Dear Fans:
The players all got together and decided the least we could do after our fans spent their hard earned money watching adults get paid to play a game they loved since being kids is write our fans a personal apology from us as individuals and as a team.
The skaters are now willing to come clean and admit that they spend the first period waiting for the goaltenders to give up goals quickly and in multiples. We, skaters, appreciate we should make a more concerted effort to keep the puck in our opponents’ zone. Even if we didn’t score, at least our opponents wouldn’t be ahead before we remembered that the game already started.
The goaltenders admit that they are sick of watching the skaters keep the puck in our defensive zone, waiting for us to make a mistake. We get, as fans, you are all sick of watching us give up like the umpteenth rebound or five hole goal. We know you are blaming us for these goals.
Actually, Jason and Jean Sebastian have subconsciously decided to let the skaters find their way out of the hole they put us in. It would serve our teammates right to have to play catch up since we are expected to start playing from the first face-off even though they forget to start their individual game play until we have become the goats of the game. We’ll show those skaters and teammates of ours, serves them right!!
Every player secretly wants to acknowledge we are in denial. None of us knows how to find our way out of this free fall of a season. We players get we have everything to do with this situation. The forwards blame the defense and the goalies. The goalies blame the defense and the forwards. All the players figure they can blame the coaches. The coaches figure they can blame management.
Together, we need to stop looking for a scapegoat instead of putting a mirror up to ourselves. We all have given up. We have no answers. We find silence and losing is easier to deal with than accountability so that is what we are going with. We figure this is a rebuilding year and our fans are counting on Stamkos to be the answer. We know we aren’t giving anyone any reason to believe the answer is in our own dressing room, much less inside our jerseys where our hearts are supposed to be.
Fans are all calling us heartless. You know what? We secretly wonder if we are. Our play on the ice sure begs the question. If Crawford would pick another tack, talk to us nicer, than maybe if he had the answer, perhaps we would consider listening to him. Players have a pool going as to when the new coach comes in, if we want it to be Lewis, if Hextall could save us if he wanted to coach, or is there anyway we can ensure that whomever is to blame, it isn’t us.
Golly, gee, everyone says we have more talent this year. If this new found talent can’t find the net, or the win column, if it isn’t the coaches, we have considered the possibility it is the fans. How can our fans expect us to get up for games when they boo us on and off the ice?
Our fans want us to show up on post game shows, open our dressing room and have answers. Have we forgotten to mention again how we don’t have answers? ... Because we really don’t and we are finding it easier to lose by a goal then start hating to lose. Surely if we are in games then it doesn’t matter if we win, right? We didn’t think so.
Like we said, we are sorry. We are embarrassed. We are hiding from ourselves, from our teammates and our collective hearts. If any of our fans have the answer, please send it to the Kings’ players new team - fan e-mail address which we will read, we promise. Please write to: www.kingshavenohearts.com
Thanks for listening,
The 2007-2008 Kings’ Team
Rest in Peace