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Greg Jamison, president and CEO of the San Jose Sharks, holds a press conference Wednesday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose to comment on the National Hockey League season cancellation announced earlier in the day by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Salary-ca [Click to enlarge]

Tuesday afternoon, National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman held a press conference in New York to announce the official cancellation of the 2004-05 NHL season.

In doing so, the NHL will become the first major league in history to lose an entire season due to a work stoppage.

San Jose Sharks President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Jamison held his own press conference at HP Pavilion following Bettman's announcement.

Jamison said the season was lost due to a lack of a new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players Association, after the old agreement expired on Sept. 15, 2004.

"As an organization and a league we're committed to getting a new (collective bargaining agreement) that makes financial sense because we have no other alternative," Jamison said.

The Sharks CEO said the league has lost hundreds of millions of dollars during the past 10 years.

"This team, the San Jose Sharks, went to the Western Conference Finals last season and our expenses still exceeded our revenues by more than six million," Jamison said.

Former SJSU meteorology student Erik Kuhre was selected as the 2003-04 "Sharks 7th Fan of the Year" after he entered a contest seeking the team's most dedicated fan.

The 26-year-old Sharks fan said he was upset and angry when he learned the season would be lost.

"I plan to be back for the first game when they return, but I will have bitterness toward both sides," Kuhre said. "Not even World Wars can stop the cup from being presented - just a bunch of stubborn, selfish millionaires with huge egos did."

San Jose State University hockey club head coach Ron Glasow said he has seen an increase in attendance at Spartan games as Sharks fans found their way to the Logitech Ice Center, but it's not an issue of winning or losing Sharks fans.

"Our job with SJSU is getting more kids interested in the sport and pursuing it through academics," Glasow said. "But we need the Sharks because the sport's real exposure in the area is the Sharks."

Coach Glasow said the NHL is now going to have to go above and beyond what they've done in the past, when they do return, to rectify the damage done by losing an entire season.

"Though they've already given more than any other sport - as I'm sure the Sharks have - they'll have to put forth a little more effort with the fans, like how it used to be," Glasow said.

Former Sharks captain and current General Manager Doug Wilson knows the team is going to have to be better once it returns in order to appease the fans and survive the lockout.

"I know for a lot of our players, to not build on last year's success is really frustrating," Wilson said. "We have a responsibility to give back, such as building a fourth rink at Logitech and being involved with youth programs, which are things we would have done whether we had a work stoppage or not."

Detroit native Jean Hurchalla has been a Red Wings fan for more than 40 years and upon moving to San Jose, she has recently grown fond of the only professional hometown hockey team.

Hurchalla said some people love a team or they love the sport.

"I love the sport, which was proven by the fact that I'm now hooked on San Jose State hockey," Hurchalla said. "To me, that's a better game than what the NHL has provided the last few years."

Janet Pele is one of a number of Sharks season ticket holders who recently began attending SJSU hockey games and plans to go to more games in the future.

"The opportunity was there for the Spartans to build a broader fan base and they rose to the occasion and grabbed it," Pele said. "They really showed an appreciation for the fans and a love of the game."

Spartan hockey club captain Ray Kellam heard the news of the season's cancellation from his roommates after he returned home from class.

"We were angry and pissed off, kicking stuff around," Kellam said. "It's the worst thing that could happen to the sport. On the West Coast, in San Jose, hockey wouldn't be anything like it is now if it wasn't for the Sharks."

Hurchalla said she still believes in miracles.

"A miracle can happen here with the Sharks, and a miracle can happen (at the nationals) in Detroit with the Spartans. As long as they believe they can do it anything can happen," Hurchalla said.

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