Hockey's Biggest Problem: Opening night of the hockey season was supposed to be last night. Did you know that?



The answer, most likely, is no. And the disturbing thing for the NHL is not that average fans did not realize the exact opening day of the season -- very few fans know the opening days of baseball, football or basketball each year. But the worse part is that there was almost no media coverage of the "non-opener." The hockey story of the day was the fine imposed on the Atlanta Thrashers owner for mentioning the possibility of using replacement players. Contrast with the missed opening day of the baseball stoppage in 1995, complete with pictures of empty stadiums and stories about distressed fans. So, the question remains: When hockey returns, will anyone notice? More importantly, will anyone care?

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