Does the NHL lockout seem way less relevant than last time?

I know there's an NHL off-season thread, so forgive me, but I'm not a close reader of that one and maybe that goes along with what I'm thinking here.

It seems like the last lockout there was a lot more concern from the casual fan about when or if this thing would get settled. And now I see no indication that anyone anywhere cares. Seems players are resigned to going to Europe, we don't hear about any negotiations or deadlines or anything, and I don't know of any momentum toward getting the season started.

We have a lot of hockey followers here. Am I wrong? Is there a crisis mode here and I'm just not aware of it? If they're punting this one away, it seems like a very bad idea for the NHL particularly in the United States. When you're talking about the NFL or MLB or NBA, people are going to come back to those. But the NHL voluntarily taking itself off the sports loop isn't doing itself any favors and is going to find out just how easily people can forget.

NBA teams retained their franchise values because when it comes down to it, nobody can picture an American sports scene without the NBA. That is far from the case with the NHL.

 

Yes.

 

Well, this is the the third time that Gary Bettman has used a lockout as his primary negotiation strategy rather than as a last resort when bargaining breaks down. Plus the NFL and NBA have used similar tactics in their last rounds of bargaining. So I suppose the novelty has worn off. It's a shame because Don Fehr is the smartest guy in hockey and could help the league fix its broken economic system if they'd just listen.

 

I think people have become a bit numb in recent years to these work stoppages in sports and hockey is the least popular of the big four sports, so it's going to get less attention than the other sports, at least in this country...

It's unfortunate, because there seemed to be a lot of more interest in hockey last year than I remember in awhile.

 

The dude who led a league that canceled half the 1994-95 NHL season and the entire 2004-05 season vs. the dude who led a Union that canceled the second half of the 1994 MLB season.

This was inevitable. Hope they cancel the whole season. Morons.

 

The what?

 

Serious question, but can hockey even be considered one of the big four any more? Could MLS or UFC. Have bigger fanbases or at least be more economically sustainable?


Don't get me wrong, soccer and MMA aren't m cup of tea, but my interest in hockey compared to even a few years ago is greatl diminished. Part of it cod be the whole Southern expansion where the league tried to force itself into markets where it wasn't viable, hence you see the teams hemmoraging money, getting unscrupulous owners and havi g to relocate.

 

I must be more naive than I thought when I believed the last lockout was going to fix hockey's economic woes, as we were told. Yet, here we are again. And if this one gets settled, I fear we'll be in the same boat when this pact is signed, counting down the days until the deal expires and we'll have another lockout.

Yeah, I rambled a bit, but the circle seems unbroken. Hockey can't settle any labor dispute (at least under Bettman) without shooting itself in the foot. And that's why I've lost interest.

 

Even here in Canada, it doesn't seem to garner the attention it once did. I get asked the odd question about it, but it doesn't dominate discussion as it once did. As a junior hockey operator, I'm loving it now, just as I did then. The more people who discover our brand of hockey, the better, in my eyes.

 

Well, if anybody would know stupid.

 

No.