Currently the NHL and the NHLPA (Players Association) are deadlocked when it come to negotiations for the new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement.)  The current CBA is scheduled to expire on September 15 and it looks like another work stoppage is in order.  After the entire 2004-05 season was cancelled due to the lockout, can the NHL survive another stoppage?

Hockey has slid into the least popular of the four major sports, some people even think it is falling behind NASCAR, and the work stoppage did nothing to help that.  Fans don’t like to not be able to see their favorite players in action and a work stoppage seems like millionaires fighting billionaires, which is something the common man can’t really appreciate.

With the NHL having to rely more on the attendance than TV revenue due to the lack of major contracts.  If the league were to have another lock-out, the fans may not come back like they did after 2005, and it could force a lot of cutbacks and maybe even some teams to fold.

Another major issue of the lack of labor peace is the potential lockout may have been a part of Nick Lidstrom retiring when he did.  Lidstrom said that he had the energy to play, but did this potential pending lockout have anything to do with it, we may never know.

So what do you think fans, can the NHL survive having another lockout or will this be the end the league as a whole?  Let us know at @DSBloggers on Twitter or on Facebook or in the comments below to tell us what you, the fans, think.