In the end, there’s plenty of blame to go around. Especially on the management side.
Gary Bettman is the mouthpiece who appears to have orchestrated the business of locking out the NHL players (source: NHL.com).
He seems to be quite good at it. His league locked the players out in 1994-95 and teams played just 48 games that season.
The league locked its players out in 2004-05 and that time they did more than shorten the season (source: USA Today). They missed the entire season and the playoffs. After the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, there were no meaningful games until the start of the 2005-06 season.
But can it really be all Bettman’s fault?
Of course it can’t.
He works for the owners. They employ him. He works at their pleasure.
That means he must do what they want him to do. Or he must convince them that his plan is good for them. Meaning good for their bottom line.
There’s no question that this dispute is about money. While some of the high-end teams in the league are succeeding and making a solid profit, there are too many of the so-called small-market teams that ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Steve Silverman
NHL Lockout: Why the NHL Owners Are to Blame for the Lockout
September 15th, 2012 by Steve Silverman Leave a reply »
Advertisement