The NHL is back and don't get me wrong I'm happy, I just still feel a little abused by the whole process... not that I spend any money going to games or buying merchandise anyway. But while the response on all the Facebook updates I've seen have been overwhelmingly positive, the CBC article and comments have a different feel to them. Even the poll on the page has largely negative responses which I think I'm inclined to side with. How will this affect the league and fan relations in the future? If there is a lockout at the end of this agreement as well, I'm not sure how I would feel at all.
It won't affect anything. Between the last lockout--which cancelled an entire season--and now, revenues have almost doubled. The sport may not grow like that, but they will be fine. I've already checked into getting my NHL center ice package reactivated. And here is something to get excited about!