In case you didn’t know, the NHL has locked out their players again. The league recently threw a proposal at the media… I mean the players to try to get a deal done. Most people seem to think that this is the best that the league will ever offer, but I’m not convinced that the players are willing to make all of the sacrifices for the second straight lockout.
The players probably should take this offer. The league saved their real offer until they could use the possibility of salvaging the season to sway the players. If they can’t makeup games, they will only use that as an excuse to take more.
I’m not saying that all of the blame belongs to the commissioner, Gary Bettman, who has convinced the owners that they represent him rather than the other way around. The players have changed since last time. I actually think that rule changes are part of the problem here. The NHL is moving away from the team game and closer to a collection of individuals. This makes players playing for themselves (selfish) instead of their teams have an easier time making it into the league (see the Blackhawks and Bruins as proof of this point). These are the players who are most likely to focus more on getting the best out of a deal than playing.
Even so, I have to admit that Gary Bettman’s attitude pushes the players away. The league pushing the players around for years while trying to implement changes without proper discussion (changes to rules regarding contracts, attempted realignment) has moved the players even further from the league. Like I said, it’s hard to believe that the players will agree to a contract if everything is worse than what’s in their current deal. Since Mr. Bettman wants everything to work out better for the league, I expect this conflict to result in another lost season.
The rule changes and the reduced number of good people in the league has made me less interested in the league in general. I don’t want to give up my Canucks, but I actually wouldn’t mind if the league folded at this point. When you add the embarrassment that the American media has turned the sport into (the hockey media actually deserves more of the blame than the hockey-hating media) and the Canadians who watch the sport out of obligation instead of actual interest, North America is completely unworthy of the top hockey league on Earth. It’s selfish of me to say that we have to keep the sport out here just so the game is more accessible for me to watch. I would prefer that we give the game to the Europeans. They would treat the sport a lot better than we do.
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