NHL HAS 47 DAYS TO MAKE A DEAL

11 years ago

In 1994/1995 the NHL and NHLPA avoided a season-long lockout and played 48 games. The lockout ended on January 11th, and the the regular season started January 20th and ended May 3rd. The Stanley Cup was awarded on June 23rd, which horribly late considering the Dallas Stars, 1999, and Carolina Hurricanes, 2006, hoisted it on June 19th.

The NHL won’t wait until mid-February to cancel the season, like they did in 2005, and since they are in love with announcing game cancellations on Fridays, you can circle January 11th as their day of reckoning. They will either have a new CBA in place by then or for the second time in eight years no team will hoist the Stanley Cup.

So both sides have 47 days to ~~pull their heads out of their asses~~ negotiate a new CBA and avoid even more embarrassment.

The NHL might look dumb right now, but they aren’t completely stupid which is why they won’t cancel their season before Christmas. They know some fans will still buy some merchandise as Christmas gifts, so if they end up looking like the Grinch it won’t happen until January.

I still believe the two sides will reach an agreement pre-Christmas, because their most recent proposals aren’t that far apart, and likely because I’m an eternal optimist. Sadly, I sense the negotiations have become more about ego than money, and unless the owners put pressure on Gary Bettman or the players lean on Donald Fehr to make a deal happen, we’ll be stuck watching Gary and Donald play an ill-advised game of chicken.

The NHL and NHLPA have agreed to bring in a mediator according to Pierre Lebrun. This is a good move, but keep in mind they used a mediator in 2004/2005 and that didn’t end the lockout. This is a smart move, but far from a guarantee that the lockout will end.

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I honestly think both camps are clueless to the damage they are doing to their game. While the players keep tweeting to fans, "We really want to play and we respect you," their actions don’t match those sentiments. The NHL’s blinders might be on even tighter, because they aren’t just alienating their fans, they are on the verge of seeing major sponsors walk away from their game.

Brian Cooper is the President of S & E Sponsorship Group. They represent many current NHL sponsors and Cooper shed some light on what some of the main sponsors think about the NHL brand.

"Sponsor like Kraft, Scotiabank, Canadian Tire and Sirius XM, of which we represent, they are not getting any positive association with the league," said Cooper. That isn’t a surprise considering there are websites built by fans that list current NHL sponsors and ask fans not to support them.

The interesting part is within the details of their sponsorship deals with the NHL. "If there is more than 25% of the regular season games cancelled you get a pro-rated rebate, however, if less than 25% of the games are cancelled you pay the full amount," Cooper informed me. Last year NBA sponsors had to pay the full amount of sponsorship, despite the NBA only playing a 66-game schedule.

Even if the lockout ends, many sponsors could be leery of attaching their brand to the NHL.

"The problem is even when the lockout ends; many sponsors won’t want to come back with a promotion that connects them to the NHL or the NHLPA. Fans are currently disgusted with both sides, and attaching one of our brands to the NHL via a promotion could have negative feedback," Cooper said.

"Right now the sponsors are taking a hard look at this. Their frustration level is incredibly high. The NHL holds the cards to a certain degree, but they are definitely going to get damaged over this. I think in the next round of negotiations with their sponsors there will be a weariness to pay top dollar and a weariness to go in with the existing formula in case of a work stoppage."

This lockout could erase all the positive financial gains they’ve gained over the last six years, and the NHL has no one to blame but their own mismanagement.

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NHL HAS 47 DAYS TO MAKE A DEAL

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