NHL Lockout: 3 Reasons There Is Still Hope for Hockey This Season

The current state of the labor negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA has made it difficult for fans to be hopeful that the 2012-13 season will actually happen, but there are several reasons to believe we won't lose an entire year.

The two sides are much closer to making a deal today (Oct. 22) than they were on this date in 2004 when the season was starting to slip away.

Let's look at why there is still hope for hockey this season.

Both Sides Want to Make a Deal and There's One to be Made

James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail recently wrote a great breakdown of the NHLPA's most recent proposals, and his numbers indicate that the two sides are less than $200 million per year apart. This may sound like a large gap, but it's definitely small enough to close over the next few weeks.

As progress on the hockey-related revenue (HRR) issue continues to be made, it's good to see that the two sides have talked to each other on a regular basis through meetings, phone calls and emails for the last few months. This shows the desire that both sides have to get something done before the game suffers too much damage.

The players don't want to lose more salary and risk being forced to take an unfavorable deal if the season is cancelled, and the owners don't want their franchises to suffer on and off the ice.

Both sides understand that letting this labor dispute ruin a whole season is not necessary to help the sport's future (which you could argue was the case in 2004-05); so, it's tough to believe that the owners and players are foolish enough to continue their stalemate much longer.

Neither Side Wants the League's Rate of Growth to be Damaged Significantly

Money is the biggest factor in these kinds of labor disputes, and if the season is cancelled, there will be far less revenues for both sides to get their hands on in the present and future.

If the league loses another year of revenue because a new CBA isn't made in time to save the season, the current rate of revenue growth would likely decline.

This would result in less money for both sides to share over the life of the next agreement, which is far from ideal.

Each side needs the majority of fans to come back when the league opens its doors for business again to at least maintain the current growth of revenues; so, not angering fans more by prolonging this labor dispute is something that the NHL and its players must avoid.

If the two sides can agree to a deal by Thursday, a full season's worth of revenue can be earned, which is important to both sides.

Fan Backlash is a Real Problem This Time Around

Both sides care about what the fans think of them, which is why both sides have made a real effort for many months to win the PR battle.

On Monday afternoon, the NHLPA's official Twitter account tweeted a few polls that fans have taken part of, and one was from an article here at Bleacher Report.

"

Bleacher Report fans agree owners should honour signed contracts. Take the poll here: ply.rs/eG6ik

— NHLPA (@NHLPA) October 22, 2012"

A recent Deadspin report by Barry Petchesky detailed the league's use of a focus group; so, it's clear that both sides have taken measures to earn fan support.

Fans won't easily forgive the owners and players if another season is wiped out, and there's a real possibility that fans could just leave the sport altogether if a labor dispute takes away another winter of NHL hockey.

Twitter has allowed both sides to receive instant, direct feedback from fans who are unhappy; so, there's no question that teams and players understand the level of frustration among the fans.

Even though it's not easy to believe both sides when they say that the fans matter, they are really telling the truth. In the end, hopefully the NHL and its players give the fans what they want and deserve, which is as much of the 2012-13 season as possible.

Follow @NicholasGoss35

Nicholas Goss is an NHL Lead Writer at Bleacher Report. He was also the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Final in Boston. Follow him on Twitter.