Adding Gretzky, Lemieux to mix made bad situation worse

NEW YORK -- With Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux inside the NHL labor mess, a terrible situation became a Great debacle instead of a Super save.

The sport's biggest stars came up short at the bargaining table Saturday, and the season was wrecked twice and for all.

It was first wiped out Wednesday, killed off when commissioner Gary Bettman said the differences over a salary cap between the league and the players' association wouldn't allow for hockey until at least the fall.

But neither side was really ready to let the season go.

Enter the Great Gretzky of Phoenix, and Pittsburgh's Super Mario.

Three days after hockey Armageddon, there was suddenly new life and new hope that the season could be saved. Gretzky and Lemieux -- superstars turned executives of low-budget teams -- helped get the sides back together and then joined the fray.

Wayne Gretzky isn't able to reach one of his patented game-changing goals. (Getty Images)

There was no way these guys would fail, right? But they did. And they never really had a chance.

When Gretzky and Lemieux got to the table Saturday, it became clear quickly that rumors of a done deal were false -- as both sides said emphatically Friday -- and an agreement was not on the radar screen.

If there was a shot at a deal with a $45 million salary cap, we'll never know. The discussion over a number never came up -- much to the dismay of Nos. 99 and 66.

This time, the news hit doubly hard. How was it possible that the worst possible scenario took a steeper turn downward in the same week?

The NHL was already dealing with the black eye of being the first major North American sports league to lose an entire season to a labor dispute. It took only three more days to damage the reputation of two Hall of Famers.

No one in the hockey world was happy that the season was lost, but many were prepared for what was previously unthinkable. It became clear during the past year how far apart the sides were.

But the roller coaster of the three days before the final meeting was both cruel and unusual for the die-hard fan and for Gretzky and Lemieux.