The Nhl is back.. did you know it was gone?

I am a hockey fan. I love the Rangers. I like the moves they made in the off season. King Hendrik Lundquist is supposed to be the piece that carried them last year to the eastern conference finals.  Getting Nast was supposed to be the piece to get them to the finals.  The Kings won the cup and hockey is supposed to alive in America.  The penguins and Black hawks have all of their pieces back. The Flyers,Red Wings, Stars, and Devils will use veteran lineups to make push at another title run. Washington and Tampa have scoring machines. Vancouver is  looking for redemption. Anaheim could be a sleeper team out west. The Bruins underachieved last year and are out for blood.
With all that being said, did anyone really miss the sport? Hockey has the best post season in sports. No sport has a postseason where literally each game could be different. The owners may have gotten the deal they wanted. The public perception has not changed. We will watch only the playoffs. We will watch to see Barry Melrose give his commentary. We will root for the Rangers and hope for another shot at the Stanley cup. But as long as the Nba is in and the Knicks are contending for a title, the Clippers are dunking, and Lebron is dominating , I will not be watching. Hockey is lucky that they have the loyal fan base they do. They had an amazing opening weekend probably due to the holiday factor. They have young superstars to carry the league. They have stars galore, they have successful big market teams, and they have their own network.  I admire what they have. Still not enough for me to go all in. I will try.  But if they strike again,  I AM Done