Making amends

When he was with Tampa Bay, the Islanders' Ruslan Fedotenko was my favorite player. He had skills, was amicable toward fans and, most importantly, has his place secured in Lightning history.

By scoring the eventual game-winner against Calgary in Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup finals, the Lightning were able to secure hockey's Holy Grail.

Because professional hockey is a business, Fedotenko moved on last summer, ending up on Long Island, becoming one of the Islanders free-agent signings.

Before he left, though, he signed a Stanley Cup Game 7 puck for me. To me, the silver ink was hard to read on the puck's multi-colored, but light, background. As a result, and with a considerable amount of trepidation, I removed the signature, with the hopes of getting it resigned in a different color.

Earlier this week, with the Islanders in town to play the Lightning, I was able to accomplish that objective. If you ask me, it looks considerably better now. The Islanders puck? I has him sign that, just for good measure.