I had quit watching the NHL after the Jets moved to Arizona. Then I came back last year, but only after New Years because I won't waste my time watching teams give a half hearted effort (LA Kings).
But now with the lockout the NHL has a huge issue on its hands, especially in the sunbelt. A local Regina radio station just had a trip down to Dallas called the Sports Cage/Marlin Travel Ultimate Sports Trip II. It involved watching NHL, NFL and NBA action during the weekend. They were to watch the Stars play the Oilers and then the Penquins along with a Cowboys game and a Mavericks match-up. While they were there, the host Rod Pedersen (the voice of the Roughriders and whose dad is a scout for the Dallas Stars) gauged the interest in the NHL in Big D.
Local Media - Nil, not one story on the lock-out.
ESPN - Nada, nothing at all, and he watched it religiously.
Sports Stores that sell college and professional sports merchandise - No Stars or any other NHL merch available; when he asked the manager the reply was "We put it out during the season, but since they aren't playing we won't put it out."
One other interesting tidbit, Jerry Jones the owner of the Cowboys lives in a fairly modest home in an upper middle class area of Dallas; Tom Hicks, the owner of the Stars on the other hand lives in likely the largest home.
You can hear an episode of the sportscage at this link (Dec 03)
http://www.620ckrm.com/index.php?opt...=62&Itemid=201
In Canada many people haven't missed the NHL very much and they will come back. The States (especially in the south) have not missed it at all, and will they come back? Who knows, but the NHL is doing itself no favours with labour disputes every 5 to 7 years.