What the National Hockey League could look like if a mutual Labour Deal is not worked out -NHL Special
The National Hockey League (NHL), as we know it has been peaceful ever since the league and Players’ Association was able to bring the labour deal war to an end after locking out the entire 2004-2005 regular seasons.
At the time, fans and players were reassured of a successful few years and it totally did work out that way until 2012 arrived and tensions rose between the two stakeholders as to who would initiate the process first and whether they would be able to work
a deal out by the September 15th deadline.
Obviously, as we can see now, that did not happen at all and things have gone off track like no one could have imagined with the next regular season being in serious threat of being locked out fully. A number of players have already signed on with foreign
leagues in order to continue getting paid and playing hockey, which could be dreadful for the league for sure.
When a new collective bargaining agreement does eventually come into play and if it is not in the favour of majority of the Players’ Association, things may actually turn out to be very bad for the league entirely. These past few years have been incredibly
well for the NHL, not only in terms of revenue generated but also due to the fact that the viewership base has increased by manifolds and hockey is at its peak in terms of being hot amongst the fans.
The new viewers and fans that hockey was able to create just might lose interest in the sport if it is cancelled for another year and while that did not change much after the previous lockout, this time is an entirely different situation, With the Los Angeles
Kings winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, the NHL has managed to spread into areas where people did not even have an idea of the sport. As the newly intrigued viewership looks forward to see the Kings and other teams perform again, locking
out the next season will kill their interest altogether.
Los Angeles is not the only team that has fans looking towards an upcoming season, but teams like Dallas Stars and especially Minnesota Wild, who have brought on so much talent and built up a lot of momentum, all that would go to waste entirely due to a
cancelled regular season.
According to Washington Capitals captain, Alex Ovechkin, players might not even come back in case of an unfavourable lockout, especially since the NHL is looking to cut down on contract lengths and worth, forcing players to stay out and play in foreign leagues,
something which Ovechkin has cited himself of possibly choosing to do.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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