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NHL Lockout: Ten Fan Bases the Lockout Will Negatively Affect

242 days ago by

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Gary Bettman
Brad Penner - US PRESSWIRE

The NHL announced that all games are cancelled through November 1st

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Montreal Canadiens
Jean-Yves Ahern - US PRESSWIRE

With the second announcement of a second set of regular-season games being cancelled, the Montreal Canadiens will have to delay rebuilding their team for possibly another season.

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Vancouver Canucks
Anne-Marie Sorvin - US PRESSWIRE

The contracts for the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, are up next season (2013-14) so this season's lockout could hinder Canucks fans from seeing more great hockey out of this tandem and possibly one less season as members of the Vacouver organization.

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Toronto Maple Leafs
Kevin Hoffman - US PRESSWIRE

With the NHL lockout in full swing and basketball being the only other sport in the midst of its season in Toronto, fans may have to turn to another sport for entertainment.

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Calgary-Flames-NHL-Fan-Base-Jerome-Miron1.jpg

Calgary Flames
Jerome Miron - US PRESSWIRE

Hockey is Calgary's biggest sports market which means that the NHL and the Flames organization could lose economically with this lockout.

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Winnipeg Jets
Anthony Gruppuso - US PRESSWIRE

Fans only had one season to enjoy the return of hockey to Winnipeg; however, one additional season may not seem to be that long for Jets fans to wait after going without a team for 15 years.

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Edmonton Oilers
Steve Mitchell - US PRESSWIRE

Could the lockout create more issues for Edmonton with Russian-born player, Nail Yakupov, after the franchise's struggle were behind them to finally have him playing in the NHL last season? It's a realistic possibility.

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Ottawa Senators
Debby Wong - US PRESSWIRE

Could the lockout crush Ottawa fans' hope of seeing Daniel Alredsson play for one last season after his signing with the Senators for 2012-13? If the lockout eliminates this season, could Alfredsson retire without setting skate on ice again?

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Columbus Blue Jackets
Ron Chenoy - US PRESSWIRE

Without star and captain Rich Nash, smaller-market teams like the Blue Jackets rely on hosting bigger-market teams to draw in crowds. The NHL cancelling regular-season games through November 1st may have hindered Columbus' chance at bringing fans into the seats and earning more revenue.

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Los Angeles Kings
Jayne Kamin-Oncea - US PRESSWIRE

LA was never a big hockey town but with the team winning the Stanley Cup, the Kings will lose the opportunity to ride the wave of interest they created if this lockout wipes out the 2012-13 NHL season.

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Phoenix Coyotes
Matt Kartozian - US PRESSWIRE

In recent years, the Phoenix Coyotes have slowly began drawing in fans interest especially with their long run in last year's playoffs, but interest could be lost with the lockout and the perpetual threat of new ownership moving them to another city.

With the most recent announcement from the National Hockey League (NHL) coming yesterday that all games through November 1st are cancelled and a total of 135 regular-season games lost in the 2012-13 season since the first announcement, the negative impact continues to grow for the sport especially when it comes to those who factor in the least when it comes to the lockout – the fans.

It is widely known that hockey is the most popular in Canada.  It is their official national winter sport and where the first organized game was played back in March 1875 (in Montreal).  So there’s no doubt that teams taking one of the biggest hits during this lockout are those in the Canadian market – Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, and Ottawa Senators.  Fans of these teams will suffer greatly not only because hockey is so popular for them but also because there isn’t much more for them to enjoy in the way of sports entertainment especially during this time of year.

And even though American fans have a few choices to fall back on, the biggest being football and the NFL, small-market teams such as the Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Kings, and Phoenix Coyotes will no doubt take a big hit economically that may take some time to bounce back from especially when some of the cancelled games may have been scheduled with bigger-market teams (such as the Pittsburgh Penguins) that draw in larger crowds and more revenue.

Ultimately the longer this lockout continues, the more fans will become frustrated and inevitably find alternative forms of entertainment to replace it.  The NHL really isn’t in a position to lose fans regardless of the size of a team’s fan base so it would be in the league’s best interest to end this lockout as soon as possible.

Stephanie Lewark is a featured Pittsburgh Penguins columnist for RantSports.com. If you enjoy her articles / posts, you can follow her on Twitter (@steelcitysports), check out her personal Facebook page (via Networked Blogs), visit her personal Tumblr page, or stop by her Pinterest page.

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