EDITORIAL – Hockey canceled; players, fans out in cold

It’s not like we didn’t see this coming.

An anonymous source within the public relations… It’s not like we didn’t see this coming.

An anonymous source within the public relations department of the National Hockey League told the Associated Press the league would hold a news conference and cancel the season. The league’s Web site shows a large announcement for a Wednesday conference, but doesn’t say what it’s about.

Still, the end is nigh for this year’s hockey season, and perhaps the league as well. The icemen, it seems, will not cometh. For those fans desperately clutching the last shred of hope, your dreams have been beaten in like so many face masks.

This lockout has demonstrated what exactly is wrong with the ailing league. The players continued refusal of a salary cap has led to the first Stanley Cup-less season since 1919 during the influenza epidemic.

Although these negotiations show the strength of the players’ union, it’s a little hard to sympathize with people striking for higher pay, especially when the league minimum is $300,000. Most people would consider themselves lucky to be making six figures at all, yet the players are protesting for an extra zero on those paychecks.

The money isn’t there, anyway. The league clearly isn’t staying afloat and needs to reform or be dissolved. The lack of a salary cap has led not only to people — many of whom can afford to get their gold gold-plated — whining, but also to talent-hording. The teams with the most money can simply buy better players, creating an imbalance and lackluster games.

The National Football League has a salary cap of about $80 million per team. Football has been exciting to watch precisely because the teams are well matched. And, according to Forbes, it’s the only national league not losing money right now. Hmmm … wonder if there’s a connection between good games and making money?

Furthermore, the NHL overestimated exactly how much Americans like hockey. While the Tampa Bay Lightning did win the Stanley Cup, it’s just common sense not to put so many hockey teams in places where it never snows or freezes. Who thought there was a viable hockey market in Nashville, Tenn., and have they been fired yet?

If this lack of a season has proven anything, it’s that there still is an interest in hockey. The American Hockey League, home of such teams as the Syracuse Crunch and the Lowell Lock Monsters, has been drawing attention, as some pros and fans head to the minors.

What the league needs is a thorough off-season workout. The NHL should take this time to flex its muscles — getting its players to agree to a reasonable salary cap — and tighten its belt. Painful as it is, some of those expansion teams have got to go.

For fans here, we just have to look forward to the next installment in the cycle of pain that is Pittsburgh sports. Between the Steelers losing and the promise of a fruitless Pirates season, at least we didn’t have to spend time crying over the Penguins. We’re not sure our hearts could take it.