Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos are all involved. Every one of the NHL owners has a say. And microphones will constantly be thrust in the direction of Donald Fehr and Gary Bettman as they get to voice their latest take on the dismal NHL-NHLPA labour negotiations.

The interests of one key group that will be affected by the ongoing collective bargaining disagreement are not being taken into consideration. NHL fans have neither a slick spokesperson nor a seat in the boardroom. They see the world in a different way.

They do, however, have an Internet connection and a chip on their shoulder.

Alexa is a graphic design student in Chicago and a diehard Blackhawks fanatic. Although “broke most of the time,” she has a cousin who works at the United Center and can hook her up with a discounted rate to four or five home games a season when game-day tickets go unclaimed. She attended her first playoff game this spring during her Hawks’ opening-round series against the Phoenix Coyotes. With only seconds remaining in the game and the Blackhawks down, her cousin suggested they leave. Alexa had faith.

When Chicago scored to tie the game in the waning moments, she lost it.

“I almost fell over the side of the suite and into other fans, I was freaking out so much,” Alexa recalls. “It was exhilarating.”

It’s also a feeling Alexa can’t bear to miss this fall, as it appears ever more likely that NHL owners and players will not find common ground prior to the Sept. 15 expiry of the current CBA.

So Alexa is doing something about it, besides crossing her fingers (although she says she’s doing that, too).

Unfollow NHL (@UnfollowNHLSept) launched on Saturday on Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter. It’s a social media movement encouraging hockey fans to voice their frustration with players and owners by un-following players, teams and the league on Twitter and un-liking them on Facebook if no agreement is reached by mid-September.

“If you have thousands of people un-following all of a sudden, you’d think someone would take notice. And us fans don’t really have a voice with what’s going on with the CBA right now,” Alexa (@QueenCrash) said. She’s not delusional; she doesn’t believe that fans can prevent a lockout. But she does feel that they can make a statement. “I want the NHL to know that we’re angry — and that’s all we’re trying to achieve.”

“They’re fighting over nickels and dimes to them, but to us they’re fighting over hockey. We all love hockey — that’s what we want. That’s our position: We want hockey.”

It’s a position shared by Kerri (@GardenFaithful), a diehard New York Rangers fan living in Long Island and Alexa’s partner in the Unfollow initiative. (The ladies wish to keep their surnames unpublished.) Fittingly, the two fans came up with the social networking idea through a Twitter conversation. Kerri is pouring the bulk of her free time into updating Unfollow’s Tumblr and Twitter accounts; Alexa handles Facebook duties. They’ve recruited nearly 1,000 followers in less than a week and are looking for help spreading the word. Alexa calls the response thus far overwhelming.

“It’s amazing,” she said. “We’re so happy to see that people care as much as we do. We need a voice. We’re not going to go quietly into another lockout.”

We’re all angry, but let’s channel it appropriately. Boycott NHL merchandise NOW! #UnfollowNHLSept15

— UnfollowNHLSept15 (@UnfollowNHLSept) August 16, 2012

Similar hashtags and fan-based revolts — Stop The Lockout and NHL Anti-Lockout — have sprung up. Fans are urged to sign a petition and stop buying NHL merchandise.

“We encourage people to jump on with all of them. We all want the same thing,” Alexa said. “So if you want to join their cause, that’s fine.”

The knock on Unfollow is that a wave of social media dislike won’t distract the players and owners from their main concern here: money. So why bother?

“Well, somebody has to try,” Alexa said. “We don’t want to go quietly into another lockout.”

If there is a lockout, Alexa suggests hockey fans support the minor leagues, the AHL and WHL who “have their stuff together,” and vows to become a bigger Rockford IceHogs supporter.

But what sort of protest will Alexa and Kerri make when, in event of a work stoppage, the NHL resumes a shortened campaign or picks up after another lost season? Will they re-like and re-follow, or boycott the millionaires and billionaires that betrayed them?

“I don’t know if I’d have the will power to do it,” Alexa admitted. You can hear in her voice how the idea troubles her. She could stop buying merchandise and resist liking and following, but could not keep the TV off. “If hockey came back, I don’t think I could (boycott it), honestly. I’d be so happy just to watch my team play again.”

The NHL’s Twitter following is currently at 1,366,215. It will be interesting to see how many followers the league has on the 15th of September.