Football, a sport so much more popular and richer than hockey the two almost cannot be compared, never attempted a gambit so risky. Neither did baseball, a sport so indigenous to the fabric of American society that its very president once was a team owner.
The NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA have had labor strife, but no other major North American pro sports league felt the necessity or urgency to cancel an entire season to achieve labor peace as the NHL did Wednesday.
The risks associated with disappearing from public attention for at least 18 months are so great that hockey's biggest star never thought it would happen until commissioner Gary Bettman pulled the plug on the season that never was.
``I always thought that, at the end of the day, there would be too much at stake for both sides to not make a deal,'' said Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux, the Penguins' owner-player.
Now, after the NHL has implemented the scorched-ice policy its players union warned for years might take place, owners and players alike are wondering what the league will look like once it finally returns.
And if anybody will notice when it does.
``The game's just suffered an absolute blow it'll never recover from,'' Rod Brind'Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes said. ``They're totally underestimating the damage that's being done.''
Privately, owners are bracing for a big drop in attendance and income that could last for several seasons; Bettman hinted revenue possibly might be halved in the first full season back.
In the United States, where hockey is only a niche sport in all but a few markets, the damage could be irreparable. In Canada, Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden suggests many fans discovered that watching hockey was more of a habit than a passion and may not fully embrace the sport again.
``After the 1994-95 strike, baseball attendance was down 25 percent,'' said Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College economics professor who tracks sports business trends. ``A number of wonderful things had to happen for the fans to come back -- Cal Ripken, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. And baseball is the national pastime -- this is hockey.''
NHL players are apprehensive of what lies ahead, partly because many are realizing they no longer will be compensated like baseball and football players. The NHLPA's private Internet site reportedly was flooded with angry messages after union chief Bob Goodenow agreed during last-hour negotiations to a salary cap -- the very concession players said they would never make.
Now, after failing to make a deal even after accepting a cap and offering a 24 percent salary rollback, the players are pondering how much more of a financial hit they'll take.
Bettman said the league's $42.5 million salary cap proposal -- one small-market Penguins general manager Craig Patrick said ``scared the daylights out of me'' -- was made only to save this season. Since that didn't happen, that's supposedly off the table.
The NHL could resume play next fall even without a labor deal, but only by having an impasse declared. Then, it could open up training camps and see how many union members cross picket lines to play -- a tactic that, if successful, could effectively break the players union.
But that could be a risky ploy at best. It didn't work for baseball in 1995 -- club owners delayed the season rather than field replacement teams fans clearly didn't want -- and might require months of legal wrangling.
U.S. labor laws don't allow replacement workers from foreign countries, which might force the 24 U.S. teams to effectively field nearly all-American teams. And two Canadian provinces, Quebec and British Columbia, don't allow replacements, meaning the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks might have to temporarily move elsewhere to play.
That's why, like it or not, Minnesota Wild president Doug Risebrough said the shutdown may bring the owners and players together rather than further dividing them.
``Without knowing, they became closer partners with the decision because now they need each other to get through this,'' Risebrough said.
The impasse is also negatively affecting the franchise values of teams such as Carolina, Atlanta and Anaheim that are currently worth less than half the value of Yankees infielder Alex Rodriguez's contract. If those values drop too low, teams may not be able to borrow enough money to subsidize operations until -- and if -- the sport begins to grow its revenues.
``It's a very dark day,'' Buffalo Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn said. ``I believe at some point it will turn into something positive, but for now we're in a little period of mourning.''
The NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA have had labor strife, but no other major North American pro sports league felt the necessity or urgency to cancel an entire season to achieve labor peace as the NHL did Wednesday.
The risks associated with disappearing from public attention for at least 18 months are so great that hockey's biggest star never thought it would happen until commissioner Gary Bettman pulled the plug on the season that never was.
``I always thought that, at the end of the day, there would be too much at stake for both sides to not make a deal,'' said Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux, the Penguins' owner-player.
Now, after the NHL has implemented the scorched-ice policy its players union warned for years might take place, owners and players alike are wondering what the league will look like once it finally returns.
And if anybody will notice when it does.
``The game's just suffered an absolute blow it'll never recover from,'' Rod Brind'Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes said. ``They're totally underestimating the damage that's being done.''
Privately, owners are bracing for a big drop in attendance and income that could last for several seasons; Bettman hinted revenue possibly might be halved in the first full season back.
In the United States, where hockey is only a niche sport in all but a few markets, the damage could be irreparable. In Canada, Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden suggests many fans discovered that watching hockey was more of a habit than a passion and may not fully embrace the sport again.
``After the 1994-95 strike, baseball attendance was down 25 percent,'' said Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College economics professor who tracks sports business trends. ``A number of wonderful things had to happen for the fans to come back -- Cal Ripken, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. And baseball is the national pastime -- this is hockey.''
NHL players are apprehensive of what lies ahead, partly because many are realizing they no longer will be compensated like baseball and football players. The NHLPA's private Internet site reportedly was flooded with angry messages after union chief Bob Goodenow agreed during last-hour negotiations to a salary cap -- the very concession players said they would never make.
Now, after failing to make a deal even after accepting a cap and offering a 24 percent salary rollback, the players are pondering how much more of a financial hit they'll take.
Bettman said the league's $42.5 million salary cap proposal -- one small-market Penguins general manager Craig Patrick said ``scared the daylights out of me'' -- was made only to save this season. Since that didn't happen, that's supposedly off the table.
The NHL could resume play next fall even without a labor deal, but only by having an impasse declared. Then, it could open up training camps and see how many union members cross picket lines to play -- a tactic that, if successful, could effectively break the players union.
But that could be a risky ploy at best. It didn't work for baseball in 1995 -- club owners delayed the season rather than field replacement teams fans clearly didn't want -- and might require months of legal wrangling.
U.S. labor laws don't allow replacement workers from foreign countries, which might force the 24 U.S. teams to effectively field nearly all-American teams. And two Canadian provinces, Quebec and British Columbia, don't allow replacements, meaning the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks might have to temporarily move elsewhere to play.
That's why, like it or not, Minnesota Wild president Doug Risebrough said the shutdown may bring the owners and players together rather than further dividing them.
``Without knowing, they became closer partners with the decision because now they need each other to get through this,'' Risebrough said.
The impasse is also negatively affecting the franchise values of teams such as Carolina, Atlanta and Anaheim that are currently worth less than half the value of Yankees infielder Alex Rodriguez's contract. If those values drop too low, teams may not be able to borrow enough money to subsidize operations until -- and if -- the sport begins to grow its revenues.
``It's a very dark day,'' Buffalo Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn said. ``I believe at some point it will turn into something positive, but for now we're in a little period of mourning.''
