Tournament was bittersweet because you knew that NHL hockey was not coming back for a bit and both the PA and owners were going to dig their heels in. I was 19 at the time. The next high level competition tournament was the IIHF world championship in May. 2005 was a year where I enjoyed Major Junior hockey, specifically the London Knights who steamrolled everyone and won the Memorial cup, beating then phenom Sydney Crosby along their journey. It wasn't like good/exciting hockey wasn't there to be watched. I recall, Bettman gave the players a better offer had they settled months earlier (higher cap, more revenue share) and they declined. The league is now more profitable than ever, with salaries still high. Who lost out? Fans pay more for tickets, and top megastars make peanuts compared to their competition from baseball and Basketball (Mckinnon only make 16 million in 2024 when in 2004 Jagr made 11).
