NEW YORK -- The NHL canceled its draft Thursday, the latest casualty of the six-month lockout.
The annual amateur draft had been scheduled for June 25-26 in Ottawa, but it was scrapped along with the entire 2004-05 season that was called off Feb. 16.
Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer, said the draft could not proceed without a collective bargaining agreement. He apologized to fans, the city of Ottawa and "to everyone who already had put so much time and effort into creating a memorable weekend for the players and their families."
The decision was another blow for the NHL, which wanted to have a new labor agreement with the players association in time to conduct the draft on schedule. The league, which imposed the lockout Sept. 16, quickly initiated talks with the union just a few weeks after the season was lost.
|
|
| Kings GM Dave Taylor works the phones at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville. (Getty Images) |
So Canadian phenom Sidney Crosby -- most likely the No. 1 pick -- remains in limbo. Once a deal is in place, the NHL will have to determine the selection order.
Usually, that is set by the previous season's standings, but that is not possible this year because the NHL became the first major North American sports league to lose an entire campaign to a labor dispute.
Washington won last year's draft lottery after finishing with the league's second-worst record and grabbed Russian sensation Alexander Ovechkin with the No. 1 pick. The Capitals would love the chance to go first again and add Crosby to a lineup that would be markedly improved since the last time they took the ice nearly a year ago.
Just like the city of Atlanta, which lost the chance to host this year's All-Star Game, it is unknown when Ottawa will be able to have the draft in Canada's capital. The NHL said the league is committed to bringing the event back there as soon as possible.
Roy Mlakar, president and chief executive officer of the Ottawa Senators and Corel Centre, said "'Hockey Country' would have put on one of the best NHL entry drafts."
The earliest Atlanta can host the All-Star festivities is 2008 since the sites for the next two years have been assigned.
The NHL made two proposals to the players association last week. One contained a system in which player salaries are linked to league revenues and the other didn't.
The union did not seem impressed, but it didn't reject the offers right away. Instead, the players association is conductng a three-day meeting this week and might be preparing a counterproposal. After those meetings are concluded, the players association said it will get back in touch with the league.
The NHL told the union that if it wanted to pursue a "de-linked" system, those negotiations would have to be held quickly. The draft was one deadline the league hoped to beat, but that wasn't possible.
NHL general managers are to meet in Detroit on April 7-8 to further discuss rules changes the league hopes will spice up the game and draw back fans already angry a full hockey year was lost.
Then the league's board of governors meet April 20 to discuss next season. The NHL said it is committed to playing hockey next season, with or without a labor agreement. The use of replacement players already has been discussed. That plan was one of several up for discussion when the board met March 1 in New York.
