It was only a few minutes after the L.A. Kings hoisted the Stanley Cup back in June that I started hearing real talk about a possible lookout before next season. I never thought it would come to this.
Summer 2012: "Even the NHL is not that stupid," I said. I just couldn't believe that a league, finally back in the national spotlight, would jeopardize all the popularity it regained since the last lookout in 2005. The NHL was finally getting some ratings for big events like the Stanley Cup and the Winter Classic and fans like me were just getting over the betrayal of 2005.
Fall 2012: "Bettman can't screw this up and lose the opening of the season for a 3rd time," I said. The owners claim they don't make any money as is, they surely couldn't manage to lose all that revenue and the players don't want to go play in Russia. Once again I was too optimistic.
