A little guidance for VLM as the lockout arrives...

Clearly we will be in a quiet period for NHL news for some time to come. Lately we have been, predictably, reduced to talking about labour issues, the lockout and the impact that will all have on the sport.  As fans, it mostly puts us on edge. As hockey fans that have been through now four different hockey stoppages in the last twenty years, our challenge will be to take advantage of the time we would  normally spend following the Leafs and instead, make productive use of that time.  Fans did it before and will again.  But yes, we will miss hockey, for sure.

I had promised myself I would try not to fall into a pattern of commenting on the NHL "talks" on a regular basis.  To a certain extent, I have backtracked on my own intentions by discussing this issue as much as I have.  (I should add that the good news is that I have been impressed with the depth of commentary readers have shared here in recent weeks/days.  I’ve very much enjoyed and appreciated your posts and comments.  I wish the negotiators had as much common sense and wisdom—and honesty.)

But here’s the reality:  three years now into the advent of Vintage Leaf Memories (launched here as some of you know in September of 2009) and after almost 1,100 columns, we won’t have NHL hockey to chat  this fall, or for that matter, anytime soon.  They could be gone for more than a year or more.

That puts this site in an interesting spot.  I have no intention of changing formats, talking about cooking or the stock market.  And while I enjoy junior hockey a great deal, and know that the Marlies will likely be entertaining this season, that's not quite the same thing.  Others do a fantastic job covering those hockey outlets and I won't even try to compete with that.

I’ve put a fair bit of time, care and thought into developing the tone of this site so I will not be turning to guest bloggers or any of that, except on the possible rare occasion (an upcoming guest post regarding Darryl Sittler fits that bill, as one example, for a particular reason you will notice when the article is posted…).

I could essentially shut the site down for the duration of the lockout.  That’s one possibility.  My own instinct is that I would like to keep the site alive, as a forum to discuss hockey-related issues, albeit recognizing the absence of hard Leaf news (with the notable exception of the Marlies/junior prospects cited above...).  But that’s where things get tricky for me—and not easy.

Now, I have plenty of stories to share about the old-days.  I could post something pretty much daily about fond Leaf memories of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, even the ‘80s.  As most of you know, that has been a staple of the VLM site from the beginning.  I’d be happy to continue to do that.  But my experience here suggests that the vast majority of people who visit here don’t really care for the old-time stories.  Whenever I do post on things I love to chat about from the old days, the “numbers” (I’m no expert at analytics or whatever it’s called, but I can see the bottom line!)  of visitors drops quite precipitously whenever I touch on subjects not relating to the Leafs here and now.

I think I understand the reasons why, but this is where the rubber meets the road.  If people aren’t interested in the “old-time” memories during what will no doubt be a prolonged lockout, well, that will be a challenge.  I’m not personally interested in talking daily about the labour talks.  That would no doubt mean days of no real news and even when the two sides do meet, it will mostly be more useless p.r. spin and annoying quotes from both sides, as they try to win us all over to their view of the world. (Quick aside, I'm probably alone on this, but can someone ask the players to stop wearing their hats- and backwards at that - when they have their little solidarity photo-ops with Fehr?  They’re grown men and supposedly "business partners" in this mess…)

I recognize that this is not of urgent interest or importance to anyone, but if you do have a thought as to how VLM might proceed, by all means share your comments.

Thanks.