2012–13 NHL season

The season start was delayed from its original October 11, 2012, date due to a lockout imposed by the NHL franchise owners after the expiration of the league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

On September 13, 2012, all 29 league ownership groups (with the Phoenix Coyotes collectively owned by the NHL) authorized commissioner Gary Bettman to lock out the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) upon the expiration of the NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on September 15.

In preparation for the lockout, NHL teams assigned all of their eligible players to their American Hockey League farm clubs.

[4] Although Bettman acknowledged the 2005–12 CBA was fair, he also stated that he was demanding concessions as a result of the late 2000s recession, even though the league experienced significant growth at that time.

[7] The NHL season officially entered a lockout after the expiration of the CBA on September 15, 2012, prior to the planned start of the pre-season.

[10][11][12][13] On January 6, 2013, after a 16-hour negotiating session, the owners and players union reached a tentative agreement for a 10-year deal.

NHL owners ratified the CBA on January 9, 2013,[14] followed three days later by the deal's ratification by NHLPA members,[15] and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two parties, marking their official agreement on the labour pact.

[15][16] The NHL announced a 48-game schedule, starting on January 19, 2013, and ending on April 28, 2013, consisting solely of intra-conference competition.

The salary cap figure is in effect until the end of the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Player's Association.

The arena, originally constructed as the home for the National Basketball Association's Brooklyn Nets, was intended to be expanded to meet NHL standards.

[23] Originally planned for October 11, 2012, the lockout delay pushed the start of the 2012–13 season to January 19, 2013, with 12 games for the opening night.

In March 2012, the NHL announced that it had decided not to start the season with games in Europe, because of the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations and the surrounding uncertainty.

[32] However no agreement between the KHL and the Barclays Center had been signed, and the KHL announced the two games would be held in Russia; due to the NHL lockout, the signing of a 25-year lease with the New York Islanders, and pleas from the teams' fans to keep the games in Russia.

The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.

CBC and TSN then split the first three rounds of the playoffs, selecting the rights to individual series using a draft-like setup.