Vancouver, Canada

Things don't look good for the NHL with a contract deadline looming about two weeks away and no talks scheduled after a recent breakdown in negotiations.

After recent labor unrest in the NFL and NBA, there won't be many people who will feel sorry for rich players and owners. However, they won't be the only ones affected if the league loses any games to a lockout.

A number of people who make their living on the periphery of the games and the league will feel the pinch as well.

"It is the part-time employees, those who are relying on a little bit of an extra bump to meet ends on their a car payments or on their mortgages," sports business commentator Tom Mayenknecht told CTV News.

"We're talking about waitresses, bartenders in pubs that have a big spike when there is NHL hockey being played."

Shark Club owner John Teti told CTV that his business will suffer as a result of a NHL lockout.

"Hockey in this market in Vancouver, in Canadian cities, is a tremendous economic generator, especially for the hospitality industry. So it's a major setback," he said.

On game nights Teti has about 30 people on shift, while on other nights he has less than ten.

"In our situation we obviously aren't going to be hiring, like we would normally be bringing on some extra people. And plus our regular staff, there'll be cut backs now in their hours. There'll just be less work, less days," Teti said.

There will also be less work for people who earn their living at Vancouver's sports arena.

"At Rogers Arena downtown, it's a major workplace. There's 1,500 people that go to work there, not just at the game night, but also to keep the maintenance up, to keep the place running, to put the ice in, to take the ice out," said Jim Sinclair from the BC Federation of Labour.