Are The Pittsburgh Penguins Single-Handedly Saving the NHL Season?

Why the Penguins Organization Could Be
The Main Reason This Lockout Ends Soon...

It is still mind boggling to me that the NHL season has yet to get underway and I sit here typing on December 5th.  Instead of the heat of mid-season teams getting hot, we are discussing the lockout and multi-millionaire egos that can't sit in a room with one another.  Well, its about time, but the premiere hockey team in the NHL (okay that is MY opinion) decided that they have had enough with the minor squabbling amongst the idiots.  What team is that?  Well if you couldn't tell by my twitter handle, or the site itself, I am talking about the Pittsburgh Penguins.

If you haven't been following the lockout news, and I don't blame you if you haven't, the Penguins ownership has decided to step in and make their presence felt.  Most common fans think that Mario Lemieux is the owner of the team, and he is, but he is the CO-owner of the team.  The other co-owner is a guy names Ron Burkle who could probably walk down the streets of Pittsburgh without anyone saying "Hey, there is the co-owner of the Pens!".  Nonetheless, Burkle is a guy who knows how to negotiate, and more importantly knows how to get a deal done.  He has won several awards for "man of the year" in labor negotiations.  Lets put it plain and simple...the dude knows how to get a deal done.  When a select group of owners met with a select group of players it was good news that Burkle was going to be present.  Some wondered "Where is Mario?!"  Mario Lemieux has been involved in negotiations, but more of the "behind closed doors" negotiations.  This all ties together here in a second...bare with me.

This is where Penguins / NHL / World superstar hockey player, Sidney Crosby, comes in.  Crosby has been the lone voice of the lockout in defense of the players, and rightfully so.  He is the most influential player in the league, regardless of which team you follow.  You don't see Claude Giroux out there fighting for labor peace and getting the game back on the ice do you?  Let me stop there before I go off on an tangent that isn't relevant...back to Crosby.  Sidney Crosby and Craig Adams (Adams is the Penguins official player rep for the NHLPA) attended meetings around Hurricane Sandy and were forced to leave early due to the inclement weather.  When I heard Crosby was attending these owner / player meetings...again I thought it was a HUGE step in the right direction.  Crosby is a player that people listen to and has been very active within the negotiations.

So lets connect the dots.  Reports are now surfacing that Burkle, Lemieux, and Crosby have had their own set of meetings prior to the big meeting with other owners and players.  Those reports are saying that they discussed the main issues so that when they went into the meeting they would be able to have some possible "solutions" to the issues that were causing the two sides to be so far apart.  Reports out of the meeting stated that the players were extremely respondent to Burkle, and Crosby's voice was heard and listened to within their meetings.  Lemieux was also there, but behind the scenes. 

I get the feeling that this is what the NHL and NHLPA needed for this thing to end (and I'm not saying that it is, but at least there is a reason to be optimistic).  Look back on the NFL labor dispute.  It took ONE majority owner (Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots) to step in and get things done.  Burkle could be that owner for the NHL lockout.  Crosby could be the superstar that helps mend the fence between the two sides.  Today the players are expected to make a presentation to the owners after the board of governors meeting, and if all goes well there could be an end in sight.  On the other hand there could also be a falling out and this thing could tail spin into oblivion.  Both are possible.  Keep your fingers crossed, but if this deal gets done the Pittsburgh Penguins are owed a huge hand from the NHL, NHLPA, and NHL fans everywhere for their work in getting this labor dispute settled.