Hockey fans know that this season has been a bit of a struggle. So much so, that the issues may even prevent a season from happening at all.
If they can’t come to an agreement by December, they will risk not playing at all this year.
Not only are the players losing their season and NHL employees losing jobs, the teams are losing fans, and nobody wins. The latest update brought down hope as the announcement of the cancellation of the Winter Classic.
This was a highly anticipated game because it was supposed to be located in Michigan, in one of the biggest stadiums in the United States, the Big House. Also, the two teams that were to play are from the original six, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings.
One of the major proposed deals was the 50/50 revenue split. This deal would not require rollbacks and over the next five years, their percentage would rise back up to 57 percent.
While players and fans seemed optimistic about this, NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr stated that it was, “a good start.”
With that deal rejected, it seems as though things have been snowballing downhill.
Counter offers were placed on the table and in less than 10 minutes, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman rejected them. From there, players started to travel and sign for hockey teams overseas.
From the Tampa Bay Lightning, four players have traveled to other countries to continue to play hockey. Goaltender Anders Lindback has gone to Finland, forward Adam hall is in Germany, defenseman Victor Hedman plays in Russia, and the newest addition to the travelers is defenseman Brendan Mikkelson, who has signed with a team in Sweden.
It has been said that if a season doesn’t start up by mid-November, team-favorite Marty St. Louis would head to Europe as well.
This could be an issue because his contract is coming to an end, and losing that good of a player for the year hurts the team drastically.
Big name players such as Stamkos, Purcell, and Malone, have tried to keep their optimism at a high, but seem to be struggling as much as their fans.
All three have chosen to stay in the area and continually go to the practice rink in Brandon to keep in shape and do what they love.
While they do have big opportunities in Europe, they chose to stay here.
“I didn’t go overseas because there’s always a risk of getting injured,” says Lightning Right Wing Teddy Purcell.
“But mostly because I hope this lockout will end.” He mentioned that it has been good to travel around and play with other guys in the league and admits that although the lockout is frustrating, “that’s the business part of hockey.”
While it is a shame the Lightning can’t truly celebrate their 20-year anniversary, the Tampa Bay Times Forum continues to keep moving forward, staying optimistic, and improving the facility.
The Forum is now home to the largest center-hung arena HD display board in the entire United States and Canada. It is so big that it had to be built inside the arena and with such beautiful quality, it makes it so much harder to go unused.
The Rolling Thunder has recently finished up their 20-stop tour for the anniversary. Stopping in close to ten different cities in Florida, the Rolling Thunder truck has distributed paraphernalia, raised the spirits of hockey fans, and enjoyed being out informing people about what’s going on at the Forum.
Newly hired Mobile Media Coordinator, Justin Savoie, tells fans, “We like to show our faces in the community to let people know we’re still here even though there’s no hockey.”
But is there really no hockey? During the week of November 5th, the NHL and NHLPA met for five consecutive days for multiple hours.
The lockout has cost the NHL roughly 200 million dollars and these meetings are starting to seem like a giant tease.
But the outcome of the past weeks discussions keep the anticipation rising, and one can only hope a solution will be the result.
Until then, keep those fingers crossed.
Jessie Lehrbaum can be reached at jlehrbaum@spartans.ut.edu.