During the lockout, further attempts to negotiate a new CBA floundered, with neither side willing to back down, and this led to the entire season being canceled on February 16, 2005.

[4] According to an NHL-commissioned report prepared by former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Arthur Levitt, prior to 2004–05, NHL clubs spent about 76 percent of their gross revenues on players' salaries – a figure far higher than those in other North American sports – and collectively lost US$273 million during the 2002–03 season.

[11] In addition, in May of the 2004–05 lockout, ESPN formally denied the option to show NHL games on the network due to low ratings in previous seasons.

In late January 2005 - near what the hockey media believed to be the point of no return for the 2004–05 season - discussions were held by the negotiators from both sides, with Bettman and Goodenow not being invited.

The NHLPA was represented by President Trevor Linden, Senior Director Ted Saskin, and associate counsel Ian Pulver.

Shortly after this series of meetings, Daly presented Saskin a proposal that the league believed made a number of concessions to the players, but was still based on a salary cap linked to revenues.

Bolstered by the thought of losing a second season to a labor dispute, the sides began meeting again in earnest in June, holding what sources to media would describe as "marathon sessions" in hopes of coming to an agreement.

On July 21, the players association ratified the agreement with 87 percent of its members voting in favor; the 30 team owners unanimously approved it the next day, officially ending the 310-day lockout.

On February 7, 2006, a settlement was reached in which the trophy could be awarded to non-NHL teams should the league not operate for a season, although the NHL by that point was playing again.

NHLPA Executive Director and General Counsel Bob Goodenow, seen by many as the biggest villain in the lockout because of his hardline stance against a salary cap, resigned from his position five days after the agreement was ratified amid criticism from many of his constituents.

Saskin was officially named executive director of the NHLPA on November 25, 2005, after the players' vote of confidence was confirmed by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

[19] NHL Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Bill Daly was promoted to deputy commissioner after the lockout.

Teemu Selanne also made a contract with Jokerit where he began his professional career, but injuries prevented him from suiting up for the entire season.

Timonen and Kapanen partially owned the team and the duo was joined by Adam Hall who also played for KalPa during the lockout.

Erik Cole, Olaf Kolzig, and Nathan Dempsey were among the notable players to go to Germany to play in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

Fair share of Slovak NHL players returned to their home country to play for various Slovak Extraliga sides during the lockout, including Pavol Demitra, Marián Hossa, Marián Gáborík (all in HK Dukla Trenčín), Miroslav Šatan and Ľubomír Višňovský (both in HC Slovan Bratislava), Michal Handzuš, Richard Zedník and Vladimír Országh (all in HKm Zvolen), Ladislav Nagy and Martin Štrbák (both in HC Košice), and Žigmund Pálffy (in HK 36 Skalica).

Several NHL players signed in the Italian league Serie A, including Eric Belanger to the Bolzano-Bozen Foxes, Craig Adams to the Milano Vipers, Matt Cullen to SG Cortina and Fernando Pisani to the SCL Tigers, among others.

Calgary Flames players Steve Montador and Steven Reinprecht won the French Ligue Magnus with HC Mulhouse.

Jerseys worn by players were based on Original Six (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York, Toronto), but all had the words "OSHL" in white, three stars patches on the shoulders instead of team logos or cities.

NHL players looking for a place to play clearly preferred stable, established European clubs to upstart leagues that were derisively dubbed as "fly-by-night" operations by their critics.

The team signed Detroit Red Wings players Chris Chelios, Derian Hatcher, and Kris Draper.

Scott Gomez played for his hometown team, the Alaska Aces and won the ECHL's Most Valuable Player award, while Curtis Brown, whose wife is a native of Southern California, played for the San Diego Gulls, and Bates Battaglia joined his younger brother Anthony on the Mississippi Sea Wolves roster.

A pair of Nashville Predators teammates, Shane Hnidy and Jeremy Stevenson, both of whom had early careers in the ECHL, returned to the league and found themselves playing against each other in the first round of the Kelly Cup playoffs, as Hnidy's Florida Everblades faced Stevenson's South Carolina Stingrays in the American Conference quarterfinals.

Undrafted journeyman Chris Minard had been signed with Alaska for his third season in the ECHL when the lockout allowed Davis Payne to assign him on the same line as Gomez at the Aces.

Gomez saw a gem that led to the 2005 ECHL All-Star Game, and a top ECHL player that season; the pairing led to Gomez giving Minard a shot after the lockout ended, and he played his way into the AHL, and eventually signing a two-way contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, receiving in 2007–08 his first call-up to the NHL.

The Ontario Hockey League was a particular beneficiary, with teams such as the London Knights and Saginaw Spirit garnering considerable attention.

In the Western Hockey League, the Calgary Hitmen were the most watched team in North America, averaging 10,062 fans per game.

The most notable effect was observed in the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and Thief River Falls, Minnesota.

The Canadians not only ended a seven-year gold medal drought at this competition, they outscored their opponents 41–7 and defeated Russia 6–1 in the final game.

Many analysts believe that the Canadian team was the most dominating ever in this tournament, aided in no small part by players such as Patrice Bergeron who could have expected to have commitments in the NHL.