Lockout Imminent. What else is there?

So the NHL and the NHLPA are still apparently 8% apart on revenue sharing. For the players a lockout seems all but imminent. The current collective bargaining agreement has expired and another NHL season seems to be in jeopardy. The preseason is most likely going to be the first casualty of these ongoing negotiations between the two sides. Really any hockey fan isn't going to care all that much until the regular season which is supposed to start in October when we start losing a portion of those 82 games that we love to watch. Whether you sit in front of your television with specific food and beverage that goes with that game of the night. Or maybe you're unable to be seated in front of your tv and you are constantly checking your phone or computer for updates on all of your favorite teams that might be playing that night. You are still going to need to find other sports or hobbies to fill the void these unfortunate events have caused.

 With the NBA work stoppage last year and the regular season not starting until Christmas time the NHL gained a lot more support and exposure in the US. Hockey is obviously more popular in Canada than the US, Americans started to follow Canada's pastime more closely. Now with a reverse situation from this time last year does the NBA gain all those fans back? Would they have started watching basketball again this year regardless? Do some NHL fans fill the void left by hockey with basketball? Personally myself I cannot watch basketball. I call basketball a highlight sport, its one where I can turn on the highlights and find out all I need to know about all the games that took place that night just by watching the clips. I honestly don't want this to turn into a basketball bash but the last two minutes in a game seem to take a eternity.

Now maybe like me you decide football? Whether its the CFL or the NFL I like both and consider them to be two completely different games. Just with similar sized balls, equipment and name. Despite the similarities add up how many games in each of the leagues and you still seem to be short on sports and bad habit fulfillment (burgers, pizza and beer). An NHL season is 82 games long for each of the 30 teams whereas the NFL is 16 games with 32 teams. The CFL is 18 games with 8 teams. Now where the NHL's schedule is spread throughout the week on any day football games are concentrated mostly on weekends as well as some Mondays and Thursdays. Now work playoffs into the equation and depending on how long these negotiations take we could be missing our beloved Stanley Cup runs we count on watching every year. College football is always another option but I believe with the offensive styles in college football you don't get to see the defensive side of the ball enough and I already feel the CFL fills that void.

 Now just because NHL may not happen this year that DOES NOT and I repeat DOES NOT mean hockey is dead. You can find someway of watching the KHL or the Swedish Elite league? The KHL has made a statement this past week saying that if there were to be a lockout they would only want elite caliber players. Now what about the players that are not regular top 6 forwards on an NHL team? Well those guys would be playing in the AHL, most NHL teams have already started assigning players to their AHL affiliates. You will still be able to see some of the players from your favorite team on North American Soil. Some of the U20 players who have not played 9 or more games in the NHL are still eligible to play in the juniors. Now this is the caliber of hockey I will be watching if I ever feel the itch to watch a rubber puck sliding on ice from stick blade to stick blade. With the CHL(juniors) you will be seeing the NHL stars of tomorrow. By watching this brand of hockey after this negotiation debacle a new collective bargaining agreement will have enabled you to watch an up and coming star on the horizon.  

Hopefully the players and owners can come to some kind of agreement in the near future so no fan is deprived of what is no doubt going to be an exciting season. I don't believe the steps taken by the NHL in the past few years have contributed to building its fan base. The NHL cannot afford to lockout its players. Whether it was Crosby vs. Ovechkin, Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia, or the 24/7 shows the NHL has been doing the last two years it has done a great job of marketing its product. It would be a shame to see all that hard work go to waste.