Hockey's back!

It’s sad to think that the NHL’s defining moment this season is the Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr press conference, where they announced that a new CBA had been reached.

But that was the reality of the lockout. After months of bickering to the media, lying to fans and using PR tactics to try to gain an upper hand in negotiations, the two sides finally sat down, and bargained for close to 16 hours.

They walked out of their New York City boardroom in the middle of the morning on a Sunday and gave fans what we’ve been dying to hear for months.

But one question still itches at me and it remains unanswered.

Where was the urgency in the summer?

Unfortunately, fans will never know. The league invited players to sit down and talk about the expiring CBA during last season, but for reasons unknown, nothing ever came to fruition.

But that isn’t the most frustrating part of this lockout. The one thing that really bugged me during the past five months was the inflated egos from both sides.

The #LockoutProblems tweets from many of the players didn’t help their cause. When multi-millionaires are posting pictures of a beachside residence, a hotel view of the Las Vegas Strip, or golfing in Florida, do they expect any pity?

It was insulting and left a bad taste in my mouth. Then you had the #ThePlayers, which was created at the beginning of the lockout to gain support from the fans.

Sorry, there are no good sides during a lockout where millionaires and billionaires are arguing over money.

On the leagues side, Gary Bettman has the attitude that the fans will come back. Will I be back watching hockey? You bet. I wish I was stronger and could boycott the league for the season, but it just isn’t going to happen.

He takes us for granted. Especially in Canadian markets. He knows that every Canadian team will sell out. But what he is gambling on is that southern markets don’t fall off the cliff.

Many organizations were already struggling to stay afloat before this lockout, but with a full season lost, you may see attendance numbers look even worse in places like Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Dallas and other similar markets.

The long-term effect of this dispute has yet to be felt, but I think the league is going to suffer like the MLB did after the work stoppage in the early nineties.
All I know is that I’m tired of seeing the suits, the egos, hearing about revenue, contract lengths and cap issues.

When January 19 rolls around and all 30 teams hit the ice, all will be good in the world again – even if it’s just for those two and a half hours.