues. Players had resisted that link because they say they do not trust owners' accounting.
The union, whose members earned an average salary of $1.83 million in 2003-2004, proposed a cap late Monday of $52 million per team. The NHL proposed $40 million. Each budged, and the final difference appeared to be small: the Players' Assn. proposed operating under a salary cap of $49 million per team, while the NHL's maximum was $42.5 million. However, Bettman said the league-wide difference would have been $200 million "which we didn't have."
Tim Leiweke, president of the Kings and a member of the NHL's executive committee, said Bettman did what owners had asked him to do in attempting to fix the league's broken economic system - but added that no one felt triumphant.
"Smart people should have solved this by today," Leiweke said. "I'm ashamed of what we just did, and I hope all of us feel that way."
There were no negotiations between about 9:15 p.m. EST on Tuesday, when the union rejected Bettman's final $42.5-million cap proposal, and the 11 a.m. Wednesday deadline Bettman had set for the essence of a deal to be in place. The silence was a contrast to the frantic final hours of the last labor dispute, a decade ago, which was resolved in time to save 48 games of the 1994-95 season.
"We had momentum this week. This had a chance to get done," said Pat Brisson, an influential agent. "I blame the league. The league did not move much after the players moved so much. The league is to blame for not closing the gap."
Bettman, whose league generated revenues of $2.1 billion in 2002-03 but lost its five-year, $600-million TV contract with ABC/ESPN after last season, said the NHL had given all it could give. And NHLPA Executive Director Bob Goodenow, after saying the league "will receive nothing from us," kept his word.
"I hoped we'd never see the unthinkable," Goodenow said during a news conference in Toronto, where the union has its headquarters. "The players never asked for more money. They just asked for a marketplace to exist so they could negotiate with their clubs for what they're worth. ...
"Gary owes an apology because he started the lockout. Yes, we apologize to the fans. We've done an awful lot to get to a fair resolution, but it's the other side we have not been able to make contact with."
Each side said its previous proposals will be off the table when negotiations resume, after a cooling-off period. Bettman said the NHL will revert to linking payrolls and revenues "because nobody knows what the revenues are going to be." Goodenow said the 24 percent across-the-board pay cut players had taken was no longer automatic. "It's a fresh start," he said.
Bettman said the league will soon discuss plans for the entry draft and the 2005-2006 season. One option is to declare an impasse, unilaterally implement labor rules and bring in replacement players, which surely would result in legal battles.
Leiweke predicted next season might also be wiped out.
"I'm only one of 30 owners and just one voice," he said, "but I will tell Gary that we should not and will not come back until we get an economic system that works. ... This is not a sport that will easily survive."
How much it has been missed is open to question. Replacement programming on ESPN2 has averaged a 0.4 rating, double what the network's NHL telecasts averaged at this point last year.
Fans were quick to express their disgust.
"I mostly blame the players," said Kristen Mazza, 33, a King fan and UC Irvine business assistant who lives in Huntington Beach. "I don't have much sympathy for someone who makes more in one year than I'll make in 30 years."
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.