Recent Events in NHL History

Alberta's Child | 2/18/05 | Self

[Alberta's Child]

This is a rough timeline of events leading up to the current labor dispute in the National Hockey League and the cancellation of the 2004-05 season. While there may not be a lot of hockey fans among us here on FreeRepublic, I'm posting this because I think it gives a good summary of what's transpired in the NHL over the last 35 years for those who may be curious. You may see some recurring themes here in other professional sports.

As you can see, the NHL has never really been a very stable professional sports league -- and has quite a colorful history as well. And yet hockey is an incredible sport to watch and play . . . it has a serious "cult following" among its fans that runs deeper than any other sport in North America. Very few people who take the time to see a game in person will come away unimpressed, and it's my hope that the game will emerge from the current NHL mess in better shape than it's been in recent years.

I look forward to any comments!

[Alberta's Child]

Can you send this to your hockey ping list? Thanks!

[Dan from Michigan]

Bump to read later.

[kevkrom]

I figured it was going to be a blank page... ;)

[reagandemo]

"Recent Events in NHL History" Nothing, Nada, Zippo. The Union thugs have assured that there is no recent history in the NHL.

[AmishDude]

Alan Eagleson, the head of the NHL Players' Association from 1967-1991, is indicted for fraud and embezzlement in 1994 for his dealings with the NHLPA and is later convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prision.

[AppyPappy]

Hockey began to suck when they tried to make it friendly to TV. They need more Jeff Brubakers and less Peggy Flemings.

[ken5050]

Nice job..Much of what happened in this negotiation can be uderstood, IMHO, if one accepts the premise that the league wanted the season to be cancelled, and wants to break the union..by declaring an impasse, imposing a new contract, and opening next season with replacement players and those union members who chose to cross the picket lines..

1. Everything you said about the mistakes the league made is correct..However, once the expansion plan was begun, it had to be completed, otherwise the legal problems would have been monumetal. That's why the NHL twice extended a bad, money losing, CBA..they had no choice..

2. The current math is obvious..the owners lose LESS by NOT playing, than if they played...so it's a no-brainer..

3. And despite what Bettman says, the ONLY way the league can regain popularity AND a solid financial footing is through a restructuring..a contraction of maybe 4-7 teams...If they tried to do this while operating under a CBA, it would require huge negotiations with the union, because you'd be eliminating 100-200 players' jobs, and also the terms of any disperal draft..it would be a nightmare..The best, nay the only way to do this is AFTER an impasse had been declared, and new rules imposed by the league..

Bettman is out to break the union..Remember the counter-offer to the players' 25% roll-back? The league proposed a deal that would exempt ANY player making less than $800k..

4.So now, when the league next comes back with say a $32 million cap..they'll again exempt two-thirds of the players from any cut..and put the onus entirely on the high-paid players to give back their excessive salaries..Classic divide and conquer..

The union is dominated by the agents, and they are only concerned about the high paid superstars..Unlike the UAW, where everyone is paid about the same..in sports you have a HUGE disparity between league journeymen, and the superstars..the league is exploiting this disparity..The majority of players earning less than a million, having lost one year's pay, will NOT do so again..

5. The first rule of war, and politics..is KNOW they enemy. Bettman came from the NBA..he was Stern's right-hand -man for many years..and look what Stern did to the players. He broke the union with the lockout...imposed the salary cap...The NHLPA never read Lord Acton..

[Alberta's Child]

The events that transpired during the tenures of Ziegler and Eagleson offer a lot of insight into what the league is dealing with right now. Bettman was hired because the NHL needed a (relatively) competent commissioner who wouldn't be on vacation in Europe during the Stanley Cup finals. Goodenow was hired because the NHLPA needed an executive director who wouldn't end up in jail.

[Loyalist]

Excellent timeline!

There are some strange stories still to be told about the erratic fortunes of some teams--the St. Louis Blues' aborted move to Saskatoon, Harold Ballard's trashing of the Maple Leafs, the ownership woes of the Senators, Penguins and Islanders--but this is a great synopsis nonetheless!

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Nice list.

One of the greatest sports pictures of all time:

[Psalm 73]

.....the "Original Six" teams...

Which are:
Bruins
Blackhawks
Canadiens
Redwings
MapleLeafs
?????

I started losing interest in the late 80's - too many teams in cities that did not warrant pro-hockey - (Phoenix, Atlanta, Los Angeles - come on !!!)

[Loyalist]

My bad--you've got the Penguins and Islanders covered.

[wallcrawlr]

Nice post.

[Alberta's Child]

The only problem with your assessment is that two key items cannot be reconciled. How can the NHL divide the players' union between the "high-paid" and "low-paid" players if the league is eventually going to contract anyway? If some guy making $800,000 decides to cross the "picket line" and accept the NHL's terms, then by this time next year he's going to be losing his job to a former $3 million player who settles for $1.5 million in a league that has about 20% fewer teams.

Your analysis might be correct, but I think the biggest obstacle to the contraction of the league is not the players -- it's the owners. Not just the owners of those teams that would go out of business, but every owner who purchased his team or paid a hefty expansion fee under the inflated values of the 1990s.

[Alberta's Child]

. . . and the New York Rangers.

[brightstar]

.....the "Original Six" teams...

Which are:
Bruins
Blackhawks
Canadiens
Redwings
MapleLeafs
?????

Don't forget the Rangers.

[Alberta's Child]

Thanks for pointing that out. I should have included not just the Blues' aborted move to Saskatoon, but that city's subsequent attempt to get an expansion team. As unbelievable as this may seem -- the city of Saskatoon (pop. 180,000 or so) was a strong candidate for an NHL franchise as recently as the late 1980s!

[reagandemo]

I really miss Hockey Here in central Ky we had a great AHL team the Thoroughblades. Great smash mouth Hockey. The stupid management raised the ticket prices and the crowds left. By the time they realized it was too late. They could not stay afloat. They brought in a new team couple of years latter and they were not the same caliber of league and level of play and they did not have a chance. Now it seems that the Unions are doing to the NHL what the stupid management of our AHL team did.... Run off the fans.

[Argh]

Thanks, AC! Ping to Miss Garden (Dan's already been here).