I don't miss hockey, do you?

[Justin]

Before the NHL lockout started people would often ask me, being the big Leafs fan that I am, what I would do if there's no hockey this year. I always jokingly replied, "I might just have to kill myself." I remembered how the last lockout devastated me even though I was only a boy and figured that nowadays it would be a lot worse since I'm much more immersed in the game than I was then. What the hell was I to do without my Maple Leafs?

I was way off base. I cared little that training camp openings slid by, the passing of opening night hardly mattered, and I didn't bat an eye at the cancellation of the Winter Classic. This ongoing lockout says that hockey doesn't need me and it turns out I don't need hockey either. I'm still getting my sports fix. The baseball playoffs captivated me, the NFL season is in full force, I've been watching the Raptors and other NBA games almost every night, and I'm even watching the CFL. In the past I wouldn't pay as much attention to the baseball playoffs, I totally ignored the CFL, and the Raptors failed to garner much of my interest. But now these other sports leagues have made me totally forget about hockey. It's not me I'm worried about though. I know my connection with the Leafs is strong enough I'll eventually go back to being a crazy fan one hockey starts up again. It's the rest of hockey fans that I'm worried about.

Almost anyone that I ask who's a hockey fan shares similar sentiments to I. My hockey fan friends don't seem to miss the game right now, my dad remarked to me that they could cancel the whole damn season and he wouldn't care, and my grandfather is happily watching Raptors basketball and forgetting about hockey. I'm sure the situation is similar with your respective friends and family. In gauging the twitterverse and the rest of the interwebs I have failed to see fans clamoring for the game to return. This is not like it was in 2004, and the NHL should be very, very concerned. The end of the 04/05 lockout saw the introduction of exciting new rule changes, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, and a promise of more parity, more offense, and the "new NHL." There are no such mechanisms this time around.

Millions of fans are realizing during this lockout that they don't need hockey. Will they go back to hockey, especially considering the NHL will return with only a shortened season? I'm not so sure. I don't miss hockey, I don't miss it one iota. Do you?

 

[LittleHockeyFan]

I have to admit I'm not missing hockey. I've just shifted more to the OHL; I've always followed the Barrie Colts but now moreso than ever before. Leafs? *shrug* the time is more than filled with the Colts

 

[Kin]

Sure I miss hockey. It doesn't make me break down weeping or anything but watching hockey is fun and I'd like to have it back.

And I think what you wrote highlights why the owners aren't terribly concerned. Die-hard fans will come back, casual fans aren't likely to get worked up about the lockout and will have their relationship with the game unchanged.

 

[LuncheonMeat]

Asking a bunch of people who spend way too much time on a hockey board if they miss hockey?  Does anyone see the humour in that? 

 

[Corn Flake]

I don't miss hockey because I get to watch lots of it in the junior ranks and AHL.

I don't really miss the NHL to be honest.  I'm really apathetic towards this it all right now and really don't know how I will feel when they finally settle things until we get there.  Certainly sounds a lot like what you shared Justin - a lot of people have really put the NHL - and maybe hockey too - on the back burner of their lives.... time will tell if it makes it back to the front burner when they get back to playing.

Don't give up on hockey though - give up on the NHL.  There is tonnes and tonnes of great hockey being played all across Canada every day.

I don't see it lasting, but I think the NHL will get a bit of a shock in the attendance and TV numbers dept. when they do get back to it.  Maybe they are expecting it by now but if they aren't, I don't think the fan's return will be immediate.

 

[maplesyrup]

Yeah, I miss it.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

It's not a matter of missing 'hockey', because the NHL isn't the only source of hockey.  I miss NHL hockey, and I've been trying to watch more of the AHL and OHL in its place.  But I miss watching the NHL.

 

[Bonsixx]

I really hope the NHL suffers because of this lockout, empty buildings, merchandise sales drop, the works... but that's probably not going to happen.

I'll be watching the next Leafs game, whenever that is.

 

[Bender]

I miss backing my hockey team.

 

[draeko17]

It's not a matter of missing 'hockey', because the NHL isn't the only source of hockey.  I miss NHL hockey, and I've been trying to watch more of the AHL and OHL in its place.  But I miss watching the NHL.

This. 

I'm not falling apart without the NHL or the Leafs.  And it allows for more time to follow hockey outside of the NHL.  But yeah, I miss watching the NHL, supporting my team.

 

[Peter D.]

It's Saturday nights like these where I desperately miss hockey.

 

[Wendel's Fist]

I don't miss it. The last lockout jaded me a bit towards NHL hockey and this one isn't helping things either.

I don't know if I'd feel the same way if the Leafs were a playoff contender but they've been in the same spot since the last lockout and I'm just indifferent with the whole thing.

There used to be a time where I'd never miss a game. I've missed plenty of them since the last lockout. I don't see that trend ending when things resume.

What's really pathetic with these labour disputes is when both sides try to get the fans on their side with what they say to the media, while the fans are the last thing that either side is worried about. It's like an old girlfriend using you to make another guy jealous.

Wake me up when it's over and I'll see a game here and there. I've lost the love for a committed relationship.  :'(

 

[Justin]

It's not a matter of missing 'hockey', because the NHL isn't the only source of hockey.  I miss NHL hockey, and I've been trying to watch more of the AHL and OHL in its place.  But I miss watching the NHL.

