Joe Chacon's Blog
The NHL officially canceled all preseason games for the month of September and could soon decide to forgo the entire exhibition slate if a deal between the players and the owners is not agreed upon.
As of this writing not only are both sides nowhere near an agreement, there doesn't appear to be a sense of urgency from either side. Unlike the NFL and NBA lockout deadlines, this one pretty much came and went with very little fanfare.
Sure, Bettman says the owners need to dig in due to these tough economic times -- even though Bettman's salary has nearly doubled to $8 million since the last lockout in 2004 which wiped out the entire season.
I know this isn't all the commissioner's fault, but it doesn't appear he's doing much to help bring the two sides together either.
I wrote earlier this year about the NHL lockout being on the horizon and how the league would lose all of the momentum that they have amassed over the last five years. I especially see this happening in Los Angeles where not only has the lockout wiped out the feeling of "hockey town" over here, but the team is also up for sale as part of the AEG package.
The very last thing the NHL needs is to be lumped into the category of being perceived as spoiled crybabies in the same way athletes and owners of the other major sports are.
Per USA Today hockey columnist Kevin Allen, here are the major bullet points with regards to the current lockout:
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So, here we are in the midst of yet another sports labor issue in which both sides will play tug of war for money until they eventually realize they've gone as far as they can go without jeopardizing their own futures as professional athletes.
With NCAA and NFL football in full swing, as well as the home stretch of MLB, and the opening of NBA training camp, how long will it take before fans start to realize hockey is gone?
Joe Chacon is a staff writer for Operation Sports and a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
# 1
onac22 @ Sep 20
Gary Bettman has the Stanley Cup Owners Selling Their team just to prove his point.
# 2
onac22 @ Sep 20
BOOOO bettman and the players none of them deserve the idea of the sport. Or the FUN!
# 3
rudeworld @ Sep 20
Worst commish in pro sports.... cancelling an entire season not once but twice maybe? and wonders why the NHL is not talked about "come on man!".... NHL hockey... is a great sport.... get rid of the commishiowner (see what I did there?) and we can drop the puck, get on the ice.... score some goals, get into some fights... and eventually raise the cup..... I got a question, since there is a lock out.... who's getting paid from the revenue that thing such as NHL13 will bring in?
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