NHL Future Uncertain Once the Party's Over
By Steve Keating
TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Tampa Lightning's 2-1 defeat of the Calgary Flames (news) to claim their first Stanley Cup brought the curtain down on an unpredictable NHL season and opened the door to an uncertain future.
Hockey fans, even crushed Canadians who had been expecting to celebrate the hockey obsessed nation's first Stanley Cup champion in 11-years, soaked up every second of Monday's riveting contest.
With an ugly labor dispute looming on the horizon, they all know it could be a long time before they see another meaningful NHL game again.
Even as Tampa celebrated its first Cup in the franchise's 12-year history and made plans for a parade Wednesday, the sport continued to lurch toward a second work stoppage in a decade.
Talks between the NHL owners and the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) are stalled with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) set to expire on September 15.
In the din of celebrations at center ice of the St Pete Times Forum, players and team management embraced while NHL commissioner Gary Bettman praised their efforts.
But those friendly gestures are likely to be the last exchanged by the two sides for some time as they retreat to their trenches for a labor battle many predict will result in no hockey next season and perhaps beyond.
FINANCIAL WOES
With the Flames and Lightning, two of the league's small market teams with modest payrolls, playing for the Stanley Cup, the league's financial woes did not appear as desperate as Bettman has implied.
But not long ago Calgary was staging "Save the Flames" rallies and "C of Red" referred to the team's finances not their now famous red-clad fans.
The commissioner pointed out that the Lightning had also been in a dire financial situation at one time having personally attended "Support the Lightning" fundraisers.
Even the Lightning's multi-billionaire owner Bill Davidson, whose sporting empire also includes the Detroit Pistons (news), has hinted he may have had enough.
According to reports the reclusive 81 year-old Davidson is considering selling the franchise he bought in 1999 if a new CBA does not include the cost certainties owners seek.
In his pre-finals media briefing Bettman said he had no positive news to report about progress of talks but with the clock ticking down toward the September 15 deadline he insisted there was still time to get a deal done.
"There's plenty of time," assured Bettman. "I don't think the issues are that complex to resolve once we get on the same page."
The problem is that NHL owners and the NHLPA are currently not even reading from the same book.
NHL owners say theirs is written in red ink with 19 of 30 teams losing money last season totaling $270 million.
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The NHLPA's view is black and white insisting the league continues to operate in a free market system while rejecting any suggestion of a salary cap, which they believe the league is trying to bring in with its demand for cost certainty.
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