The Puck Will Drop Again

News from the blueline: hockey's back. After 301 days and the league's seven hundred odd players being run over by the Bettmobile, the puck will drop again.
As nearly everybody predicted, the owners won the war--or rather, some of them did. The suits owning teams in hockey meccas like Miami and Raleigh will find their victory a tad Pyrrhic--the safe bet is that at least a few of those teams will go pads-up in the next year or two.
And really, that's a good thing. One of the NHL's biggest problems is the dilution of its talent level. A few years back, the Hockey News ran an intriguing "what if" article, to wit: what if there were only six teams in the NHL today? You should have seen the prospective lineups of those mock teams--a fan of the game would have little choice but to drool all over him or herself. Mats Sundin was, as I recall, a fourth line center.
Then there's the other big problem the NHL still faces--also related, oddly enough, to expansion.
Did you know that they were giving away tickets to the Stanley Cup FINAL in Tampa Bay? I'm sorry to any Lightning fans out there, but c'mon...it's obviously high time that particular franchise got relocated or dissolved. What really gets me is that the Lightning's season attendance was fairly respectable: they ranked 12th out of 30 teams. What kind of fan base deserts its team the closer that team gets to a championship?

The bottom six teams in attendance for the 2003-2004 season were:

Washington: a team spinning its wheels. This franchise has had some excellent players over the years, but they seem to be traded faster than they're acquired. Fan interest has slipped tremendously: the attendance ranking has fallen from 13th to 25th in only three seasons. Perhaps Ovechkin can make a difference: the fans will support a winner.

New York Islanders: Attendance was dead last (3oth) in 2000-2001. They climbed to 22nd in 2002-2003 but slipped to 26th last season. Fan favorites are routinely traded away. For years, this has been a case study of wasted potential.

Chicago: I take that back. The Blackhawks have been an utter waste for the better part of the last decade. When you specialize in players rejected by the Toronto Maple Leafs, you've got a problem. Still, through sheer futility they've managed to find some serious young talent. I think they'll make waves this year. Whether the fans come out to surf them is anyone's guess.

Nashville: Who decided Dollywood needed a hockey team? Here again, the sucking sound you hear isn't just coming from the players, but from the fans deserting them in droves. A good chance at success under the new CBA...but does anybody care?

Carolina: For the love of God, get this team out of NASCAR country. They play to phalanxes of empty seats every night. Karmanos said his team was losing less money during the lockout than they would have had they played. He felt this pointed to a huge imbalance in the league. Maybe it does, but Peter, it also means your team sucks.

And finally, Pittsburgh. Arguably the greatest talent the game has ever seen isn't even close to saving this franchise. Mario, I'm not entirely sure what the Big One is, but your Penguins bite it.
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The next week or two is going to be the most exciting time in this hockey fan's life--given that he was born five years after the Leafs last visited the Stanley Cup Finals. (Ouch. That hurts to say.) The league is going to undergo a wholesale, deep-sea change. It'll be like a fantasy league pool. Past success is no guarantee of future promise: in fact, rather the opposite. Teams like Detroit and Toronto are going to be hard-pressed to make the playoffs, while such sad sacks as Chicago and Nashville will be instant contenders if they play their cards right. And whoever lands Sidney Crosby will be in for a treat.
I will comment on the rule changes when they come to pass, except to say this: I HATE SHOOTOUTS. It's a crappy way to win a game, and a crappier way to lose one. I myself favour unlimited overtime, with no points for a regulation tie. and I don't care if both teams play tomorrow night. With no sure point in sight, I'll bet you anything teams will do their utmost to end it early.
As for the oft-cited malaise that supposedly grips the paying public, I say 'pshaw'! Oh, no doubt attendance will be down for a while--unless the owners get smart and drop their ticket prices, say, 24 percent. (Yeah, and Tie Domi will win the Rocket Richard Trophy this year.) But people will still watch on TV. It's true, we found we could abide a season without hockey. But there's a difference between puttering around the house on a hockeyless Saturday night and deliberately avoiding the living room while the game's in progress.

Drop the puck, already.