An open letter to Gary Bettman, Bob Goodenow, Bill Daly, Ted Saskin, the NHLPA, and the owner's association.

To whom it may concern:

February 21st was a very dark day. Although the season had officially been cancelled on the 16th, there were rumors of a covert deal that could possibly be inked. Hope soared. But as Stephen King penned, "Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."
The NHL cancelled the June 2005 entry draft today. Instead of the outrage I thought it would, no should, cause me, I simply felt an immense sadness. Not for the money lost. Not for the fans that will never be recovered. Not for a sport that may not recover. Not even for myself. The sadness I felt was for my son.
Gage was born on May 27th. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Calgary Flames played game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals that night. We watched the game in the recovery room. Game 3 was played on May 29th, the day we came home from the hospital. We watched Calgary take a 2-1 lead in the series. May 31st we watched Tampa even the series at 2-2. June 3rd we watched Calgary win a hard fought overtime game to take the lead 3-2. June 5th, back in front of the television to watch Tampa take the overtime game. That meant a Game 7. The holy grail was to be awarded on June 7th one way or the other. My wife took a picture of my 12 day old son laying in his bouncer next to me at the start of Game 7. His eyes, like mine, are focused on the television.
When October rolled around we also watched the NHL and the NHLPA start the lock-out. So, instead of celebrating my 30th birthday at the Mellon Arena watching the Penguins, we watched the news updating us on the lack of movement towards a solution.
On March 6th, we visited an old family friend near Philadelphia. He got us tickets to watch the AHL's Baby Pens take on the Phantoms. Instead of being scared at the noise and crowds, my now 9 month old son sat intently on my lap watching the players on the ice.
Last night we went to the Mellon Arena to watch the finals in the AA PIHL high school tournament. Again Gage sat intently watching the action on the ice. A woman seated behind us even commented on how he "seemed" to be watching. I almost corrected her. He doesn't just appear to watch. When we watch a game that's being replayed on TV, he is almost, if not more, intent on the game than I am. It makes me proud to instill a love of hockey in my son.
Today that pride gave way to the sadness. My son has never seen the Penguins skate live. Given the current situation combined with his age, my son may never get to see Mario Lemieux skate live. In 2000 when Mario came out of retirement he cited his own son, Austin, as one of the primary reasons. He wanted his son to see him skate and partake of the game that he loves. I wanted my son to be able to see one of the greatest players the sport has ever known.
Unfortunately, due to bad business decisions, greed, loss of focus, lack of cooperation or whatever the situation ultimately stemmed from, my son may never get that chance.
I will return as a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins and by extension the NHL, but it will always be with that memory of sadness.
My friend Robyn is pregnant with her second child. She is due on September 1st. Her son Jacob is 4 years old. My favorite picture of Jacob is the one that I took of him, his father Mark, and Mario Lemieux at a Penguins/Devils game. It is my sincere hope that their second child won't know what the word lockout means.
To all involved...swallow your pride...look objectively at the situation...and put the NHL back on ice.

Sincerely,

bill
devout husband, father, and hockey fan