Joe K’s view on the “lockout” was one of relief, mixed with a bit of happiness. It’s really depressing that we even had to have a lockout, but it would be significantly worse if DIDN’T catch the shenanigans that were happening until after the season started. That’d be way worse of a mess. Historically, HO has leaned towards avoiding anything serious when it comes to change. This last bit of time has been awesome, as HO has jumped straight into the fray in order to fix these issues, and they’re actively trying to make the SHL a much better place for everyone. If Hamilton would’ve gotten away with their nonsense and the season started, we would’ve seriously had to consider restarting everything and that would not have gone over too well. But neither would have “just letting the season play out” either. As a result, I’m really happy that the Head Office (along with some others) have been working their asses off to make this league the best it can be. I’d much rather have been locked out for a little longer, than dealt with the mess that could’ve happened if we rushed into starting the season. (197)