Jacob-Vancouver

Eklund,

I've believed all along the NHL would start this season and I still believe that.

My story, while not dramatic, involves me growing a bitter resentment towards both the players and the owners over the past several months. I've come to dislike Trevor Linden in surprising ways (and I'm a Vancouverite). I've been forced to look at the issue in several different ways with different perspectives and I discovered that the game I loved to support is an embarrassment.
The players have simply lost touch with reality. They have had it so good for so long (10 years) that the thought of reverting back to dignified contracts is offensive to them. For that, they deserve to be reprimanded.
The owners have given Bettman too much power for the good of the game. They've allowed teams to exist in cities that have no business being a part of the NHL. The quality of hockey has deteriorated to appalling conditions. 1994 really was the last best hockey that was played. Since then Bettman has led the league into two lockouts, suffered humiliating attendance levels in too many markets and made adjustments to the game that have only harmed it. An intelligent hockey mind must now correct what he has done.

I will be back when the NHL does. But I hold a severe distrust against the players I once admired. I will not support the owners' profits with my ticket purchases until the game is refined to 1994 standards of entertainment. Hopefully 6 teams will be lost by then.

Jacob