With NBA season threatened, NHL gives advice
The NHL was sidelined all of 2004-05, leaving the Stanley Cup to gather
dust. And with the NBA at risk to become the second pro sports league to
have an entire season wiped out due to a labor issue, it’s bringing
back memories for hockey players.
Mind you, not good ones.
“Well, it’s not fun, that’s for sure, when you look back on it," said
Florida Panthers defenseman Brian Campbell, a three-time NHL All-Star
who then was with Buffalo.
There are some similarities between
the two lockouts. Owners in each wanted to reel in salaries and gain
more cost certainty. The NHL back then claimed it had lost $300 million
in a season, a similar amount to what the NBA has claimed in annual
losses.
While the NHL was trying to implement a salary cap in
2004-05, the NBA long has had one. But players in the NBA have balked at
owners wanting a harder salary cap while cutting the basketball-related
income that players receive from 57 percent to 50 (NHL players get 54
percent).
So while NBA players have dissolved their union to form a trade
association and are filing antitrust suits against the league, NHL
holdovers from 2004-05 are looking on with interest.
“I think
they shouldn’t fold," said Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Arron Asham,
who then was with the New York Islanders, of NBA players. “It’s tough to
sit out a full year, but sometimes you have to do it to get what you
want. It’s a tough call. My advice to them is to stay strong and stay
untied . . . Hopefully, they don’t cave in and fall into what the owners
want."
NHL players wouldn’t settle, and a season was lost. But seven years
later, some wonder if that might have been the best way to go.
“If you look at our deal that we ended up settling with and agreeing to,
I don’t see why it couldn’t have been done in the time where we didn’t
have to miss any games," said Panthers defenseman Ed Jovanovski, a
five-time All-Star who then was with Vancouver.
“They say for us, it was the same deal that was on the table that we signed later on. So why lose a year for it?" Campbell said.
Opinions differ to this day on whether the NHL players did themselves
any good by missing an entire season. Some believe the deal they got
could have been reached much earlier while some believe it couldn’t have
been.
As it turned out, the initial belief was players got
killed in the agreement, which resulted in salary cuts and a cap set at
$39 million per team in 2005-06. But NHL revenues, which are tied to the
salary cap, have gone up more than many had projected. So now the
salary floor, which is the minimum payroll for a team, is nearly $10
million higher than the 2005-06 ceiling, something that has ended up
benefiting players.
“I don’t think we would have gotten a better
deal," said Penguins left wing Matt Cooke, who was Vancouver’s union
representative in 2004-05. “I don’t think there was a better deal to
save the season, that’s for sure. Frankly, I think we’ve done well in
this new CBA (collective bargaining agreement)."
Still, Cooke said it was tough on everybody that the NHL missed an
entire season. And, while the NBA might end up suffering the same fate,
NHL players have some words for the basketball guys on various topics:
• Losing money. That’s the most obvious drawback to missing a season.
“Losing
a full year’s salary, no matter what it is and what the cut is going to
be (between players and owners), it’s a no-win, I really think,"
Jovanovski said.
Still, Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpick said it can’t be looked at in terms of just one season.
“You
just got to look at it long term," said Orpick, who has played his
entire career with the Penguins since he was a rookie in 2002-03. “You
can’t look at it short term. You might lose a little money. But you’ve
got to sacrifice yourself for one year, and it’s going to benefit not
only you but the guys who play after you in the long run."
When
it comes to the NBA, Jovanovski believes high-salaried players might
feel differently than rank-and-file players about quickly getting a deal
done.
“Top-end players have already done pretty well
financially," Jovanovski said. “Those guys might have a different
opinion than guys that are on the lower end of the pay scale. Those guys
want to play . . . You ask a guy like maybe (Heat star) Dwyane Wade.
He’s probably like, ‘Let’s finally get the best deal for everyone.’ If
you ask maybe a guy that’s kind on the lower end then, ‘This money I’m
never going to get back.’ "
• Injuries. Jovanovski said NBA players need to be aware that, if a season is lost, it could be tough on the body.
“For
me, missing a year, I came back and personally just started getting a
little banged up here and there," Jovanovski said. “Missing a year,
you’re not putting your body through those motions it’s used to . . . It
was just injury after injury."
Jovanovski elected that year not to head overseas to play. He eventually realized that perhaps wasn’t the best decision.
•
Going overseas. While about 70 NBA players so far have left to play
outside the country, there were about 400 NHL players who did so during
the 2004-05 lockout.
There were more jobs available for hockey players than there are now for
basketball players. For those who do go overseas, it can be
exasperating not knowing the status of the season back home.
“You
don’t know when you’re coming back," said Campbell, who played in
Finland in 2004-05, staying over after the NHL officially cancelled its
season on Feb. 16, 2005. “You’re always kind of in limbo. It could be a
phone call that you’ve got to come back. But when they say you’re there
for the season, you’re there for the season.
“I’m not sure the
opportunities, how much they’re there for (NBA) players. But I think
you’ll start seeing it a lot more (now going overseas)."
• Hurting the game. The NHL took a hit due to its lockout. Obviously, a missed NBA season also would hurt fan support.
“People lose interest," said Stephen Weiss, a Panthers center since entering the NHL in 2001-02. “Out of sight, out of mind."
Weiss, though, said the NHL did soon recover and has “definitely gone upwards." And few dispute that.
As for the NBA, Oprick believes the league would bounce back from a prolonged lockout faster than the NHL did.
“The
NBA is a lot more established than hockey with a traditional fan base,"
said Oprick, referring to the NHL having teams in non-traditional
markets, namely Southern cities. “So I think for basketball it would
probably come back quicker."
• Getting lucky. Perhaps there will
be one NBA team that doesn’t mind as much if an the entire season is
lost. That would be the one that wins next spring’s draft lottery.
Without a season to base a draft upon, the NHL in 2005 utilized a system
that took into account each team’s playoff appearances and first
overall draft picks from the previous three years. Teams got either one,
two or three balls for a drawing process.
The winner of that
lottery was Pittsburgh, one of four teams with three balls. The prize
was star Sidney Crosby, who led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup in 2009
and will try to win another this season after returning Monday from a
10-month absence due to concussion-like symptoms.
“Sure, yeah,
there’s some silver lining," said defenseman Paul Martin, then with New
Jersey and now with the Penguins. “It’s not always all negatives. But
it’s just tough to see a whole year go to waste."