Jun 14, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings fans react during the the Los Angeles Kings victory celebration parade. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Remember when the lockout finally ended and all those people on Twitter and other forms of social media said they didn’t care? Remember when many fans said they would stage some sort of boycott on the NHL? Remember when some said they had found other activities to occupy their time? Well it appears after opening weekend, fans are hiding their frustrations well.

CBC released some numbers about their first Hockey Night In Canada broadcast of the season Saturday, and the results are quite intriguing. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens game brought in a record 3.3 million viewers. Using ratings from the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement, CBC stated that the match-up was the most watched Prime East game ever on the station.

The game between the Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets broke a Saturday afternoon record with 1.49 million viewers, and the Anaheim Ducks played the Vancouver Canucks to 1.47 million fans.

Although the lockout was essentially a massive waste of time and resources that cost many people a lot of money, the reality is labour disagreements happen frequently in many different industries. It’s hard to think of someone boycotting school because of a teacher strike or not taking public transit ever again just to prove a point.

This shortened campaign should go a long way to bring back those few fans that are still “fighting the power”. Come March when the majority of teams are still very much in the playoff race, the lockout will surely be a distant memory. Fans should make their own decisions on when, or if, to forgive or forget. But holding a grudge and missing out on more hockey out of spite, makes little sense.

Feb 18, 2012; Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul (19) tries to take possession of the puck against Vancouver Canucks forward Henrik Sedin (33) during the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Joffrey Lupul has returned from Russia for the holidays and it appears he won’t be going back. Lupul told Sportsnet 590 earlier this week that his time in the KHL has come to an end. He was playing for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, who currently sit in last spot in the entire league. Lupul had one goal and three assists in nine games for Yekaterinburg.

Despite the culture shock in Russia and playing on a team sitting in the league’s basement, Lupul had other reasons for returning to North America. The Maple Leafs forward indicated he intends to be an active part of future meetings and negotiations that have to do with the lockout. Lupul added that he feels the majority of players support Donald Fehr and are happy with the way he is handling things.

With the announcement today that all games will be cancelled through January 14^th, the players and owners may be realizing that the next round of discussions might be the final opportunity to salvage some sort of season.

Lupul also made headlines earlier this week when he tweeted that he wasn’t permitted to dine at the MLSE owned Real Sports restaurant during the lockout. He added that the establishment still had no issue selling $300 Leaf jerseys though. Lupul later removed the tweet and apologized for using Twitter as a forum to express his displeasure with the situation.

He also participated in Steven Stamkos’ charity game on Wednesday at Maple Leaf Gardens. Lupul was reunited with linemate Phil Kessel for the contest.