After months of pursuit through the trade deadline and draft weekend, New York finally landed the high-scoring forward in a trade with the Blue Jackets on Monday. And the Rangers did so without having to surrender any of the key young players Columbus had coveted. Ryan McDonagh, Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan will all now become teammates of Nash rather than trade chips needed to acquire him.

The Rangers are now loaded up front with Nash joining the likes of Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik, Ryan Callahan, Kreider and Stepan in a formidable top six. Add in some solid role players like Brian Boyle, Carl Hagelin, Arrom Asham, Mike Rupp, Jeff Halpern and Taylor Pyatt for the bottom six, a defense led by McDonagh, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi and Michael Del Zotto and reigning Vezina winner Henrik Lundqvist in goal and New York has the makings of a tough team to get past in the East. For this year anyway.

The Rangers even have more than $13 million left in cap space for the upcoming season, with only restricted free agent defensemen Del Zotto and Anton Stralman left unsigned. That could give them the chance to add even more this offseason. They remain in contention to sign free agent forward Shane Doan, who recently visited with the team and would really upgrade the size, skill and experience up front in conjunction with Nash.

But this year isn’t the issue. It’s New York’s long-term prospects that could tip this trade from a huge win for the Rangers to a more complicated result. Despite their ample cap space at the moment, Nash’s $7.8 million cap hit through 2017-18 could cause some complications as the Rangers’ other key players come due for new deals in the coming years.

Those key assets they kept out of the trade will still cost the Rangers, with McDonagh and Stepan scheduled to become restricted free agents after this upcoming season and Kreider’s entry-level deal up after next year. That summer of 2014 will also see Lundqvist, Gaborik, Callahan and Girardi become unrestricted free agents, while Staal is a UFA in 2015.

That’s a lot of big contracts to hand out in the next couple years, especially if changes in the new collective bargaining agreement currently being negotiated end up lowering the cap or eliminating the ability to store bad contracts in the minors to escape the cap hit. That latter issue could be particularly troublesome for the Rangers, who have kept Wade Redden and his $6.5 million cap hit in the AHL the last two years. That contract runs through 2013-14, so it could come back to haunt them in the near future if such loopholes are closed.

Nash’s team-high $7.8 million cap hit could become an albatross as well, especially if his production declines as he gets into his 30s. Nash, 28, has already shown some signs of that, with his numbers declining slightly in each of the last three seasons. He’s dropped from 40 goals and a career-best 79 points in 2008-09 to just 30 goals and 59 points this past season. Some of that decline could be the result of his dissatisfaction with his situation in Columbus and the lack of talent around him, but it’s also possible that the wear and tear of nine seasons in the NHL as a power forward is taking its toll as well and that trend could continue even playing for a contender in New York.

That $7.8 million a year price tag won’t be too appealing if Nash’s goal totals slip down into the 20s and that cap hit keeps the Rangers from being able to retain all of its rising young talent.

That’s a problem for tomorrow though. Today, the Rangers stand to be a better team with the addition of Nash without the loss of any of their key foundation pieces. And if Nash can push the Rangers over the top, they’ll gladly deal with the long-term consequences if and when they come.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

After all he's the guy who delivered this devastating KO to Matt Cooke about a month after the Pittsburgh cheap-shot artist effectively ended Bruins center Marc Savard's career with a blindside hit to the head in 2010.

But the Winnipeg Jets have to set an actual value on Kane, a restricted free agent who led the club in goals and was second in points last season with a 30-27-57 campaign.

Kane, the fourth overall pick in 2004 by what was then the Atlanta Thrashers, has already logged three seasons in the NHL and won't turn 21 until Aug. 2. His totals have dramatically improved over each of those seasons, climbing from 14-12-26 as a rookie to 19-24-43 in the team's final season in Atlanta to last year's 30-goal season after the relocation to Winnipeg.

Those three seasons exhausted his entry-level contract, and now the Jets must determine if that upward trajectory of Kane's career will continue and warrant a major investment in the form of a new long-term contract.

