The New Look NHL

The NHL & NHLPA has reached a tentative agreement on a new CBA.

A whole season wasted. If I'm an NHL player right now I'm wondering what the heck the past year was all about. Absolutely everything they said were not grounds for getting a deal done are now the foundational pieces to the new CBA.

Obviously the two things the players wanted nothing to do with was salary caps and linkage to league revenues. And now the two central pieces to the new deal is a hard salary cap and linkage tied back to league revenues. Not only that but the players also had to keep the 24% roll-back on the table. So, they lost the salary cap. They lost the linkage. And they're still giving back 24% of their salaries.

Anyone who thinks the players got anything but railroaded in this deal needs to get their head out of the stinky hockey bag.

But really, did anyone realistically think that the outcome would be any different than it has been? I knew the moment that Gary Bettman announced the cancellation of the season that the players would have to give up everything if they wanted another opportunity to play a game and get paid millions of dollars for doing so. There was no way the players were going to win this battle.

I for one am glad for that. I think if the players had won this battle it would have been the beginning of the end for the NHL. Say what you want about the greed of the owners versus the greed of the players but the fact remains that without big-pocketed owners and their willingness to spend millions on a game, there is no NHL. There will always be players but there may not always be people willing to put up the money to give those players a platform from which to showcase their considerable talents.

While the NHL may have to suffer through a couple of lean years as a result of the past years fiasco, I think it will be better off in the long-run with the changes that are rumored to be taking place.

First off, the new CBA is great for Canadian hockey fans and Canadian hockey teams because it will create parity throughout the league. No longer can the New York Rangers afford to pay Bobby Holik $9 million/yr to be a forth-line waste of space. The salary cap will usher the dinosaur's, who continue to hold on each year for more money and to break more records they don't deserve to break (hello Mark Messier), out the door a little quicker and welcome in younger players who will be more exciting to watch and will bring a renewed (and much needed) level of energy and enthusiasm to the game.

No longer do the faithful fans in Edmonton have to watch budding superstar after budding superstar leave the team for greener pastures. Now fans in Edmonton can realistically dream about having bonified stars on their team in their primes.

The playing field has now been levelled. I love that about the new NHL and I'm a Red Wings fan! My team looks to be one of the teams that will benefit least from the new CBA. But I'm okay with that as long as I get one more chance to see Yzerman play- so Stevie, if you're reading this, PLEASE PLAY ONE MORE SEASON!

If I'm Gary Bettman and I'm looking at what to do to rebuild the wall that came crumbling down with the cancellation of the 2004-05 season, I focus on quality over quantity.

It's time to eliminate a few teams and focus on those markets that are viable and still have some life in them. Wave bye-bye to Anaheim. Although with Brian Burke involved there now Anaheim could very easily become the next Tampa Bay. I hated Burkey in Vancouver a couple years ago but he has since become one of the hockey people I respect the most.

Say see ya later to Nashville, Florida and Carolina. These teams do nothing for the NHL.

Give the torch to Sydney Crosby and watch him run with it. This kid is the real deal. I am exceedingly more impressed with him each time I see him interviewed and each time I see him on the ice. Sure he's played in the softest Junior league around but there's no denying the skill sets that this kid has. Whoever lucks out and gets him in Friday's lottery draft had better make sure they've got the next Dave Semenko on their team as well because it's time to bring back old-time hockey with this kid.

I for one am really looking forward to getting all the paper work and technicalities out of the way this week so that teams can start doing all the juggling their going to have to do to get ready for the fall.

NHL teams (collectively) are going to go through such an extreme makeover during the next few weeks that I think they might consider hiring Ty Pennington as the next head of the PA.

Back in February I vowed that I would no longer care about the NHL nor its players. I knew then though that I was talking out of frustration and that, when a deal was finally reached, I would be one of many (especially in Canada) who would be excitedly anticipating the return of this great game. This past year aside, when it all comes down to it NHL hockey is still a great game. Now that both owners and players have had their "It's A Wonderful Life" moment, and have seen what their lives would be like without it, maybe they too will appreciate what they've been given the opportunity to do for a living and will seek out ways to make the most of it.