I have no interest in watching the AHL, CHL, or otherwise. Sure I might watch 1 period of a Marlies game when they're on out of curiosity to see our prospects, but beyond that it's only the Leafs for me. That's why I refer to it as "hockey," because the NHL is the only hockey for me.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Do I miss hockey, NHL hockey that is?  Yes, I do.  Maybe not the Leafs so so much, but, I do miss watching highlights of various games, etc.

I'm not much into football (be it the CFL or NFL except as an extremely casual fan -- playoffs/Super Bowl/Grey Cup interest me), and as for the Raptors, much the same.  I think I follow the Blue Jays after the Leafs in terms of the what interests me most category.

If there is no NHL this year, I think I'm gonna hibernate!  ;D

 

[seahawk]

I have to admit I'm not missing hockey. I've just shifted more to the OHL; I've always followed the Barrie Colts but now moreso than ever before. Leafs? *shrug* the time is more than filled with the Colts

Same here. I'm watching the Rangers and keeping better tabs on the AHL, especially the IceCaps.

 

[hap_leaf]

In all, I miss the NHL.  There is no better hockey experience to watch live or on TV.  The last number of years its been more about watching how our youth corps is progressing and hoping that one of the young guns will turn out to be the real deal.  So obviously no progress and no playoffs has been extremely frustrating. 

This year would be no different and really the only young player I was interested to watch develop was Gardiner.  To a lesser extent Colborne in the hopes that he will be our 1C some day.  So I know full well that the Leafs would be in the lower half of the NHL standings if they were playing...so are we really missing much?  I'm glad our young guys are playing and practicing, getting seasoned for when play begins again some day.

I do miss seeing the stars from other teams.  However I was a huge Ovechkin fan and have seen him play live twice, he was terrible in both games and he has really fallen out of favour with most fans for various reasons (on the ice and off).  Crosby has missed so much hockey from injury, its hard to miss what we haven't had.  Tavares and Stamkos excite me a bit from the raw numbers they can put up...but I guess I need to see them more.  Part of me thinks its just that they play on crap teams that they get a lot of ice time.  The Oilers are probably the single team that interests me over all the others to see how they use all their talent effectively.  Thank goodness for Malkin, he reminds me what a dominating star plays like (Mario).

Overall, I do miss the 90's hockey and to some extent the 80's more than missing this season. If we were actually missing hockey with Gretzky/Mario/Sakic/Borque/Yzerman/Modano/Roy/Francis/Hull/Jagr/Messier or any of Dougie/Wendel/Mogilny/Mats I would feel much differently.  Actually, not seeing Brodeur and Selanne one more year does suck. 

 

[13th fan]

Hell ya I miss NHL but I can live without it knowing that the Leafs are not in contention to make a run in the post season and this team lacks character and leadership,watching some of the HHOF with Mats Sundin highlights only fortified my feelings about the Leafs present team

 

[Justin]

Hell ya I miss NHL but I can live without it knowing that the Leafs are not in contention to make a run in the post season and this team lacks character and leadership,watching some of the HHOF with Mats Sundin highlights only fortified my feelings about the Leafs present team

I feel the same way. The whole Sundin affair over the weekend made me nostalgize hardcore about the pre-lockout Leafs. Those teams had leadership and character, those were real hockey teams.

In 03/04 we had 8 (8!) one time NHL captains on one team in Sundin, Brian Leetch, Brian Mccabe, Owen Nolan, Tom Fitzgerald, Alex Mogilny, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Ron Francis. Aside from those 8 we also had the leadership of Tucker, Roberts, and Domi. Not only that but there were 5 future hall of famers (Sundin, Belfour, Niewy, Francis, Leetch) on that team. It was something to behold for sure.

 

[13th fan]

Hell ya I miss NHL but I can live without it knowing that the Leafs are not in contention to make a run in the post season and this team lacks character and leadership,watching some of the HHOF with Mats Sundin highlights only fortified my feelings about the Leafs present team

I feel the same way. The whole Sundin affair over the weekend made me nostalgize hardcore about the pre-lockout Leafs. Those teams had leadership and character, those were real hockey teams.

In 03/04 we had 8 (8!) one time NHL captains on one team in Sundin, Brian Leetch, Brian Mccabe, Owen Nolan, Tom Fitzgerald, Alex Mogilny, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Ron Francis. Aside from those 8 we also had the leadership of Tucker, Roberts, and Domi. Not only that but there were 5 future hall of famers (Sundin, Belfour, Niewy, Francis, Leetch) on that team. It was something to behold for sure.

Now you got me weeping  :-[

 

[moon111]

Before the previous lock-out, I was active in fantasy hockey leagues, painted my office in Leaf colours,  knew players and prospects on all the teams, and thinking about getting a Leaf tattoo.  Now I follow the Leafs and their prospects only.  I can fondly remember bench-clearing brawls, Wendel Clark, and goal-scoring.  Between the goals being scored, there's nothing.  I feel watching highlights and checking the stats is enough now.  I was already missing the NHL before the lock-out.