It was during the 2004-2005 NHL lockout, I became privy to some information about the league's demands to break the union and how they were going to win the fans over by coming back with an on-ice product that would re-energize arenas across the league.
During this time, I was a blogger for Hockeybuzz, owned by Dwayne "Eklund" Klessel and for as much criticism that has been lobbed towards Dwayne, his site's rise was a direct result of the NHL's goal to win the public relations game.
Considering the state of the game right now, pretty funny to think how the NHL just over a decade ago "cared" about the perception of the sport by leaking information about the discussions with the NHLPA and actually entertained the musings of one fan on CBA design and how to fix the game on the ice.