Yet another season of the NHL is upon us after what seems like an incredibly short summer.
Much has transpired since a controversial early-morning goal in triple overtime that precipitated the Dallas Stars' dance with Lord Stanley.
The league is now entering what will be referred to as the post-Gretzky era. For the first time in twenty years, pro hockey will be without a number 99. The void left by the retirement of the Great One is a huge one, but will nonetheless need to be filled. The question is now who will pick up where Gretzky left off. It is obvious that no one will ever fill the large skates of Wayne Gretzky, let alone play the role as ambassador to the game, spokesman, and megastar.
But the game needs a visible star. There are many names who could make the jump into Gretzky-like superstardom: Jaromir Jagr, Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya, Mike Modano, Dominik Hasek.
Out of that bunch, Jagr appears to be Gretzky's heir-apparent. No player in the game can dominate a game like him. The Czech's play-making and scoring ability are unmatched around the league. Add to that an unmistakable public persona (even if he did shear those long, flowing locks), and the lucrative possibility of selling the NHL overseas with a European superstar, and the NHL has a marketer's dream.
Meanwhile, the Lords of the Boards have been busy making rule changes over the summer. The two most visible of these rule changes are the new overtime format and the "improved" man-in-the-crease rule.
The NHL has finally decided that no fan wants to shell out $80 for a tie game. Basically, the league has made the overtime period worth one point in the standings. In the case of a tie at the end of regulation, both teams will receive one point. The teams will then play four-on-four for the overtime period, battling it out for an extra point.
Although I would consider myself a traditionalist I welcome any policy that makes the game more exciting without such gimmickry as shootouts. There is nothing worse than a well-played game that leads to an anticlimactic OT.
The second major improvement is modification of the man in the crease rule. Previously, if a player had so much as a toe in the goalie crease, a goal could be disallowed. Even if the play was on the other side, and the player in the crease had no bearing on the goal, it could be disallowed. This rule has ignited controversy the last two years in the playoffs, most notably with Brett Hull's Stanley Cup winning goal last June. Its abolishment is a welcome change for just about anyone except NHL goalies.
Speaking of goaltenders, Harry Sinden is doing it again. The penny-pinching Boston Bruins President and General Manager is refusing to budge on starting goalie Byron Dafoe's contract. The team and Dafoe's agent, Ron Salcer, are $1 million apart, and it doesn't look like either side is willing to negotiate.
This leaves the Bruins without a true starting goalie, and from the looks of their first two games of the season, they will be hurting without Lord Byron in net. Dafoe, who led the league in shutouts last year with 10, and was third in the league with a 1.99 goals against average, is not asking for an outrageous raise, merely that he be paid his worth in today's player market.
Yet, the Bruins are crying poverty, claiming that his salary would bankrupt the team. This claim undoubtedly comes straight down from the even more miserly owner, Jeremy Jacobs. This pretense is ludicrous, and the Bruins brass must realize that in order to keep the fans attention they need to put a winning team on the ice. This requires spending money on skilled players.
If this is the tact the Bruins take for contract negotiations, there will be trouble down the road next year when the contracts of no less than four star players, including Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov, are up. Bruins fans will need to get used to watching a team replete with the scraps from the table.
Ottawa Senators fans are bringing a $27.5 million class-action lawsuit against holdout Alexi Yashin for breach of contract. The damages represent the amount Sens fans doled out for season tickets, expecting to see Yashin in the lineup. While the legality of this action is questionable, it does bring up an interesting situation. Why don't Bruins fans unite and sue Harry Sinden for the money they shelled out with the expectation that Dafoe would be in net?
Enough of legal matters, though and on to bigger things --who will hoist the Cup come June. My Stanley Cup prediction for the year (don't hold me to this though): the New Jersey Devils over the reigning Dallas Stars.