The answer appears to be yes, with the Winnipeg Free Press reporting on Tuesday that the sides are working on a new deal that could keep Kane in Manitoba for another six years.

And that should be Winnipeg's decision. Kane is the kind of exciting young talent an emerging team must build around, and the Jets simply do not have enough talented young players that they can afford to alienate him. With about $50.9 million committed to the cap toward 20 players, Winnipeg can afford to make a significant commitment to Kane, and that's what it's likely to take.

Kane's comparables at this point are 2009 draft classmate John Tavares and Phil Kessel. Kessel put up similar numbers over his first three years in Boston, going from 11-18-29 to 19-18-37 to 36-24-60. He couldn't come to terms with the Bruins on a second contract, but landed the deal he sought with Toronto, which signed him for $27 million over five years ($5.4 million cap hit) after trading three draft picks that would become Tyler Seguin, Dougie Hamilton and Jared Knight to Boston for his rights.

Tavares just completed his entry-level deal, but already signed a six-year, $33 million extension ($5.5 million cap hit) last September. That was before he put up a career-high 31-50-81 line last season, but the 2009 No. 1 overall pick had already put up 24-30-54 and 29-38-67 campaigns.

Kane, while a talented young scorer, lags slightly behind both Kessel and Tavares in terms of pure offensive skill, but does bring other elements to the table. Cooke learned the hard way about Kane's toughness, and Kane provides a physical presence on a regular basis with 173 hits last season, compared to 27 for Tavares and just 12 for Kessel.

That kind of approach can put a lot of strain on Kane's relatively slender 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame, and can make a long-term deal a bit more risky. He has already missed 33 games over his first three seasons with a variety of injuries, including a broken foot and a concussion.

While Kessel and Tavares both got long-term deals in their second contracts, there are other comparable players have settled for shorter pacts. James Neal signed a two-year, $5.75 million ($2.875 million cap hit) after going 24-13-37 and 27-28-55 in Dallas, but has since cashed in with a six-year, $30 million ($5.0 million cap hit) that begins this upcoming season. Logan Couture is about to begin a two-year, $5.72 million deal of his own after putting up 32-24-56 and 31-34-65 totals in his first two seasons, while Matt Duchene, picked one spot ahead of Kane in 2009, settled for a two-year, $7 million deal this summer after slumping to 14-14-28 totals in 58 games last year after 24-31-55 and 27-40-67 in his first two seasons.

The Jets and Kane appear headed toward a longer marriage though. That's an interesting development after Renaud Lavoie of RDS reported last month that a Jets player had told him Kane wasn't interested in negotiating a deal at all. That may have stemmed from coach Claude Noel benching Kane for part of a January game in Boston, then publicly criticizing his effort.

"For me, I wasn't happy with the way he started the game," Noel told the Winnipeg Sun. "Either you are going to play or you're not. Figure it out.

"I'm not going to wait for him to start, the game has started. I saw two or three shifts and I'd seen enough. It's like, what do you want to do here? If you want to be a key player on our team, if that's what you think you want to be, then get ready to play the game, like everybody else."

Kane is a key player for the Jets, one of their cornerstone pieces they cannot afford to lose. There have been some bumps along the way, but he's responded properly. He did not score in the six games immediately after Noel called him out, but then finished the season strong with 12-14-26 totals in his final 28 games.

Now the Jets just need to make sure Kane's continued maturation and development happens in Winnipeg.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Going into these negotiations, there was room for optimism. Surely after the damage done to the game by the last owners’ lockout that wiped out the entire 2004-05 season, both sides would do everything possible to make sure such a travesty didn’t happen again.

That doesn’t seem so certain now. While the aggressive nature of that initial proposal doesn’t guarantee there will be a work stoppage, it definitely doesn’t add any confidence that one will be avoided.

