Down But Not Out: NHL Hockey Has Returned

Hockey is Home boys! 

Welcome home hockey fans. Brian Burke was finally fired, the Southeast teams are getting more dangerous, and Gary Bettman uttered his third apology for an NHL lockout. But, as any hockey fan can attest, the NHL is back, and better than ever. With a 10 year contract and 8 year opt-out, it will be a long, good while before fans have to deal without their beloved sport again.

Because in all honesty, 3 lockouts in a hockey fans lifetime is really ridiculous. Kids born in the early nineties raised off of their parents gushing about the likes of Gretzky and Lemieux and Yzerman and Howe became huge hockey fans, and have had to suffer 3 lockouts.

Let's put this into perspective, for those fans outside of hockey.

In the past 40 years there have been a total of 16 strikes and lockouts among the four major sports. This includes eight in Major League Baseball , three in the National Hockey League, three in the National Football League and two in the National Basketball Association.

Now, before all the baseball fans come bitching out of the woodwork, there was only one time a season was cancelled, and that was the 2004-2005 NHL lockout. True, the MLB lost a World Series, and the NFL lost  all but 9 games in 1982. See, the sympathy is available, but for hockey fans, it's just not acceptable. Three lockouts in a lifetime, including the loss of an entire season is just unimaginable. 

However, now the 2012-2013 NHL season is on. All of the planes for the next week or so will be filled with Russians, Finns, Americans, Canadians, and Swedes alike, coming back to the league that matters. (Although the KHL was pretty entertaining, and I feel bad for all the Russians with KHL season tickets who will show up to a team with just Ilya Kovalchuk.) Gary Bettman is the most hated man in hockey, Zach Parise is back in Minnesota, and the NHL still gets to bask in the glory of Martin Brodeur for one more season. 

Hockey is back, fans, so turn of that NFL 32, and pull out those dusty jerseys from the closet.