NEW YORK (CBS SPORTS) - When the lockout is all said and done, the NHL will have some major damage control to undertake. The rhetoric continues to be spilled that the fans will come back; they always come back.

While the majority of fans will likely come back, I’m not convinced they all will. There will be work to be done, the numbers will fall. That’s particularly true in the United States. In Canada I don’t foresee it being much of an issue, but the contempt for Gary Bettman and his Southern expansion experiment will only rise. You will have a hockey-mad country steaming mad at the commish for taking away their hockey. That’s not an ideal situation.

So what would the NHL do to make up for this? What about two expansion teams for Canada?

Before we go any further, just note that this is speculation, a prediction. It potentially comes with a trace of inside knowledge, or comes as a total guess. No matter, it’s an intriguing idea.

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