The NHL Lockout, barring the totally unforeseen, ended yesterday.
The 10-year deal still must be formally ratified by a majority of the league’s 30 team owners and the NHLPA membership of more than 700 players, but they’d all be crazy not to approve, right ?
The whole scenario has an element of craziness to it.
The NHL owners, a decent percentage of them at least, were losing money, so they persuaded the group at large to shut down their places of business, and elected to generate zero revenue, in effect, lose less-make nothing and profit in a backhanded fashion.
The players, some of them among the richest athletes in the universe, elected not to accept the various NHL proposals and made zero in terms of cash, which would have a major impact on the level of members who will only compete for a year, maybe two at the NHL level.
When the dust settles, it appears the NHL and the players have illustrated that a 48 to 50 game schedule is acceptable rather than a full 82 game sked. They’ve illustrated training camps can be conducted in 1 week, rather than 3. And finally they’ve illustrated the exhibition season is essentially needless.
From start to resolution, there’s very little about the NHL dispute and settlement that makes sense to hockey fans.
I’m Fred Wallace