It's about half way through the 2005-2006 season, the first with a salary cap, and I must say, it's been a lot of fun. Here my thoughts so far on what's been happening. If you don't want to read them, no one is forcing you to.
The Cap
Every sport needs a cap like this. There are no loop holes. All teams are equal. It's too bad we had to lose an entire season to get this, but the sport is better for it. Teams who have solid scouting departments and good judge of talent will thrive under the cap. What has been surprising are the number of teams who were supposed to do well, but instead of fallen apart.
Boston tops the list of teams who were supposed to do well with the cap. No one wanted a cap more than they did. They even bragged about how they were going to succeed in a cap system. Yet their poor scouting led to poor free agent signings, and with a lack of chemistry and commitment from the players, the Bruins bombed. In a desperate move they traded a top five center in Thornton, who may be a Hart candidate for MVP this year, and in return they received two above average and one very average player. Sure, Brad Stuart could become a solid top two defenseman, but they should have gotten more for Thornton than Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau up front. Rumor is they are looking to deal Samsonov, and they will probably also trade Leetch and Raycroft by the March 9th trade deadline. A once promising franchise is about to head back to the drawing board yet again, and it may be looking for a new coach and GM in the offseason.
Another team everyone thought would do well is Pittsburgh, but the Penguins spent their money on the wrong players. The team is too soft, especially on defense and in net. The good news is that they have an excess of talented forwards to trade for the gritty players they need. Another bright spot is the play of Sidney Crosby. This guy is something else to watch.
Some surprises have been the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers. Carolina seemingly came out of nowhere, proof that good scouting and smart spending goes a long way. The Rangers, on the other hand, are finally playing to potential, especially highly paid Jaromir Jagr.
In the west, the Red Wings haven't gone anywhere, and the cap hasn't handicapped them at all. They need to make a move on defense, and they have the room to do that. They won't be going after any more high priced players, and that will make them a better team in the long run. I was never surprised by the Wings' early success this year, but then I live in Detroit, and I've been watching this team as Holland has been building it.
The Rules
If a stick is parallel to the ice when it comes in contact with another player, it's probably a penalty. It's been too long since real hooking, slashing, high sticking, and the like have been called in the NHL. Now that the rules are being called the right way again, players have found the need to retrain themselves not to break them anymore. The league must stick with this, because if it lets up, all the clutching and grabbing that hasn't been allowed this season will return. Hopefully, by next season, players will rediscover the art of the body check. I'm talking the real body check, where people go flying off their skates in the center of the ice, or get flattened against the boards, or even go through the glass. The body check has been a lost art for long in the sport that created it. Hopefully, as the larger, slower, less skilled players who don't belong in the league get handed their pink slips, the not so large, much faster, much more talented, much more physical players who know how hit will find their way back in. It's already starting to happen, but it's going to take a little more time.
I like allowing two-line passes, I like limiting where the goalie can handle the puck, I love tag-up offsides. If the players would just keep their sticks down and stop forcing the refs to call penalties, this game would have a lot few whistles. This season is a work in progress. Next season is where we should get the real payoff.
The Schedule
There has been a lot of complaint about the unbalanced schedule this year. Teams play their divisional opponents eight times, and only see ten teams in the other conference a season for one game each. Obviously, if a team can beat up on a poor division, it's going to have an inflated point total. The Wings and Predators are doing just that in the Central Division. They face each other four more times before the Olympics, and three times after that. The Wings have won the first meeting, and the winner of the series will most likely win the division, and even the top seed in the Western Conference.
That's just the way it is, and that's the way it should be. Why have divisions at all if they mean nothing to the standings? Now they mean everything. Dominate the division, get a high seed for the playoffs. Struggle within the division, kiss the playoffs good bye. Do I wish the Wings had better opponents in the division? Sure, the fact that there is only one threat in the division is truly sad. But that will change over the next season or two, and perhaps within three years, the Central will be the toughest division in the NHL.
As for the other divisions, the Northwest looks to be the toughest of the bunch, with the others looking more like a division should look. It would be nice if the NHL just scrapped ten games off the schedule entirely, going down to a 72 game season with teams not facing the other conference at all. But even though the players and the game would greatly benefit from a shorter season, the owners need the extra ten games to sell tickets. Money will always prevail over common sense, I guess.
At Mid Season...
The Flyers, Senators and Hurricanes are standing atop their divisions in the east, and that shouldn't change. The Thrashers should make the playoffs now that they have their goalie back and healthy, but Carolina should hold on to the division, unless Staal continues his inconsistent play of late. One of the current division leaders looks to be a good bet to make the Stanley Cup Finals. Of course, there's still half a season to play.
Detroit, Calgary, and Dallas are atop their divisions in the West. The Predators, Kings, Cunucks, and Avalanche are all on their heals, and all will be threats come playoff time. While talent could decide the east, grit and determination are the more likely factors to determine the champion of the west. At this point, any of these teams could make it to the Stanley Cup Finals.
