Could The NHL Last More Than One Season?

I typically start my day out by roaming the internet, thirsting, like many of you for my daily dose of sports information.  Realistically – it is a search that goes on throughout the day, and honestly what can happen between the few hours that I turn my computer off to get at least a few hours of important required sleep.

When it comes to hockey news, its unfortunately mostly doom and gloom lately, and I read an article today that actually made me think long and hard about what is happening to the sport that I so passionately love.

We all know the specifics, the NHL locked out the NHLPA – and they are stalling at talking about core economic issues that caused the lockout in the first place.  How long are we going to have to go before the sides play ball and sign a deal?  The longer it goes the less likely we will see a Stanley Cup champion crowned in 2013, something that hasn’t happened since, oh wait, just eight years ago when the cup wasn’t awarded in 2005.  Both sides of the fight seem, at least publically, willing to entrench themselves and hope that waiting out the other side will help resolve the issue.

Tonight should be opening night for the NHL – with eight teams slated for contest in four cities, with more joining in the coming days.  As it stands now, the month of October is lost, and November and December are not too far behind. If an agreement can’t be reached by Christmas – its a far assumption that the NHL will gladly close its doors on another complete season.  You would think that it stands to reason that the dueling parties would then have almost a full year to hash out their problems and bring hockey back in the fall of 2013.

Can the two sides recover from an entire years lockout?  There are some that think the NHL will be fine, its too large and global a product to simply dry up over a labor dispute – but if there is one sport that can ill afford multiple lengthy lockouts its the NHL.

Revenues have grown since the last lockout – the league is healthy in most markets.  The important issue however, is pointed out via Twitter by TSNs Bob Mackenzie:

"Owners think players will cave, players think owners will cave."

As pointed out in the article however, Mackenzie goes on to use his hockey wisdom like a crystal ball:

"Biggest fear, and maybe this is why it won’t last all season, is if it goes whole season, prospects of 2nd season being affected are high IMO."

If you can think back to just prior to his departure to his home country to play, Alex Ovechkin had similar comments.

"If the league continues to insist on their [demands], then it will take a full year. That’s because we are not going to cave in.  Then I will spend the entire season in the KHL. It’s an absolute reality."

Players are bracing for the long haul, and with other avenues to play hockey – there really isn’t an urgency for them to concede and sign any deal the NHL throws at them.

Hockey will always remain.  It’s too much of an engrained culture for most of Europe and North America.  Hell – there are even hockey leagues in Australia and Asia.  The NHL would not be the first, nor will it be the last high professional league in North America to button up its doors.

When you weigh those facts out – it truly is the fans that are forced to suffer when it comes to the NHL lockout.