Hockey Is Back

But how much has been lost?

I'm a huge hockey fan, but I'm not sure hockey will ever recover its momentum. For one brief, shining moment, hockey had an opportunity to join the ranks of the other major sports in the States: baseball, basketball, football. The year was 1994, and the Rangers, killing off 54 years of futility in a dramatic, seventh game win, finally won the Stanley Cup. It was a momentous occasion, not just for the Rangers, but for the game itself. Think of it: the most high profile NHL team in hockey wins the Stanley Cup in the media capital of the world. You had one of the biggest marquee names in the game, Mark Messier, the captain. You had two high profile, telegenic Americans, Mike Richter and Brian Leetch. And you had Adam Graves, the epitome of heart and soul, less talented than ambitious, and Alexei Kovalev, the fleet, fast, highly-skilled, and more than little nasty. And what happened after the Rangers won the Stanley Cup? The league called a lock-out and delayed the next season for three months.

Last year, professional hockey didn't have half as good a season as they had in '94; the product was just not as good. But the league called for a lockout anyway. Die-hard fans like me will be back. But what of the casual fans, the sports fans that watch all sports, albeit in more of a shallow manner. Will they be back?

There are some positives, mind you. The elimination of the red line will open up the game; no more trap defenses and "dump and grind" hockey. I'm not sure I like the "no-touch" icing rule they're seeking to implement, but it will probably cut down on injuries. I'm not sure moving the net back two feet towards the boards is a good thing. But at least it will be a different game, a more wide open game. The product, in all likelihood, will be better. But what if no one is watching?