Representatives from Canada's six NHL clubs addressed the media Wednesday in the hours following Bettman's announcement to scrap the 2004-05 season.
Officials from the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens echoed Bettman's apology to hockey fans for the cancellation.
However, the clubs also reiterated their support for the league's stance that wholesale economic changes are needed.
Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lowe said he had a, "numb, empty feeling," about the NHL cancellation. (CP File Photo)
"We're here because our business is sick," Edmonton Oilers president Patrick LaForge told a news conference.
Laforge called the current system "insatiable."
"It continues to swallow up all our good efforts," he said. "We can't fill the black hole."
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The Oilers say they're spending more than 75 cents on every dollar earned on player costs.
Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe compared the cancellation of the 2004-05 NHL season to the way he felt when teammate Wayne Gretzky was traded from Edmonton to the Los Angeles Kings Aug. 9, 1988.
"I have the same sort of numb, empty feeling, I have to say, but this one didn't surprise me as much," Lowe said of the cancellation.
"My six-year-old asked me yesterday, 'when are the Oilers going play again,' and I answered, 'I don't know.'"
The NHL and the players' union were unable to reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement despite last-ditch efforts in the days leading to a league-imposed 11 a.m. ET Wednesday deadline.
The NHL's final offer to the union included a $42.5-million US per team salary cap without linking player costs and salaries.
The NHL Players' Association countered with a figure of $49 million, creating a gap of $6.5-million per team.
Canadiens president Pierre Boivin told a Montreal media conference that his club could never afford to accept a $49-million salary cap.
In Calgary, Flames president Ken King apologized to hockey fans, but said securing a salary cap is the only way the Flames could repeat their storied run to the Stanley Cup final last season.
Last spring, Calgary became the first Canadian team to reach the final in a decade. Led by team captain Jarome Iginla and all-star goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, the Flames came within one win of raising Lord Stanley's mug, losing Game 7 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
King said the Flames were already struggling before the lockout Sept. 16 and the $42.5 million cap offered by the league would not have stopped the bleeding.
"We could not secure the nucleus of our team," he said, noting that arbitration was needed to make a deal with Kiprusoff, Iginla remains unsigned and it took nearly half-a-year to sign first-round draft pick Dion Phaneuf, a star defenceman for Team Canada at the recent world juniors.
King said the Flames and other small market teams need a salary cap for survival, adding that fans who have contacted the club support the league's position.
Dave Nonis, the Vancouver Canucks' GM and senior vice-president of hockey operations, also said he feels the hockey business needs to be fixed.
"Despite our frustration with the current situation, a new CBA is essential," Nonis said in a statement posted on the team's website.
"A system that ultimately reduces the huge disparities in team salaries, and contributes to a more competitive balance within the league will be of great benefit for our fans and for the long-term success of our team in Vancouver."
NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky said he believes the negotiating process will now hit a standstill.
"What scares me now is ... I don't feel there'll be a lot of negotiating between now and next September," said Gretzky, managing partner of the Phoenix Coyotes. "Hopefully I'm wrong."
The NHL is the first major professional sports league in North America to cancel an entire season due to a labour dispute.
