National Hockey League labour relations |
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1992 strike | |
1994–95 lockout | |
2004–05 lockout | |
2012–13 lockout | |
Collective Bargaining Agreement | |
The 1992 NHL strike was the first strike action initiated by the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) against the National Hockey League's (NHL) owners. It was called on April 1, 1992, and lasted ten days. The settlement saw the players earn a large increase in their playoff bonuses, increased control over the licensing of their likenesses and changes to the free agency system. In addition, the season was expanded to 84 games and included provisions for each team to play two games per season in non-NHL cities. As a result of the strike, the owners removed John Ziegler as President, replacing him with Gil Stein. The strike fundamentally altered the relationship between the league and its players.
The NHLPA was formed in 1967, and led by Alan Eagleson, who served as executive-director. Eagleson remained in that position until December 1991, when he was forced to resign after the players became uneasy with the relationship he had with the league's owners. Three years later, in November 1994, the Law Society of Upper Canada charged Eagleson with numerous offences, accusing him of embezzlement, providing unauthorized loans using union funds to his friends and associates and of colluding with the NHL's owners. In 1996, he faced similar charges from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and later the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. In 1998, Eagleson pleaded guilty to the charges, earning him a C$1 million fine and eighteen-months in jail.
Eagleson was succeeded as NHLPA executive-director on January 1, 1992, by former player agent Bob Goodenow. He had served as deputy director of the NHLPA since 1990, and had spent his time instructing the players on the issues the union faced in its relations with the league. As executive-director, Goodenow was tasked with negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, which had expired prior to the start of the 1991–92 NHL season. Goodenow met with NHL President John Ziegler as the two attempted to negotiate an agreement on a range of issues including how free agency worked, the arbitration process, playoff bonuses and pensions. The issue of how to share trading card revenue was considered to be one of the greatest stumbling blocks the two sides faced.