It could be argued that it was only natural for the owners to open with a bid asking for the sky to leave room to come down to the asking price they really are seeking. The problem with that theory is that this proposal was so onerous that it doesn’t appear to even be an offer in good faith. It’s one thing to pad the price of what you’re selling to leave room to negotiate. It’s another to price it so high that potential buyers won’t even bother to stop and look.

That’s what this offer did by calling for the players’ share of league revenues to drop from 57 percent to 46 percent, the elimination of signing bonuses and salary arbitration, extension of entry-level contracts from three years to five, limiting all contracts to five years and pushing back unrestricted free agency from after seven years of service to 10.

Dropping the players’ share to 46 percent would put the cap at $52.5 million, which is nearly $2 million less than the current floor of $54.2 million. Based on the numbers at CapGeek.com, 20 of the league’s 30 teams would already be over that adjusted cap. The Bruins, with a league-high $69.9 million in salary commitments, would have to dismantle much of the roster Peter Chiarelli has worked so hard to keep together since winning the Cup in 2011.

At this point, about the only thing the NHLPA can do in response to this proposal is come back with an equally ridiculous counterproposal. Maybe if they called for 65 percent of revenue and unrestricted free agency after three years, then at least the two extremes could be far enough apart to find a middle ground that would be fair and reasonable. Or both proposals could be dismissed completely and the sides could start over and get down to some serious negotiating along legitimate lines. 

Almost always when labor disputes arise in sports, many fans side with ownership. As illogical as it may seem, many people tend to resent the millions the athletes make without ever giving a second thought to the billions the owners possess. But the owners may have overplayed their hand in the public relations battle this time around.

Despite shuttering an entire season for the first time in major professional sports, the fans came back to the NHL following the lockout. That loyalty, combined with the players’ concessions in the creation of a new salary cap system, led to record revenues for seven straight years.

It didn’t lead to the complete “cost certainty” the league sought because teams started finding ways to circumvent the cap almost immediately. And it certainly didn’t produce the dramatic reduction in ticket prices Gary Bettman promised heading into the lockout. On the contrary, average NHL ticket prices have risen from $43.57 in the final year before the lockout in 2003-04 to $57.10 in 2011-12. But it did lead to more revenue than the league has ever seen.

Now the sides have to decide how to continue to split that ever-growing pie without a lockout, which could bring those profits crashing back down for everyone involved.

That revenue split is the main issue of contention, and the league’s desire to drop the players’ portion from its current level of 57 percent is their primary objective.

Much has been made of the fact that the NHL players receive a higher percentage than the players in the NFL and NBA, who each came out of lockouts within the last year with share around 48 and 50 percent, respectively. But the NHL players’ percentage only got that high because of how much money the league was making.

Under the current CBA, the players received just 54 percent as long as league revenues stayed below $2.2 billion per year. That went up to 55 percent with annual revenues between $2.2 billion and $2.4 billion, 56 percent with revenues between $2.4 billion and $2.7 billion and 57 percent only after league revenues exceeded $2.7 billion in a single year. Last year’s revenues? A record $3.3 billion.

Both sides are making money under this system. The players’ percentage has increased only because the overall pie has gotten bigger. Since that last lockout and the implementation of this current CBA, league revenues have gone up approximately 50 percent, while player salaries have risen about 15 percent.

If that isn’t enough for the owners, then maybe they need to start looking at themselves. League-wide revenues are soaring, but not all markets are experiencing that growth. Greater revenue sharing and perhaps a much closer look at what current markets are truly viable should be the first order of business.

Simply taking away from the players once again with a more punitive system isn’t the answer, and proposals like this initial one aren’t the way to start the kind of dialogue needed to find a solution to avoid a work stoppage no one can afford.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Rick Nash

He was not dealt at the trade deadline in February, nor at the draft in June. Now it's nearly two weeks into the free agency period with Zach Parise and the bulk of the options for scoring help up front off the market, and Nash still remains property of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

How could such an elite player be up for grabs this long without anyone stepping up to make a deal for him? Simply put, Nash is not really that elite a player, but Columbus general manager Scott Howson is certainly demanding an elite return.

