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Mod 13 Team2
Mgmt 5135
Module 13: Conflict, Power, and Politics
Case Study: Negotiating on Thin Ice: The 2004-2005 NHL Dispute
MGMT 5135
Fall 2012
Team 2
December 2, 2012
Team Members
Conway, Ashley
Heasty, Mark
Johnson, Laura
McDonald, Adrian
Sarkis, Christine
0
Mod 13 Team2
Mgmt 5135
Business Goals
On September 15, 2004, the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NHL and the NHLPA
expired. The CBA provided the basic framework for players’ salary contracts and was the keystone for
agreements on a wide array of issues, including salary arbitration, free agency and guaranteed contracts.
Since the two sides had failed to negotiate a new CBA, NHL Commissioner Gary Be1man locked out the
players, which meant that no hockey would be played, no revenues would be collected, and no salaries
would be paid.
On one side of the negotiations for a new CBA stood the NHL which represents the collective interests of
the NHL team owners and was responsible for operational and administrative tasks such as se2ng game
rules, scheduling seasons, selling national television rights and negotiating the CBA with the NHLPA. The
NHLPA is the labor union representing NHL players’ interests. The Executive Board and committee of the
NHLPA were composed of mostly veteran players. The NHL Commissioner Gary Be1man and Chief Legal
O4cer Bill Daly represented the team owners and NHLPA Executive Director Bob Goodenow, Senior
Director Ted Saskin, and Union President Trevor Linden represented the players in developing a new CBA.
The NHL insisted on cu2ng costs and curtailing the growth of players’ salaries and was resolute on two
key issues: 1) the introduction of a salary cap and 2) linking salary to revenues as reported on the
financial statements. The NHLPA was opposed to these measures.
