Ah, Festivus. It’s a celebration that has come to mean a lot of different things to people. It’s a chance to get away from the rampant commercialism of traditional winter holidays and take pleasure in the simple joy of telling people how they’ve disappointed you in the last year.  This should tell you all you need to know if you’re unfamiliar with today’s holiday.

One of the key components of any Festivus celebration is the “Airing of Grievances”. This traditionally takes place after Festivus dinner, but we’re making an exception this year. You see, NHL fans have had a lot to be pissed off about lately and this is catharsis is exactly what we need before 2012 comes to a close.

I got a lot of problems with you people! And now, you’re gonna hear about it!

- The lockout sucks. Seriously, NHL & NHLPA. You knew this was coming. You couldn’t have done more prep work before we were facing down the September 15th expiration date of the last CBA?  If I have a deadline at work, I do whatever I have to do to get it done. This is just piss poor planning.

- The 2004-05 lockout sucked in its own right, but it was a necessary evil. It had to happen for the financial health of the league. This one? Not so much. There’s a product and profit here that didn’t exist 8 years ago. Now it just seems like a money grab for the league. It’s pretty much impossible to see the NHL coming out of this in a better position than they were in.

-Stop thanking the fans. That means you NHL and you NHLPA. Stop thanking us and saying we’re the best in the world and you hope to get back on the ice soon. With games now canceled in to 2013 this lip service gets increasingly more insulting. You want to show your real appreciation for us? Get back to the negotiating table and put your damn egos aside.

- The Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004. Had there been a 2004-05 season, they would have had the majority of the championship team to stage a legitimate defense of their title. Instead the season was lost and we all know what happened from there. Now their 20th anniversary season is being cancelled slowly but surely. What should be a nostalgia filled trip through the years is reduced to an unworn commemorative t shirt hanging in my closet. Come on…

Those are some of our biggest grievances so far today, but there’s bound to be more. Feel free to leave some of yours in the comments.