Nash scored 30 goals last year, the seventh time the 28-year-old forward has reached that mark in nine seasons in the NHL. And that is a solid milestone that's becoming increasingly difficult to reach in a league being dominated more and more by quality goaltending, a greater emphasis on shot blocking and stingy defensive systems.

Still, he was just tied for 25th in the league in goals, while his 59 points had him tied for 59th. That's nothing new for Nash, who has never finished higher than 18th in the league in scoring, which came when he had a career-high 79 points back in 2008-09. His other finishes in the NHL scoring race? He was 154th as a rookie in 2002-03, followed by 41st, 108th, 90th, 40th, 18th, 36th, 30th and this past year's 59th.

For Bruins fans pining for more offense, Nash would have ranked just fifth on Boston last year, putting up less points than Tyler Seguin (29-38-67), Patrice Bergeron (22-42-64), David Krejci (23-29-62) and Milan Lucic (26-35-61). Heck, he even had fewer points than former Bruins players Blake Wheeler (17-47-64), Michael Ryder (35-27-62), Phil Kessel (37-45-82) and Joe Thornton (18-59-77).

But Nash is more of a finisher than a playmaker, so his goal totals should be more reflective of his standing among the league's elite than his total points. He does fare better there, as he tied for the league lead with 41 in 2003-04 and was tied for fifth with 40 in 2008-09. But he hasn't finished in the top 10 in any other season, ending up 122nd, 33rd, 52nd, 11th, 13th, 14th and 25th in the other years.

The argument commonly made is that his numbers will improve if he's moved to a team with a better cast around him. There could be some truth to that, though there could just as easily be a further decline in his production if he joins a more balanced attack and isn't the primary option on offense.

There's also the fact that Nash isn't the only talented scorer on a struggling team. Others were able to produce just fine under similar circumstances on weak teams. Twenty-four of the players who scored more points than Nash last year did so on teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs, as did 14 of other players who scored 30 or more goals.

This is not to argue that Nash is not a fine player. He is a very good, even great forward who beyond his scoring prowess also adds size (6-foor-4, 219 pounds) and a willingness to play physically (104 hits last year). But he's not a franchise-changing kind of talent that should command the kind of ransom Howson is demanding. He didn't elevate the Blue Jackets out of the NHL cellar, with Columbus making the playoffs just once in franchise history, and getting swept in the opening round on that occasion. He could be the final piece to push a contender over the top, but not if that contending team has to give up even more vital pieces to acquire him.

Still, Howson reportedly asked the Rangers to give up either Ryan McDonagh or Michael Del Zotto, plus either Derek Stepan or Carl Hagelin, plus Chris Kreider and Brandon Dubinsky at the trade deadline, while seeking Jeff Skinner from Carolina this summer. Carolina dropped out of the bidding at that price, though the Hurricanes were not on Nash's list of six teams he would waive his no-trade clause for.

Those lucky clubs are the Rangers, Detroit, San Jose, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston. To meet Howson's inflated price, the Bruins would be expected to cough up the likes of a Seguin or a Dougie Hamilton as the centerpiece of a package, while the Flyers would have to part with Sean Couturier or Brayden Schenn.

It's easy to understand why Howson would ask for so much. Nash has been built up as the face of the Blue Jackets franchise since coming to Columbus as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2002 draft, and getting a huge return for him may be Howson's only chance to retain his job after last year's debacle.

But it's unrealistic to expect teams to give up those kinds of assets, especially when they would also have to take on Nash's onerous contract. That features a $7.8 million cap hit for the next six seasons. And while most long-term deals are frontloaded to lower the overall cap hit, Nash's salary actually goes up slightly as the contract goes on, with the final two years at $8.0 million and $8.2 million.

