This morning Coyotes President and COO Mike Nealy released the following letter addressed to the fans of the team:

Dear Coyotes Fans:

As you may know, the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and the NHL Players Association has expired. The NHL has opted to temporarily "lock out" its players until a new CBA has been negotiated and formally put into place. The Coyotes are hopeful that the duration of the lockout will be brief, and we respectfully ask all our loyal and passionate fans for their patience during this time.

The 2011-12 season was a historic one for our franchise with the Coyotes winning the Pacific Division title and advancing to the Western Conference Final for the first time. With your support, we broke attendance records during the season, sold out all nine of our home playoff games and increased our season-ticket holder base to the highest number it has been since 1999. Recently, our franchise was chosen by ESPN The Magazine as the sixth best among all North American professional sports teams and the top organization in the NHL and the Valley of the Sun. Our organization has made great strides on and off the ice and like you, we are all extremely eager and excited for the 2012-13 season to begin.

If you have any questions regarding your individual ticket plan for the 2012-13 season, please contact the Coyotes at 480-563-PUCK (7825).

On behalf of the entire Phoenix Coyotes organization, thank you for your continued loyalty and support.

Sincerely,

Mike Nealy
President & COO

We'd love to know how you feel about this and the NHL's letter in the comments or in the FanPosts.