The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was reached on January 6, 2013, with its ratification and signing of a memorandum of understanding on the agreement completed by January 12, 2013, days after the expiry of the previous CBA.
The owners of the league's franchises, led by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, declared a lockout of the members of the NHLPA after a new agreement could not be reached before the expiry of the NHL collective bargaining agreement on September 16, 2012. The lockout shortened the 2012–13 NHL season, originally scheduled to begin on October 11, 2012, from 82 to 48 games, a reduction of 41.5 percent. The revised season started on January 19, 2013 and ended on April 28, 2013.
An issue for the owners were desires to reduce the players guaranteed 57% share of hockey-related revenues, introduce term limits on contracts, eliminate salary arbitration, and change free agency rules. The union's initial offers focused on increased revenue sharing between owners and a fixed salary cap that is not linked to league revenues. As the deadline for a work stoppage approached, the union unsuccessfully challenged the league's ability to lock out players of three Canadian teams – the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames (in the jurisdiction of Alberta), and the Montreal Canadiens (in the jurisdiction of Quebec).
The dispute was the third lockout in the 19 years since Bettman became Commissioner in 1993, following player lockouts in 1994–95 and 2004–05, with the latter case leading to the cancellation of the entire season. This was also the third labor dispute for NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr who, as head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, led his union through a lockout in 1990 and a strike in 1994–95.
During the lockout, many NHL players went to other leagues in North America and Europe. Many businesses in the United States and Canada located near NHL arenas lost money as a result of the games not played.
Cancelled games
All games on the original 2012–13 NHL calendar up to January 14, 2013 were cancelled, including the 2013 NHL Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, which was rescheduled for 2014. In addition, the 2013 All-Star Game, scheduled for January 27, was postponed to 2014 then postponed again to 2015 because of participation at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The revised 48-game schedule resulted in the cancellation of 510 regular season games, comprising 41.5 percent of the season.
Issues
The owners identified their key issues in their first offer, presented on July 13, 2012. Their offer retained the framework established following the 2004–05 NHL lockout but made numerous changes to player salary and movement rights: Reduce the players' share of hockey-related revenues from 57 percent to 46 percent, while also redefining hockey-related revenues, so that the players' share would be reduced to 43 percent based on the definition in the expired CBA. Set a maximum term of four years on all new players' contracts. Eliminate signing bonuses and set a uniform salary for each year of a contract, thus eliminating front-loading of contracts. Extend entry-level contracts for players entering the league from three years to five. Extend qualification for unrestricted free agency from seven years in the league to ten.
The players' union waited a month to offer a counter-proposal as it requested additional financial data from the league. When the union proposed it on August 14, it retained a salary cap, but de-linked it from revenue. It proposed a fixed cap for three years, followed by a players' option to return to the terms of the expired CBA in the fourth year. Fehr suggested their proposal could save the league as much as $465 million and would feature an enhanced revenue sharing system that would help lower-revenue teams.