The National Hockey League was boarded up for the season on Wednesday. And probably saved in the process.
The cancellation announcement was a gloomy, but predictable, affair. But on the day this season officially died, it was pretty chilling the way commissioner Gary Bettman stepped to center ice and broke the union’s nose.
Bettman stood at a lectern in New York and calmly outlined why he couldn’t accept a $49 million salary cap from the players association, saying owners would lose more money than the $225 million they lost last year.
During most of the lockout, Bettman was criticized as some out-of-touch lawyer bent on reinventing the hockey wheel. He was Bud Selig with a better haircut, Paul Tagliabue without the billion-dollar TV deal.
On Wednesday we learned Bettman is an assassin. He never raised his voice, never moved off the message he has been sending since Sept. 15, when the lockout began. He didn’t care if you completely understood. He didn’t really care that you’ve been missing those $12 beers at Staples Center.
He wants a deal, then he’ll worry about winning you back.
Bettman said all the right things Wednesday by saying all the same things from last summer.
He lamented the lost season and the players we may never see again, players such as Mario Lemieux (39), Mark Messier (44), Steve Yzerman (39), Brett Hull (40), Ron Francis (41), Dave Andreychuk (41) and Chris Chelios (43).
“This is a tragedy for the players,” Bettman said. “Their careers are short and this is money and opportunity they’ll never get back.”
So what’s next? The NHL could seek the declaration of an impasse, which allows it to implement its last offer, open training camps in September and invite players back. The players’ association would likely call a strike.
The bigger question is whether the players will follow. Bettman’s position seems like the only way out of this mess. And Bob Goodenow looks pretty bloody.
