Hit the Lights and Lace the Skates !

So you guys have probably been waiting for this post for the last two weeks and although I've been scouring the far corners of the internet trying to keep abreast of the latest rumors I relay didn't want to write anything till the deal was certain.

At this point I'm sure you've all heard the details so I'm not going to go into my own version of "NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement for Dummies" I just want to make a point that most people haven't considered yet.

The events of the next few weeks will determine the teams that will control the NHL for the next five years.

When the NHL Board of Govoners meet tomorrow to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement they will set in motion a series of events between now and the beginning of the season (early October) that will turn the sport of hockey upside down. When the National Football League put their current economic system in place management of a sports team restricted by a salary cap was a new concept and the proper roster management has gradually developed over a period of 20 years. The NHL however will not have the luxury of two decade introduction to player/personnel skills.

The CBA will be ratified sometime tomorrow afternoon and this will usher in the single largest shift in talent any major sports league has ever experienced. In the last fifteen years a number of big market teams have used their excess revinue to buy up (and in many cases over pay) the leagues most gifted players while smaller market teams were forced to make hockey decisions based on economics rather than ability. This will no longer be the case after the CBA is signed, in fact large market clubs that have over spent to keep their star studded rosters intact now find themselves at a distinct disadvantage. Currently at least ten teams are over the 39 million dollar cap that comes with the new CBA. These teams will be given a one time opportunity to buy out player contracts and release those players into free agency in order to be in line with the new NHL system. So not only will these former big spenders be relegated to the basement of the NHL but their star players are now up for grabs.

So the general managers are faced with a tough decision. Who do you sign? What players are worth the money? And what balance of youth(and inexpensive contracts) do you bled with the big names (and big contracts) currently on the market?

It'll be east to tell who best answers these questions

They'll be the ones skating around the ice with the big shiny silver cup next June

OK get to work Mr. Patrick its about time we see a repeat performance of the Francis Deal

peace out yo