Nhl Lockout

Dan O.

Enraged hockey fans everywhere have gone ballistic due to the current NHL situation because of players no longer playing just for fun, but playing just for money.

The NHL players demanded more money and protested playing until the management would agree, although the management is not planning on negotiating. This has put the entire NHL on a stand off; Can the players or the management hold off the longest? Recently, the players' contracts have expired, so there are currently no signed players in the NHL. The outcome of this has caused the NHL to be cancelled for the 2004-2005 season, for now anyways. Hockey fan Christian Demarais is very disappointed with the situation. "Yeah, I'm really mad about it. Hockey is like the coolest sport to watch! It's going to be really weird if there is no season this year."

Of course, not all of the NHL players are in favor of the lock out. Those that still want to play are going to other countries. As of September 20, 2004, there were about 178 NHL players playing in Europe. These players make up around 25% of the NHL's roster spots. Fortunately for the players and loyal hockey fans, Most of the players signed in Europe have contracts that permit them to return to the NHL if the labor impasse ends in time to salvage a season. Playing in other countries is not that big of a stretch for a lot of players because many of the NHL players started their careers in other countries and are not even American at birth. So it's just like going back home for a while. This makes the situation hard for NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the owners because they don't have anywhere to go. They are running on their 300 million-dollar lockout fund.

If the NHL lockout does not end soon, this will go down as a major historical event. Never in the history of sports has a player stoppage or a lockout ever caused the loss of a full season.