Another Lockout?

from Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province at the Leader-Post, On the ice, the story wasn’t much cheerier. The game continued to trend back towards the dead-puck era. Goals were down. Entertainment value was down. True, the first round of the playoffs provided some memorable hockey, as it generally does. But the postseason also devolved from that point and by the time the final rolled around, few fans outside Los Angeles and New Jersey were engaged in the game’s marquee event.

Coming out of the last lockout, the NHL seemed to recapture its lost glory and the three-season stretch from ‘07-‘08 to ‘09-‘10 produced breath-taking hockey, a new generation of stars and three incredibly worthy Stanley Cup champions in the Red Wings, Penguins and Blackhawks.

This season? Well, we can debate the merits of the newly crowned L.A. Kings, but the fact remains the NHL’s best speed-and-skill teams were eliminated long before the Cup final, and that’s not a healthy direction for the league.

So where does that leave us? Well, we hate to bring more happy news but the game is headed for its fourth work stoppage since ‘91, a development that will reopen a number of old sores between the NHLPA and the league as it further alienates a restless fan base.

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Source: http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/another_lockout/

Wade Belak Martin Erat Marcel Goc Jamie Lundmark Nick Spaling Pikka Rinne