I'm excited about the NHL returning. Really. I am. Which is kind of odd because while I love hockey, it's provided some of my favorite sports moments of all-time, it remains in fourth place on my list of the supposed Big Four team sports. Maybe it's an "absence makes the heart grow fonder" sort of thing. I'm not really sure, but I do now that I am far more excited about the start of this season than most any other in recent memory.
I suspect part of my new found excitement is simply because this abridged off-season is going to be so jam-packed full of transactions. With so many players potentially changing sweaters over the next four weeks or so, the NHL will be like a rotisserie league on steroids. I would imagine that nearly every day between now and training camp, there will be players on the move.
Even better, there will be a nearly endless supply of unfounded rumors, innuendo and wild speculation about player movement that make off-seasons truly interesting. Forget a Hot Stove League, the NHL is going to have a Coal Burning Furnace League. Maybe a Nuclear Power Plant League is more appropriate. Has any league every faced the kind of potential player movement the NHL could see over the next month or so?
In reality, what could be better for the league than having it's players amongst the lead stories every single night in August? Does anyone outside of the most diehard fan talk NHL in August? Not with the NFL pre-season underway, MLB in the dog days and NCAA Football looming on the horizon. All of this potentially unrivaled wheeling and dealing will get the NHL tons of press at a time most people reserve for the return of pigskin play.
I'm sure part of my enjoyment also emerges from the fact that it's nearly impossible to figure out who the Stanley Cup favorites are. Even teams that get off to a fast start are not going to be assured of much, as I'm sure some teams will take longer to adjust to massive lineup changes. It would seem like nearly every team has a fair shot at a championship today. They just have to spend their money wisely.
I don't care what team you root for, right this second your guys could land Mike Modano. Or Glen Murray. Or Alexei Kovalev, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Adrain Aucion, Tony Amonte, Darien Hatcher, Nikolai Khabibulin, Brian Leetch, Gary Roberts, Sandis Ozolinsh, Paul Kariya, Peter Forsberg, Teemu Selanne, Adam Foote, Sergei Zubov, Zigmund Palffy, Al MacInnis and/or Pavol Demitra. How would adding any of these guys not make a team better?
That's just a brief list of the unrestricted free agents and a couple of players who are about to be bought out of their contracts. Imagine who else might be available in the coming weeks. Some restricted free agents will probably swap teams, too. How could you not be enthused about your favorite hockey team possibly getting one or more of these guys?
Yeah, I know. Most of the really big young stars are going to stay put. But some of these players are going to change teams and, in the process, change the outcome of the 2005-2006 season.
This is a one-time deal, however. Maybe that's part of what I find compelling. This type of situation will probably never occur, again. Next year, no contact buyouts. No massive dumping of salaries to meet a new cap figure. This is a one-time shot that could not only affect this season, but could alter a franchise.
Call me crazy for being excited. Call me a geek for overdosing on rumors and potential press conferences announcing the signing of free agents. Call me whatever, as usual, it's probably accurate. But for the first time in quite a while, I'm excited for the entire NHL. How is that a bad thing?
As an added bonus, because of my interest in the NHL, I've beefed up my hockey links section. I encourage all who may be interested to visit one of the sites in the right hand column. I hope you find them useful.
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