During the fall and winter of 2012, the NHL and the NHLPA had a little disagreement over their working relationship. The squabble over revenue sharing, contract length and a salary cap lasted from September 15th until January 12th of 2013. While it wasn’t as devastating to fans as the 2004-05 lockout*, it did deny fans over 600 NHL games, and reduced the season from 82 to games to 48. It also cost Lightning fans the chance to see whether Steven Stamkos could score 60 goals in back-to-back seasons.
During the lockout some players went to Europe and Russia to try and stay in shape.