[GordonBlue]

I cheer for a different team, but I agree with you on all your points.

I would add my age has something to do with it. As I've gotten older I've had more responsibilities that are a priority and developed different interests.

to point three, I would call it money/business side of hockey. where even to the people involved in the NHL it's a business and not a game.

all the lockouts contributed to my declining passion for the game, and for the fact that very few players stay with a team for an extended period of time. players seem more like mercenaries than anything.
I remember it was rare for a player to play for more than two or maybe three teams in a career. now many seem to play for 5 or 6.

video replay and the quality of refs hurts my enjoyment of the game also. the way the games are called are so inconsistent that it's frustrating. I've been trying to watch other teams more this year and every team has calls that make you shake your head over the stupidity of them. but even then, if the refs were consistent in their stupidity, I could understand it.

and replays make me long for the days of accepting the occasional bad call by the ref on the ice. offside calls being a good example. not to mention video reviews of potential goals and goaltender interference.

online message boards probably haven't helped. the reinforcement of negativity around the crappy team I cheer for saps what enjoyment is left right out of things. that and the over analysis of every little thing.