As more and more time passes since the NHL Lockout was officially imposed on midnight Saturday, it becomes more apparent that the league may lose yet another season to a work stoppage. When you look at the list of players who have jumped ship to play overseas, some of the names are startling- Ovechkin, Seguin, Spezza, Gonchar, Malkin, Kopitar, Kovalchuk, Joe Thornton, Backstrom, just to name a few. If any player who is currently under contract is injured while playing overseas, their NHL team is not responsible for a penny of that deal. But the players have found a loophole: they can take out an insurance policy to cover the contract. Not to mention they’re going to make at least 65% of their annual salary from their European clubs (In Ovechkin’s case, somewhere between five and six million per year.). In short: the players can’t lose. At least not this year. While the league tries to suck more cash out of the NHLPA, most of the players are still going to make their contract money and more. Seven years ago, the league killed an entire season and was able to get the changes that they were asking for. Now, in 2012, they’re saying that the system is flawed. Unfortunately for them, the player’s union is wiser this time around. NHL players are going to flock to Europe, play the game they love and still make their money while the owners sit idly by and wait for the union to break down. It’s not going to happen. The players are fed up with the league and they are not going to back down, and that is what makes this lockout so dangerous for the NHL.
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