NHL Lockout: Can the League Recover from Yet Another Work Stoppage?

The NHL has locked out its players after the collective bargaining agreement set to expire Saturday evening at 11:59 p.m. ET was allowed to pass without another being agreed upon, according to Katie Strang of ESPN.

With negotiations for a new CBA at a standstill, the NHL Players Association and NHL have remained unwilling to bend on their requests and demands, leaving the fans of the sport out in the cold.

After the league lost much of the momentum it had carried through the '80s and into the '90s with the 1994-95 partially lost season, the league fell into the exact same trap 10 years later and lost the entire season in 2004-05. The league has yet to fully recover.

Here we are almost 10 years later and facing the same problems once again; this time, though, there may be no chance for recovery.

What They’re Saying

TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting on the legality of the lockout:

"

NHL wins labour case in Quebec. Legal to lockout the players.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) September 14, 2012"

The Montreal Gazette’s Dave Stubbs tells the truth about Bettman and why he wields the power he does:

"

Fans furious at only Gary Bettman should realize that 30 #NHL club owners have given him absolute power to execute a lockout

— Dave Stubbs (@Dave_Stubbs) September 15, 2012"

To finally bring some fan perspective to the situation, the Hanson Brothers express their displeasure with the entire situation:

"

Waiting all off season for the NHL to start and now a lockout? What a joke.

— Hanson Brothers (@Hanson_Bros) September 15, 2012"

Gary Bettman spoke to the NHL Network on the subject of the lockout; the validity of his words has been questioned:

"

Nobody wants to make a deal and play hockey more than I do. This is what I do. This is what my life is about…This is very hard and I feel terrible about it.

"

The Hardcore Fans

While this fight is over the financial arraignment for the league, the reason it is allowed to continue by all parties involved is because they all know the hardcore hockey fans will return to the sport the second the puck is dropped.

Unlike any other major sport in the United States, there is a diehard following for the NHL that is very small compared to the other sports. While their numbers may be smaller, their dedication to the sport is second to none.

As much as that hardcore mentality leads to one of the greatest and most educated sports communities, it also can be exploited by the people who make money off the hockey obsession.

The NHL knows that the Canadian fans can’t live without hockey and they will flock back to it as soon as the first practice commences. The league also knows it has the diehard U.S. market in pocket already.

Hardcore fans will love the NHL no matter how many lockouts it has, and the NHL is exploiting that.

The Casual Fans

Where the NHL is going to destroy itself this time is with the casual fans—the men, women and children who were on the fence about the sport or just getting into it.

These new fans—those that have grown rapidly with the rise of the Internet—will be left without major league hockey of any kind to enjoy.

With basketball, college football, NFL and other sports taking place during the same period of time as the hockey season would, those sports will gain many of the casual fans that have lost interest in the locked-out NHL.

The NHL has been trying to market itself as mainstream as much as possible, but unlike the NFL, many casual fans in the United States feel like they can live without the league. When it returns, many younger fans will be jaded toward the sport because of the selfishness shown throughout this process.

If a fan is going to dump their hard-earned money into a sport, they want some respect in return; the NHL isn’t showing any of its fans an ounce of respect.

Check back for more on the National Hockey League as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s NHL page to get your fill of all things hockey.

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