Even The Great One couldn’t save hockey this season. The NHL and the NHLPA have now confirmed that hockey is done for the year.

For the life of me, I don’t understand why this has happened. It’s doubtful that hockey will ever make much more progress than Fourth-Best-Loved-Sport in America, but the hole that the league is in now is a hell of a lot deeper than the one it faced at the end of last season.

I got interested in hockey about the time that Tampa got a team, so I’ve been a Lightning fan since they started, and last year was a big fat thrill of lifetime. I’m sorry they’ve been robbed of their follow-up season and a chance to prove that the Cup win wasn’t a fluke. Ticket sales in Tampa were finally starting to turn around, and the community was really rallying around the team. It’s a crying shame that the Lightning and other teams in struggling markets are going to have such a mountain to climb back to profitability and respect from the fans.

Michael Bérubé speculates on the reasons for the disaster. Me, I’m just going to pop my Lightning 2003-2004 Championship Season commemorative DVD into the player and watch Game Seven one more time.

It would be… no… yeah, I guess it would be better to have the real hockey players back on the ice, but as long as my beloved Lightning keep winning somehow, I almost don’t care:

Flyers, Lightning, Oilers enjoy good week in simulated NHL season

NEIL DAVIDSON
December 14, 2004

The Canadian Press – Dec 7, 5:00 pm EST

(CP) – The Calgary Flames continue to lead the league but Philadelphia and Tampa Bay made moves this week to top their divisions in The Canadian Press’s simulated NHL season.

The Lightning (14-13-4, 32 points) took seven of eight points on offer during the week, defeating Chicago 2-1, Montreal 3-2 and the Islanders 2-1 while tying the Minnesota Wild 1-1 in games simulated for The Canadian Press by Electronic Arts, using its made-in-Vancouver NHL 2005 game. That run moved the Stanley Cup champion into first place in the Southeast Division ahead of Atlanta and Florida.

I haven’t talked about the Stanley Cup Playoffs yet, ‘cause I don’t want to jinx anything. John will know what I’m talking about. But I gotta say something about the Flames and Red Wings. Watching this game, it’s tied at 0-0 in the third period, going into overtime, and it’s been one of the most exciting games of the playoffs so far. Anyone who complains that there isn’t enough scoring in hockey just hasn’t watched a game like this. This is what it’s all about – the little battles for the puck, for position, for an edge, the outstanding goaltending, the speed, the missed chances and the lucky breaks. I love football, but I’d take a nothing-nothing playoff hockey game over a 35-34 football game any day of the week.