NHL Lockout: Important Twitter Accounts to Follow During the Lockout

The clock struck 11:59 PM and both the NHL and NHLPA failed to reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement.

One minute later, the lockout officially began.

Now that the NHL is officially under a lockout, information about potential meetings, news and other related subject matter is going to be sought after.

Twitter is going to be a driving force during this lockout, so who should you follow?

Here are important Twitter accounts to follow during the lockout. If there was an important account missed, leave the person and their Twitter handle in the comments section below.

Darren Dreger

Darren Dreger is a TSN Insider who has tons of connections throughout the league. He is often the first to break major trades and free-agent signing information.

In order to stay on top of things related to the NHL lockout, follow Dreger at @DarrenDreger.

Elliotte Friedman

Elliotte Friedman is an NHL columnist for CBC.

He is one of the best writers in the business today, and he is always tweeting and posting pertinent NHL information. He often posts his "30 thoughts" columns, in which he breaks down what is going on in the NHL in 30 thoughts.

Friedman is going to be a valuable source to follow throughout the process.

You can follow Friedman at @FriedgeHNIC.

Bob McKenzie

Bob McKenzie, current TSN insider and former editor-in-chief of The Hockey News, is another well connected analyst who you should follow for lockout news.

McKenzie wrote an amazing tell-all entry about his feelings on the upcoming lockout, and it is a must-read at TSN.ca.

You can follow McKenzie at @TSNBobMcKenzie.

Greg Wyshynski

Greg Wyshynski is the editor of the Puck Daddy blog over at Yahoo! Sports, and he is a very important person to follow.

Wyshynski hosts a podcast every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Jeff Marek of Sportsnet, so he will definitely have a lot of lockout information and important guests on the "Marek vs Wyshynski" podcast during the lockout.

You can follow him at @Wyshynski and you should also follow his co-host, Jeff Marek over at @JeffMarek.

David Pagnotta

David Pagnotta is the editor-in-chief at The Fourth Period.

TFP is an online website and a magazine that covers the NHL and the lifestyles of players. Pagnotta is a writer who has tons of NHL player connections, so he will be tweeting pertinent lockout information (especially from the perspective of the NHL players).

You can follow Pagnotta at @TheFourthPeriod.

Jesse Spector

Jesse Spector is a columnist at the Sporting News after spending a lengthy amount of time at the NY Daily News, where he also spent a year as the New York Rangers' beat writer.

Spector is a very interesting writer who tweets a lot of interesting things besides hockey-related information.

Spector makes for a good follow during the lockout because he will get you the information you need to know, and he will crack some jokes or use some well-placed sarcasm to help you get through the depression of the lockout.

You can follow Spector at @JesseSpector.

Dmitry Chesnokov ‏

Dmitry Chesnokov ‏is a contributor at Yahoo's Puck Daddy blog, and he is a person you need to follow during the lockout.

Chesnokov also covers hockey for TSN as he has many different sources over in Europe and Russia.

Chesnokov is a writer you need to follow because he will be able to keep you updated on what players are going to the KHL and what they are doing once they get there.

You can follow Chesnokov at @dchesnokov.

Allan Walsh

Allan Walsh is a person to follow on Twitter during the lockout as he will update you almost anytime you check your Twitter feed.

He loves to tweet, and he is very upfront.

Walsh is a lawyer and player agent for Octagon-Hockey, and he has been very vocal against the NHL and how they have conducted business so far.

You can follow Walsh for the most up-to-date news from the NHLPA aspect at @Walsha.

Pierre LeBrun

Pierre LeBrun is a writer for ESPN.com as well as a frequent panelist and insider over at TSN.

LeBrun is a person who will likely be at every big meeting, and he will likely have all the latest information from the NHL-side of this lockout.

You can follow LeBrun at @Real_ESPNLeBrun.

Official NHL Twitter Account

The NHL's official Twitter account will likely be tweeting throughout this entire process, so you can follow them at @NHL.

Expect the tweets to be mostly links, so it would be best to rely on others in this slideshow for up-to-the-minute information.

