Puck Talk

Puck Talk

With the NHL lockout finally resolved Puck Talk returns to answer some of the burning questions you may be wondering about as we embark on a new era for the game.

All right Puck Talk Guy, your beloved hockey is back. You fired up?

I am. As much as I still loathe the players and the owners for letting it get as far as it did, I’ll admit that I’m pretty excited to see how all the changes play out and be able to watch some games again. It wasn’t so bad to cope with last October and November but by the time the spring rolled around and there were no playoffs I felt like a part of me was missing. It’s nice to have it back.

What about a final word on the lockout? Just how much did the players cave in the end?

Well, put it this way…back in February, after the players rejected another offer from the owners, largely because of a salary cap, Daniel Alfredsson of the Senators said you would never see the players on the ice again if the owners insisted on a cap. So much for that. The owners got their cap. They got it all. The players, and especially union leader Bob Goodenow, got mostly egg on their face. Nice to know that we wasted all that time so the players could ultimately negotiate a deal that’s worse than what they were offered last year. Well done guys. Way to play hardball.

OK, what about some of the rule changes they’re putting in place for this season? Like getting rid of the two-line offsides rule. Are you in favor of that?

Yes. I’m in favor of taking out the two-line pass. Works at every other level of hockey. Don’t see why it can’t work for the NHL.

How about touch icing and the rule that a team that ices the puck isn’t allowed to change lines?

I’m not crazy about the icing stuff. Touch icing still seems pretty senseless to me. It wastes time and it puts players in dangerous situations. And not being able to change up? That seems a little extreme.

What do you think of the new goalie rules that limit the area they can handle the puck and cuts back on the size of the equipment?

The equipment was definitely getting out of hand so I like anything that curtails that. As far as goalies handling the puck, I like the new rule but, instead of giving them a penalty for handling it outside of their designated area, I’d rather just say they’re fair game to be hit. Inside the area they’re protected. If you want to go play it in the corner, fine, but you can get hit. That’s how I’d do it.

How about shootouts?

You like going to the shootout after OT in the regular season? Fine with me. I don’t really care how they break ties in the regular season to be honest. If the fans like shootouts that’s cool with me. Just leave the playoffs alone. That’s all I ask. Don’t you ever, not even for one second, consider fudging with sudden-death until there’s a winner for the playoffs.

Are you in favor of the new unbalanced schedule?

Well, yes, but they only have it half right. I’m all for more games against Montreal and Toronto to try to pump some life into the rivalries but what good is it, ultimately, if they’re not going to meet in the playoffs? That’s what made the first two rounds of the playoffs so great back in the day. You were basically guaranteed to play someone you couldn’t stand the sight of anymore. I know it’s not feasible right now with six divisions and 30 teams but I really think we need to go back to the old Adams, Patrick, Norris and Smythe divisions, have the unbalanced schedule and then do the playoffs the old way. I feel very strongly about that.

Is Sidney Crosby the real deal?

That’s a tough one. Are we holding him up to Wayne/Mario standards and saying he’s a bust if he does anything short of what those guys did? I mean, say he came in and had a Joe Sakic-kind of career. Is that a disaster based on expectations? Because that’s tough. Personally, I think he’ll be great. I’ve seen him play a handful of times and I think the Penguins were very lucky to hit the lottery and get him. Just how great, I guess, is a question that remains to be seen. There are dozens of guys that never lived up the hype and then there are guys, like Tiger Woods, that did. I have no idea what camp he’s in yet. Can’t wait to watch though.

All right, what are some of the key dates now leading into training camp in September?

The next big deadline for the league is Friday, July 29th. That’s the last day for teams to buyout existing contracts. The draft is July 30. July 31st is the deadline for tendering offers to restricted free agents. August 1st, therefore, is the beginning of the free agency period. That’s when things should get really interesting. It’s going to be a very busy month coming up. That’s for sure.

Which big name players are expected to be available when the free agency period starts on August 1st?

It’s hard to say for sure but, based on everything I’ve read and heard, the following guys are all expected to be on the market come Monday if they aren’t already: Marcus Naslund, Peter Forsberg, Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya, Peter Bondra, Ziggy Palffy, Teemu Selanne, Jeremy Roenick, Mike Modano, Joe Nieuwendyk, Adam Foote, Derrian Hatcher, Bobby Holik, Anson Carter, Scott Stevens, Sergei Zubov, Tony Amonte, John LeClair, Keith Tkachuk, Brendan Shanahan, Owen Nolan, Bill Guerin, Adam Deadmarsh, Pavol Demitra, Brian Rafalski, Scott Niedermayer, Sergei Gonchar & Jason Allison.

How many players do the Bruins officially have under contract for the 2005-06 season as of right now?

How much room will they have to go after free agents? The answer is three. Patrice Bergeron, Tom Fitzgerald and Ian Moran. That’s it. Combined, those guys will make $1.5 million of the $39 million total they can spend under the new cap. So they’ve got some flexibility. The biggest question right now is which of your restricted free agents (Thornton, Sammy, Boynton, Raycroft, etc) do you sign and at what price? Raycroft’s a no-brainer. Someone like Thornton? That’s not so easy. He was asking for over $8 million/year before the lockout. The maximum salary under the new CBA is 20 percent of the team cap or about $7.8 million. Joe’s good but is he worth 20 percent of your team cap? That’s the question.

But even if they sign most of their restricted guys the Bruins should have room to go after a few players when the free agent market opens. By design, the Bruins freed themselves of every long-term deal on the books in anticipation of this very situation; a completely different economic landscape with loads of potential free agents. That was exactly the vision that Harry, for one, had for the league for some time. So now it’s time to deliver the goods. Jacobs basically laid the gauntlet down to Harry and O’Connell and Sullivan last week. It’ll be very interesting to see how they respond.

Questions? Comments? Please send feedback to Michael James at feedback@barstoolsports.com