Business As Usual

Carolina Hurricanes' Jordan Staal leaves the locker room after the team's informal workout on Friday. Staal was taking his gear, which is normally stored in the lockers, with him as players will not be allowed to use the facility during the lockout. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Ethan Hyman)

At midnight, the NHL officially went into lockout mode. This marks the third work stoppage of Gary Bettman's tenure as commissioner. Fans saw the entire 2004-2005 season go down the toilet because of a lockout and it's not looking good for this season either. Bettman is steadfast on getting what he and his comrades want out of a $3.3 billion pot. The players are fighting as well, claiming they deserve more money than the multi-millions they are making now.

Owners are asking players to take a 10 percent decrease in pay, from 57 percent under the just expired CBA to 47 percent, double that of the cut NFL players took during their labor disputes a few months back. The players, just as stubborn as Bettman, are not willing to take that steep a pay cut. The league and the NHL Players' Association have not even had formal negotiation talks since Wednesday of last week.

"We spoke [Saturday] and determined that there was no point in convening a formal bargaining session in light of the fact that neither side is in a position to move off of its last proposal," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "I'm sure we will keep in touch in the coming days and schedule meetings to the extent they might be useful or appropriate. We are sorry for where we are. Not what we hoped or expected."

You can argue for or against either side. But, in all actuality, both are at fault. What really is concerning is how both sides had a lackluster attitude toward coming up with an agreement of some sort when they knew all along they were on the heels of the start to the preseason. To be honest, it's quite ridiculous how a couple of five-year-olds could agree on something quicker than a bunch of grown, "professional" men. 

Even before the lockout became official, many fans decided to lockout the NHL themselves by boycotting everything that had to do with the league: watching NHL networks, buying merchandise and so on. This in hopes to show the league they are tired of its selfish ways. It probably won't do any good as the league turns a deaf ear to the very people it depends on.

As an example, the typical NHL team relied on ticket receipts for half its revenues. That compared to a mere 33 percent for the NBA and 25 percent for the NFL and MLB, according to Mike Ozanian of Forbes.

It will be interesting to see what happens with this latest drama on the ice. But for many fans (including myself) it's seems like it's just "business as usual" for the league, which is not a good sign for its survival.