With Lockout Looming, Players Have Every Right to Stand Their Ground

I'm not an economics major. I can't break down the effects of escrow, of inflation, of revenue sharing. I am, however, a hockey fan. And I can tell you the effects of things like escrow, inflation, and revenue sharing when the National Hockey League locks out it's players over them. As we sit a few hours away from the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the NHL is again staring a work stoppage in the face. But this time, more so than in 2004-2005, the NHL has everything to lose. Not only are we staring down another long, cold winter, but the NHL may find itself staring down many more to come.

The fact is this: the owners won the last lockout. The players caved and took a salary cap, pay cuts, and in exchange for that, they got to play hockey. But this time the players, unified by former MLBPA head Donald Fehr, are a much more coherent and organized group and ready to stand their ground. And frankly, they have every right to.

The owners are trying to reconcile for their own mistakes. Front-loaded, cap circumventing, and bloated contracts dealt out year after year by owners with deep pockets have exposed the flaws in the last CBA. But now the owners, who are guilty of signing Mike Komisarek to a 5 year/$22.5 million contract, Ville Leino to a 6 year/$27 million contract, and Brian Campbell to an 8 year/$57 million contract (which doesn't look so bad in hindsight), are scrambling to cover for their own mistakes. And they're asking the players to cover for them.

This is like the teacher not knowing the material and asking the student to blame a learning disorder for their bad grades. It's awful. And we, as fans, should not stand for it. Why should we? We already lost one season as billionaire owners fought millionaire players and ultimately won. And now the owners are asking the players to take more pay cuts, shorter contracts, an restrict their unrestricted free agency because the owners have no clue how to spend when July 1st comes. The players have no reason to give into what the owners want--the players have proposed a 50/50 split of hockey-related revenue, which seems fair. But no, the owners want more. And will continue to want more.

I've heard a gripe in the Twittersphere about the players being greedy and not just playing the game they love because they make millions. True, hockey players make a lot of money. But players with 10 year/$100 million contracts are the exception, not the rule. What about the players who make $500,000, bounce back and forth between the AHL and NHL, and never get the chance to sign that multi-million dollar deal? Hockey players have a short window to make their money. While a 2 year/$1 million contract sounds great to most of us, what happens when that contact is up and a player is out of a job? Someone who makes $50,000 a year at their desk job will make that same amount in 20 years, and then continue to make that 20 years later because desk jobs can't be ended with a blown knee. The point is, the players have every right to fight for every dime because this is their one shot to make their money. Many, many pro athletes live normal lives after they retire because not all of them made $100 million in their careers. And so the players, the ones that make $1 million in a career, have every right to stand up to the owners who are already billionaires.

The players, behind Donald Fehr (above)
 are standing firm this time.

Owning an NHL team is not a wise business decision. Many teams operate at a loss and that's to be expected. But how can anyone say that the owners are in a bad place? The Minnesota Wild cried foul in April, saying the CBA must be changed because despite all their sellouts, Minnesota still lost money last season. Everyone nods their heads in agreement. Lord, it must change! These teams are selling out and not making money and woeisthelifeofanNHLownerand WAIT! The Wild spent $200 million on two players this past summer. Believe me when I say that NHL owners are just fine. The players are right and the players are still making concessions, yet the owners want more. And unfortunately the owners can't grasp that without said players, they have no product. They don't have 18,000 people filling the arena at $90 per ticket. The fans want to see the players play, and because of this, the owners get a paycheck.

I can't speak for everyone, but I can't do this. I've conceded the NHL will miss a month or two or three. I don't think that we'll lose an entire season again--the NHL has too much at stake with a 100,000 seat Winter Classic lined up in Michigan, with a $2 billion television deal with NBC (who starts airing games in November), and with the simple fact that the NHL has gone from a $2 billion business to a $3.3 billion business since the last lockout. The game has grown and to lose all of that to another lockout would be foolish.

Some have predicted the lockout will last up to 18 months. I, for one, will never give the NHL another dime if a season, or more, is lost. But the players, behind Donald Fehr, are in this for the long run. The players will fight for every last dime from the owners, even if it takes a year or more. Forgive me if I don't stick around to see how it ends.