2004-05: The Lockout Season. The Lost Season.

Whatever you call it, it changed the NHL forever. And the annual McDonald's Hockey set which had been available each season since 1991 was not produced. A few sets were produced none the less (I assume in the hope that the season would resume), but Series 2 of Upper Deck's main release was cancelled due to the lockout, and was just 210 cards. And remaining UD releases that year were either equally small (SP Authentic) or focused on retro players.

Let's have a quick look at what led to the lock-out, and the lasting change it had on both the NHL and the hockey card market.

By the time the 2003-04 NHL came to a close with the Tampa Bay Lightning hoisting the Cup, things were not looking great in the NHL. TV viewership was down, people complained the game had become too boring, too much clutching & grabbing. Too much neutral-zone trap. But more crucially, teams owners were not making money. Player salaries were out control, with an average of 76% of team revenue used to pay player salaries.

Small-market teams were getting crushed. Some teams were headed towards bankruptcy.

The Owners wanted a hard salary cap.

The Players absolutely, resolutely did not.

And like any other fundamental, deep disagreemnt between employees and management, nobody budged. When the Collective Barganing agreement expired, and neither side willing to conceed, the NHL locked-out the players.

After 310 days of lockout, an agreement between the Owners and Players was reached, lowering guaranteed player salaries by 22% to 54% of total league revenues. Additional rules changes were also put in place to address some of the other issues the NHL faced. Gone was the two-line pass, gone was games ending in a tie. In an effort to make the game more exciting, a 5 minute 3 on 3 overtime, followed by a shootout if necessary, was added. Referees were instructed to clamp down on the rampant hooking & holding. A trapazoid was added behind the net limiting the area goalies were allowed to play the puck. Teams that iced the puck could no longer make changes. Goalie equipment shrank in an attempt to increase scoring. The neutral zone got smaller. And ref were mic'ed up, making penalty announcements over the area PA.

Together, the salery cap plus rule changes saved the NHL

And little footnote - Upper Deck was given an exclusive license to produce NHL / NHLPA hockey cards. Full monopoly.

So why did the league select Upper Deck? I think the simple answer is they had, to that point, been the dominant brand. They were probably in the strongest financial position of any card company, and proved to the NHL they could be a long-term, stable partner. They had immidiate brand recognition with collectors, and the NHL was looking for a partner to help grow the sport, and card collectors were a key demographic. While all that may be true, I don't think monopolies are good for pricing or competition, even though Upper Deck has ressurected legacy brands like O-Pee-Chee and Fleer, creating some faux competition between sub-brands.

Either way, both the NHL and hockey card collecting had changed forever. It's clear the changes were good for the NHL, but were they equally good for card collectors?