The NHL announced Sunday that a deal was reached in labor negotiations between owners and players, which caused the cancellation of nearly four months of San Jose Sharks games. As a result, the San Jose Sharks could be back on the ice for games as early as next week.

While casual fans found new distractions and diehards reluctantly stowed away their black and teal wardrobes, many downtown businesses took it on the chin.

The San Jose Business Journal reported that Amici’s Pizza, one of the closest restaurants to HP Pavilion, home of the San Jose Sharks, was taking in far less money on nights there should have been games, in addition to losing out on advertising and marketing opportunities. A minor league hockey game last month at HP proved the point point that hockey is good for business.

Another downtown business owner estimated that a previous NHL lockout in 2004-5 caused a 30 percent drop in business.

All of this will likely be a distant memory for fans once the season starts. The new agreement will reportedly create a shortened season of about 48-50 games, instead of the standard 82. The final agreement between players and the league is expect to be ratified this week. Once it is ratified a modified schedule will be created for the remainder of the season.