HACKENSACK, N.J. - They battled with the commissioner and the owners.
Some of them even fought among themselves.
Now, after a lockout wiped out the 2004-05 season, the NHL players are ready to make nice and get back on the ice. Training camps open this week.
"I really believe there's going to be a lot of excitement coming back into the game, being back in the locker room with the boys, being in a hockey atmosphere, locker room atmosphere, getting on the ice in front of the fans again to play," Los Angeles Kings center Jeremy Roenick said during a conference call last week. "I think the guys are going to be really excited about that."
A year ago at this time, the World Cup of Hockey was approaching its conclusion in Toronto and the players and owners were bracing for the lockout, which began Sept. 15.
The owners insisted on a salary cap and a link between total revenue and players salaries. The players initially refused to accept a cap and suggested a luxury tax instead.
After some internal bickering, the players eventually gave in on the salary cap without a link to total revenue, but it was too late to save the season, which commissioner Gary Bettman canceled on Feb. 16. Even after players conceded on the link to revenue in May, it took until July 13 for the sides to finally reach an agreement on a six-year deal with a cap at $39 million for the 2005-06 season.
Now, the lost season is behind them and the players just want to play.
"I think the guys are excited about going back on the ice," said Buffalo's Daniel Briere. "We've had a chance to skate here a little bit the last couple of weeks with most of the players. There's a lot of excitement. I think there's a lot of things we took for granted. . . . Obviously it was a frustrating time and we're all a little disappointed about losing a season. But we're also very excited about finally starting this upcoming season."
"What happened happened," Ottawa's Dany Heatley added. "Now, we've just got to get back to work. For the next six years of this deal, we've got to do our job."
Heatley is one of a host of players who have changed teams since the lockout ended. It was at his request that the Atlanta Thrashers traded him to the Senators.
Most of the other moves were prompted by the new salary cap.
The Colorado Avalanche didn't have room to fit Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote under the cap, so they didn't re-sign them. Forsberg ended up signing with Philadelphia and Foote went to Columbus. St. Louis couldn't keep Chris Pronger and his $7 million salary, so the Blues traded him to Edmonton.
After signing Forsberg to a two-year, $11.5 million deal, the Flyers had no cap space for Roenick at $4.94 million for 2005-06, so they traded him to the Kings.
With all of the changes, most fans probably don't know who is on which team. But even that might turn out to be a positive for the NHL.
"There has been a lot of player movement, which I think is going to add a lot of excitement to the league," Roenick said.
Training camp will be a time for new teammates to get used to each other and for the players who didn't play at all last season to shake off the rust. It also will give them the chance to adjust to the rules changes, which include the elimination of the red line to legalize two-line passes and the addition of a shootout to decide tie games after overtime.
The regular season begins Oct. 5 with all 30 NHL teams in action that night.
"With the season starting at the time when it's supposed to start, in early September for camp, early October for the regular season, hopefully the public kind of hopefully will forget as much about the last year as they possibly can and just get excited for the winter and the hockey months," Roenick said. "But I do think the boys are going to be excited to get back to work. We're going to start pretty hard."
