JUST IN CASE YOU WERE BUSY WATCHING FOOTBALL

Hey gang, I know you watched the opening of the NHL regular season on Sunday, right? You did watch hockey on Sunday, didn’t you? Please tell me you were at least aware that the NHL opened its season this weekend in Europe and Verses was showing two games on Sunday. You were aware, right? Right? (Whew!) For a minute there I thought you were going to tell me that you were too busy watching football all weekend to notice that hockey had started or something equally as ridiculous as that. Okay people, you have to stop scaring me like that or I’m going to start thinking that you’re not paying attention.

Just in case you missed it, here are a few things that I noticed. (Because I was watching)

The games this weekend left me wishing that they showed a bit more of Prague and Stockholm.

Three out of the four teams that played escaped from Europe with points.

Tampa Bay gave up twice as many goals than they scored, no surprise to me, but Melrose might want to focus attention there.

Marty St. Louis’ backhand goal was a thing of beauty!

Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley look sharp, not sold yet about the rest of the team.

This could be a year where Malkin absolutely dominates, IF, he drives to the net like he did on his first goal.

Markus Naslund looks too comfortable with the Rangers, he could easily net 30+ this year if he can stay healthy.

Jaromir who?

Alex Auld continues to be one of the better backup goaltenders in the league.

Brandon Dubinsky is New York’s best-kept secret. Not bad for a big Alaskan boy, there should be more press on this kid.

And finally… BRIAN ENGBLOM NO LONGER LOOKS LIKE HE IS WEARING A MUSKRAT PELT ON HIS MELLON!!! Looking sharp Brian, it’s about time you made the adjustment. Now maybe we can start taking you seriously!

NHL'ers HEADING FOR EUROPE - A REASON FOR CONCERN?

One of the effects we are seeing from operating in this “salary cap era” is more middle tier and older veteran players heading for Europe. These players are getting squeezed out by the high prices being paid to top tier talent and to make room for affordable young up and coming talent. We are also seeing more European players heading home due to being less than happy with their roles on NHL teams. This new trend isn’t all that alarming on face value and was even predicted by some as the new CBA was introduced. Everyone knew there would be casualties and it makes sense for these players to be the ones to take the hit. Although the trend isn’t alarming, it shouldn’t be taken lightly by any means. Just looking at the fact that some players that are under contract with NHL teams are “defecting” back to Europe tells you that the pay scale for them looks brighter overseas and perhaps increased ice time as well (not to mention being back home around family). To me, this trend should be kept a close eye on as to how things develop. The reason I say this is because if the European and Russian “super leagues” decide to get their acts together and merge as one league, it has the potential to give the NHL a run for its money. Picture a rivalry that would make the bidding wars between the NHL and WHA of the 1970’s look like a “hissy-fit” at Girl Scout camp. Imagine the NHL without the likes of Ovechkin, Malkin, Lundqvist, Kovalchuk, etc. as its premiere players due to the appeal of playing in Europe. On top of that, picture a steady stream of middle tier players (not just European) heading over due to bigger paychecks, older vets finishing their careers for bigger money, young talent going straight there bypassing the NHL and you can start to see my concern. Some will say that it would do the NHL some good to have some competition as the league sometimes seems stale, but there is always trouble when you let the wolves in the back door. Truly I’m not trying to be an alarmist, I just want to make the point that this is something that could potentially become a reality in the future and something the NHL should be looking into and taking steps to put a plan in place. The problem that the NHL faces is that they could very well be handcuffed by their own salary cap system if this were to become a reality in the near future. Something to think about.