Official NHLPA Account

For the obviously contrasting viewpoint on this lockout, it would be best to follow the official Twitter feed of the NHLPA.

You can follow them at @NHLPA.

Renaud P Lavoie

Renaud P Lavoie is the main hockey insider to follow from RDS.

Lavoie tweets in both English and French, and he is a very reliable tweeter. His sources are good, and if breaking news is sent out from his account there usually are no questions about its validity.

He is certainly going to bring a good perspective, and he is usually on top of the action as it happens, so you won't be disappointed or misinformed. 

To follow this bilingual tweeter, check out @RenLavoieRDS.

Adam Proteau

Adam Proteau is a columnist for The Hockey News, and both Proteau and the magazine will be a wealth of information during the lockout.

Proteau is an opinionated tweeter who loves to use humor and sarcasm to break up the monotony of everyday life. 

You can follow Proteau at @ProteauType.

Pavel Lysenkov

Pavel Lysenko is an NHL writer and the NHL editor for Sovietsky Sport in Russia.

He is a great guy to follow because he will be able to keep you updated on what is going on in the KHL during the lockout.

Players like Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin are likely to play overseas so make sure to follow Lysenko at @plysenkov.

David Shoalts

David Shoalts is a hockey columnist at The Globe and Mail.

Up to this point, Shoalts has been very proactive in lockout coverage, and he always offers some unique insights.

He is a well-informed tweeter and was one of the main writers during the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter watches during July.

You can follow Shoalts at @dshoalts.

The Players

Throughout the lockout, you can expect the NHL players to be very vocal throughout the process.

There are too many individual accounts to name so you can see a complete list of players on Twitter here.

Top tweeters during the lockout will likely include players such as: Scott Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul, Henrik Lundqvist, Paul Bissonnette, George Parros and assorted others.

Michael Russo

Michael Russo is a columnist for the Star Tribune in Minnesota, and he is one of the best writers covering the NHL today.

He really made a name for himself during the entire Zach Parise saga by getting the inside scoop on the action from Parise, himself.

Russo is a dedicated and down-to-earth writer, and he will be tweeting great information during the lockout.

You can follow Russo over at @RussoTrib.

Michael Grange

Michael Grange has done a solid job covering the CBA negotiations up to this point and it is expected that the same will continue during the lockout.

Grange is a writer for Rogers Sportsnet, and he tweets pretty frequently.

You can follow Grange at @michaelgrange.

Slava Malamud

Slava Malamud ‏is a foreign correspondent for Sport-Express in Russia, and he is a frequent NHL.com contributor.

Malmamud is another writer to follow for lockout news, especially when it comes to information about NHL players who are headed to the KHL.

You can follow him on Twitter at @SlavaMalamud.

Don Cherry

During the NHL lockout, there will be no NHL games and no Coach's Corner on CBC. In order to get the perspective from Don Cherry, you need to follow him on Twitter.

He has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind, so you can hear "Grapes" unfiltered on Twitter by following him at @CoachsCornerCBC.

Jeremy Roenick

Jeremy Roenick is a former NHL great who is still involved with the game as an analyst for NBC Sports.

Roenick has always been known as a straight-shooter who will give you his opinion on what is going on in hockey.

During the lockout, expect Roenick to be an active tweeter, so you can follow him at @Jeremy_Roenick.

Dan Rosen

Dan Rosen is a senior writer for NHL.com. Rosen is another writer who has been feverously tweeting about CBA negotiations leading up to this lockout. He is a writer who is going to continue tweeting information and he will likely post links to full length opinons and news over at NHL.com.

You can follow Rosen on Twitter at @drosennhl.

Down Goes Brown

If you are looking for a user who will tweet about the NHL lockout and comedy intertwined in a way that you will be informed and not depressed, Down Goes Brown is the person for you.

Sean McIndoe is a hockey blogger for many different outlets that include the National Post, Grantland and his own website DownGoesBrown.com

To follow McIndoe, you can find him at @DownGoesBrown.

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If there is an important tweeter I missed, leave a comment below.