As much as lockouts seem woven into the fabric of today's NHL, there has been
only one shortened regular season before this year. Disregarding the one season
when no games were played (2004-05), the only NHL season shortened by a work
stoppage came in 1994-95, a 48-game affair that, surprisingly, is fondly
remembered by many of the players who went through it. Not that anyone enjoyed missing a paycheck, but some players who experienced
a 48-game season say today's players would like it better than they might think
if the NHL goes that route.
"Every game felt like a playoff game. It was very exciting as a player in that way," said former Avalanche winger Dave Reid, who was the Boston Bruins' player representative that season. "The puck was dropped and you had to win that game. The playoff race was on from Game 1. You knew you couldn't have a slump at all if you wanted to make the playoffs, so you were just so geared up to play all the time, as opposed to a normal season where you knew you could lose a few in a row and still be fine."
The NHL lockout is in its 90th day, but negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement are plodding along. There seems to be widespread agreement that, if a season is to happen at all, it will be 48 to 54 games in length. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said if a season is to have any integrity at all, it will need to have a minimum of 48 games. Unlike the NBA, whose lockout last year produced a 66-game season instead of 82, starting on Christmas, the NHL is unlikely to squeeze so many games into a shortened calendar. If the Avalanche's 82-game regular season had stayed intact, Colorado would have played its 39th game Jan. 12. The NHL's 1994-95 lockout was over Jan. 11, 1995, and nine days later the season began. That year, the NHL extended the end of the regular season from its intended mid-to-late April finish to May 3, so teams didn't have to play as many games on back-to-back nights as the NBA did. It's possible that could happen again. "I don't remember it being very taxing on the body, any more than if it had been a full season," said Claude Lemieux, the former Avalanche winger whose New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup that season, with Lemieux winning the Conn Smythe Trophy. "We condensed things by maybe a couple weeks shorter than they would have been, but it wasn't bad. And the games were all like playoff games. You knew you couldn't fall off the wagon much, so it was definitely more intense for the players and the fans."
That 1994-95 season was the last in Quebec for Joe Sakic and the Nordiques. The team flourished in the 48 games, finishing 30-13-5 for first place in the Eastern Conference.
"We really came in ready to play," said Sakic, whose team lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Rangers. "We knew that (if we had) a three- or four-game losing streak, we were probably done for the playoffs. It was no fun sitting out those three or four months, but once we got back we kind of forgot about it and were real excited to play. It went great, but we just couldn't follow things up in the playoffs."
For the Avs, or any team to succeed in a possible shortened season, Lemieux said the first week or two back as a team will be the key. "You have to adjust your mind-set a lot," he said. "You get thrown into the deep end of the pool right away."
• Season was reduced from 84 to 48 games. A similar schedule could result this time, though the regular season now is only 82 games.
• There were 26 teams in the NHL that season, now there are 30.
• If the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals between Detroit and New Jersey had gone to seven games, the final game would have been played July 1 — which would have been the only time in league history to feature a July game. New Jersey won in a four-game sweep, finishing on June 24.
"Every game felt like a playoff game. It was very exciting as a player in that way," said former Avalanche winger Dave Reid, who was the Boston Bruins' player representative that season. "The puck was dropped and you had to win that game. The playoff race was on from Game 1. You knew you couldn't have a slump at all if you wanted to make the playoffs, so you were just so geared up to play all the time, as opposed to a normal season where you knew you could lose a few in a row and still be fine."
The NHL lockout is in its 90th day, but negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement are plodding along. There seems to be widespread agreement that, if a season is to happen at all, it will be 48 to 54 games in length. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said if a season is to have any integrity at all, it will need to have a minimum of 48 games. Unlike the NBA, whose lockout last year produced a 66-game season instead of 82, starting on Christmas, the NHL is unlikely to squeeze so many games into a shortened calendar. If the Avalanche's 82-game regular season had stayed intact, Colorado would have played its 39th game Jan. 12. The NHL's 1994-95 lockout was over Jan. 11, 1995, and nine days later the season began. That year, the NHL extended the end of the regular season from its intended mid-to-late April finish to May 3, so teams didn't have to play as many games on back-to-back nights as the NBA did. It's possible that could happen again. "I don't remember it being very taxing on the body, any more than if it had been a full season," said Claude Lemieux, the former Avalanche winger whose New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup that season, with Lemieux winning the Conn Smythe Trophy. "We condensed things by maybe a couple weeks shorter than they would have been, but it wasn't bad. And the games were all like playoff games. You knew you couldn't fall off the wagon much, so it was definitely more intense for the players and the fans."
That 1994-95 season was the last in Quebec for Joe Sakic and the Nordiques. The team flourished in the 48 games, finishing 30-13-5 for first place in the Eastern Conference.
"We really came in ready to play," said Sakic, whose team lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Rangers. "We knew that (if we had) a three- or four-game losing streak, we were probably done for the playoffs. It was no fun sitting out those three or four months, but once we got back we kind of forgot about it and were real excited to play. It went great, but we just couldn't follow things up in the playoffs."
For the Avs, or any team to succeed in a possible shortened season, Lemieux said the first week or two back as a team will be the key. "You have to adjust your mind-set a lot," he said. "You get thrown into the deep end of the pool right away."
Then and now
The NHL locked out players to start the 1994-95 season, a dispute that lingered until Jan. 11, 1995. Some key facts from that year, with similarities and differences from today:• Season was reduced from 84 to 48 games. A similar schedule could result this time, though the regular season now is only 82 games.
• There were 26 teams in the NHL that season, now there are 30.
• If the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals between Detroit and New Jersey had gone to seven games, the final game would have been played July 1 — which would have been the only time in league history to feature a July game. New Jersey won in a four-game sweep, finishing on June 24.
Winger Claude Lemieux in
1995, the year the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup in a strike-shortened
season.
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