Eurolanche

This lockout could destroy NHL

Lockout has started after midnight on Sunday. The CBA valid from 2005 has expired. From today the players are not anymore classic members of their teams. They could play anywhere where they want. Teams are not allowed to mention them. Anywhere. You will not find stories on the Avalanche players on the official website. They do not exist. On the paper. If you notice it, the timeline of the Avalanche official Facebook account was changed. The players and the date of the first home game were replaced by Bernie.

Three lockouts in three decades are unique in the history of whole sport. Thanks God the NHL is unique in some way. We missed half of the season 1994/95 and the 2004/05 was canceled. All good for the third time? No way. According the latest information the next meetings between both sides are not scheduled. There is a lot what NHL could lose. One certainty is the fact the NHL will be never the same like before Sunday.

Fans are angry and mainly unite. There are not fans. There is one big angry fan. Fan is willing to pay for the hockey. Fan is willing to buy merchandise and spend thousands of dollars. Fan is willing to dedicate his free time to the hockey. Should be fan willing to pay all costs for both sides? Maybe fan should start the charity for billionaires.

I criticized Americans fans days ago. I thought they would come back after another lockout, does not matter how many lockouts will be there. I was wrong. Fortunately. Americans and Canadians are the angriest fans in the world. Nobody likes when is manipulated by someone. The cancelation of your favorite games is a kind of manipulation. They canceled not only games, they changed your plans. US fans have million options how to enjoy their sports time. They have NFL, NBA, MLB… They like college sports and minors leagues. They are not obsessed by the so-called the best hockey league in the world. After the third lockout the NHL will remain just “the hockey league”. Not “best” anymore.

It is hard to predict how long the lockout will last. My personal opinion is the first game of the season would be the Winter Classic. Owners simply hate the first months of the season. There is NFL. First months are not about great hockey games for them. Everything starts after New Year. It really looked like the NHL planned this lockout. And do not be surprise if we will never see the hockey in October, November and December in the future. Few people do not like it. What about millions of fans? Does not matter.

NHL has never been so close to the end like now. More days without hockey, more fans will never come back. Situation is not under control. Do they know it? They do not understand it is not anymore about their money. It is about fans. It is about the existence. They HAD everything after last lockout. There was huge profit. Great era of the “new” NHL. All could be different now. But you know, in Slovakia, we say “if you offer your finger to someone, he takes your whole hand”. That happened in the NHL, the league without bright future.

Rules of lockout by Pierre Lebrun for the ESPN:

• Players are barred from using any NHL team’s private facilities. So for most players that means having to get together and buy ice time elsewhere to continue their workouts.
• Players will not be paid their 2012-13 salaries during the lockout. The first of 14 paychecks was expected in mid-October. On the flip side, players will get escrow checks from the NHL in mid- to late October, which counts for 8 percent of their 2011-12 salaries (they paid 8.5 escrow last season, but are getting 8 percent of it back). That’s a nice chunk of change for the players to get at the start of a lockout.
• There is a small group of players, however, who will continue to receive their full NHL salaries: the injured ones. Any player injured in a hockey-related fashion is entitled to his full salary until he fully recovers and is deemed fit to play by team doctors. So, for example, guys like Chris Pronger or Mattias Ohlund will continue to get paid. The caveat here is a requirement for these players to seek out team doctors and follow their counsel.
• Players are free to play in other leagues once they’re locked out. The key for those players is to get insurance for their NHL contracts in case of injury while playing overseas.
• All signing bonuses will be fully paid regardless of the lockout. That’s why so many contracts over the past few months included signing bonuses. It’s guaranteed money in the bank regardless of a lockout.
• Players who are 19 and under who are junior-eligible can still be sent back to their junior clubs.
• Players cannot be traded during the lockout.
• Clubs cannot make players appear at promotional events nor ask players to show up for training or conditioning camps.
• If a player is injured while playing in another league during the lockout, an NHL club can suspend him without pay until he is fit to play.
• Players who were bought out in a previous year and still have buyout payments due to them will continue to receive them during the lockout.