With the lockout about to end, Jonathan Toews isn't convinced that it really had to go on this long. ''It's just more of a relief," said Toews. "We're excited to get back in front of our fans and just be together on a daily basis. But the realistic thing that sets in is: Did it really have to go this far? Did we really have to miss over three months? It's unfortunate. We know we've got a long road ahead of us to try and build this game back and earn the respect from the fans again." The good news is that the two sides were still able to salvage the season, so they won't have to recover from the stigma of yet another lost campaign. The shortened season should be exciting, with even game being critical to a team's chances of making the playoffs.