The Associated Press
Updated: 1:28 p.m. ET Feb. 16, 2005NEW YORK - The NHL canceled what little was left of the season Wednesday after a series of last-minute offers were rejected on the final day of negotiations.


A lockout over a salary cap shut down the game before it ever got a chance to start in October. Now the NHL, already low on the popularity scale in the United States, becomes the first major pro sports league in North America to lose an entire season to a labor dispute.

“As I stand before you today, it is my sad duty to announce ... it no longer is practical to conduct even an abbreviated season,” commissioner Gary Bettman said. Accordingly, I have no choice but to announce the formal cancellation of play for 2004-05.”

“This is a sad, regrettable day that all of us wish could have been avoided,” he said.

Bettman said the sides would continue working to get an agreement.

“We’re planning to have hockey next season,” he said.

The union scheduled a news conference later Wednesday in Toronto.

The league and players’ union traded a flurry of proposals and letters Tuesday night, but could never agree on a cap. The players proposed $49 million per team; the owners said $42.5 million.

“We weren’t as close as people were speculating,” Bettman said.

This will be the first time the Stanley Cup isn’t awarded since 1919 when a flu epidemic forced the finals to be called off.

“We profoundly regret the suffering this has caused our fans, our business partners and the thousands of people who depend on our industry for their livelihoods,” Bettman said.

Before Monday, the idea of a salary cap was a deal-breaker for the players’ association but the union gave in and said it would accept one when the NHL dropped its insistence that there be a link between revenues and player costs.

That still wasn’t enough to end the lockout that started on Sept. 16 and ultimately wiped out the entire 1,230-game schedule and the playoffs.



All I can say is...good...

I just saw the press conference on CNN. Made me wonder if you had heard the news Monkeydear.

I'm worried about retailers of NHL merchandise..

i love hockey

A bunch of spoiled motherfuckers. Damn, grow up.

I, too, once loved and lived for hockey...
but, I lost that love when it transformed from being a fun game to a business consisting of prima donnas and fat cats...
enough is enough...if I never see another NHL game for the rest of my life, I couldn't care less...

i love hockey for the game... not the people ...

the speed the passion ...

the ice

simply hockey ... not the $ or people ...that aspect cant ruin just about anything humans are involved with

the worst thing about this are all the people who've lost their jobs because of this...
the zamboni drivers...the arena maintenance crews...the retailers of NHL products...etc.
people caught in the crossfire of a war they had nothing to do with...

for that alone, I hope the NHL folds forever...

I'm not surprised by this at all but it's a shame because it's the fans that are screwed the most out of this. They're the ones that are always forgotten when it comes to issues like this.
[Edited 2/16/05 11:05am]

Now I cannot watch the Edmonton Oilers

No one cares.....









They over expanded a few years ago, thinned out the talent, haven't made good rules to allow more scoring. By following the strategy of the other sports (primarily the NBA), Bettman and the owners have turned hockey from a grass roots game into to a failing commercial entity. Guess what guys!---the plan failed, not only haven't you gained more fans but you've completely upset your base.

The Owners are the ones to blame. Their the ones who started giving out NBA salaries in a sport whose profit margin didn't reflect half the NBA earnings. The owners are also charging fans close to a hundred dollars for a seat near the ice. The NHL's quest to be in league with the other major American sports has failed, they don't even have a decent television contract.

The Owners are to blame!!! At the zero hour the players accepted the salary cap and the league rejected it. Why? because they can make more money not playing the games than playing them.

The players have just been put in their place by the truly powerful, so now it's time for them to get of their high horse and connect with the fans. I don't know what the players union can legally do, but they need to rent out rinks all over North America and put on damn near free exhibition games for their fans.

Mr.Stern.... it looks like your protégé failed after all.
[Edited 2/16/05 11:24am]

TheMadMonkey said:

I used to love hockey, too, until asshole Norm Green took my Minnesota North Stars to Texas back in '93. Greedy bastard.

lilgish said:

it should be noted that Bettman came over from the NBA...
he didn't have a single clue about the NHL then...and he still doesn't today...
but, it's not all the owners' fault...the players and their useless union are just as much to blame...
there are both sides to every issue...and in this case, neither side is right...
so...everyone involved with the NHL now has to suffer...

when it costs a couple hundred dollars to see a game there is something wrong.

who knows how things will pan out...
perhaps a smaller league? where will all the other players go?


i miss hockey but i know not as much as some. the broader picture of those affected is sad but i hope that they manage to get their shit together before september. i won't hold my breath though

Sorry to add to the misery, but I don't really care either. The people hurt most by this debacle are the employees of all the arenas in the league, the businesses surrounding the area of those arenas and the lesser players who are paid the league minimum. It would matter more if I had ever seen an actual hockey game in person, but that's not going to happen soon.

I used to watch the wings when they were in the playoffs so this is kind of dissapointing. Even more so is the fact that most people don't even seem to care...

We usually get a couple six packs of tickets every season, and watch a couple games a week on tv so I have to say we miss it a lot. We've been going to lacrosse games lately...who needs ice?

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

i'm sayin...

One of my clients is the advertiser for the Sharks.


He's bummed today.