The Nash trade watch is now in its seventh month, and it's not going to end until the Blue Jackets slash the sticker price to a reasonable level. As it stands now, the teams that may be interested in acquiring him are much better served to simply say no.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

In the inaugural World Cup of Hockey, which succeeded the old Canada Cup in 1996, the Americans pulled off another shocker in a competition played with professional rosters. The U.S. rolled through the round-robin with victories over Russia, Canada and Slovakia, then beat the Russians again in the semifinals to set up a rematch with the Canadians.

The best of three final went the distance, with the U.S. rallying after losing the first game and again after falling behind 2-1 in the decisive third game, erupting late in the third to take a 5-2 win in Montreal and claim arguably the second most important gold medal USA hockey has ever earned.

Now, 16 years after that dramatic victory, two of the principal figures of that team have been reunited again in a celebration of American hockey. Lou Lamoriello, the architect of that 1996 team, as well as a few pretty good New Jersey squads, and Mike Modano, a key center for that squad and the highest-scoring American-born player in NHL history, were both elected to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday. They will be inducted into the Hall this fall, along with fellow Class of 2012 member Eddie Olczyk.

Lamoriello and Modano each have resumes more than impressive enough to have earned such an honor even without that memorable late-summer tournament in 1996. But when it comes to the impact on American hockey, that two-week stretch stands alone as a seminal moment of the last generation.

That was arguably American hockey's greatest generation, at least in terms of impact in the NHL, and has helped immeasurably to inspire the next generation of American players who are reaching the NHL in ever-growing numbers.

Lamoriello, who served as general manager of the 1996 squad, assembled an impressive array of talent. There was Mike Richter in goal at the height of his powers just two years after leading the Rangers to their long-awaited Stanley Cup. On defense stood the towering Hatcher brothers, Derian and Kevin, longtime stalwart Chris Chelios, plus offensive wizards Brian Leetch and Phil Housley.

And like the 1980 team before it, there was naturally a Suter involved. This time it was Gary on the blue line after his brother Bob was part of the historic victory in Lake Placid. The Canadians may have their more numerous Sutter brothers, but the Americans have the Suters, who have one less T but a heck of a lot more gold.

And then there were the forwards, with Modano front and center with the likes of Brett Hull, Bill Guerin, John LeClair, Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight and Pat LaFontaine.

It was maybe the greatest collection of American hockey talent ever assembled, and the U.S. needed every bit of it against a Canadian club comprised of the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Brendan Shanahan, Eric Lindros, Paul Coffey, Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer. 

Lamoriello knew those last three well. They were key figures in all three of the Devils Stanley Cup championships in 1995, 2000 and 2003. Lamoriello has also led New Jersey to two other Final appearances, including this past year, while Modano had his name engraved on the Cup with the Stars in 1999.

But when it comes to American hockey victories, none meant more than that 1996 World Cup triumph. And after playing key roles in that historic moment, it's only fitting that Lamoriello and Modano will be together again in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Photo via Facebook/Mike Modano

The two biggest stars on the free agent market spurned the lure of the big market teams that usually dominate the top rung of players available each July. The spotlight, marketing opportunities and deeper pockets of New York Rangers were too much for Brad Richards to pass up last summer. Marian Gaborik, who actually left Minnesota for the big bucks in the Big Apple a few years earlier, couldn't resist either. Marian Hossa likewise leaped at the chance to play in Chicago, completing his mercenary bid for a Cup there after failed chases in Pittsburgh and Detroit.

But Parise and Suter didn't follow that path. They chose family and geography over maxing out the numbers on their paychecks. Sure, they're not exactly going to have to worry about clipping coupons after signing identical 13-year, $98 million deals with the Wild, but the fact is they could have signed for even more money elsewhere.

Not even Wild owner Craig Leipold denied that when he noted, "I know they both had numerous, attractive offers (some higher than ours)." That was part of Leipold's statement in what he termed "An Open Letter to the Fans of the State of Hockey" posted on the Wild's web site. He went on to call the Minnesota fans a "secret weapon" in the club's recruitment of the two stars.

Those fans have been loyal despite the club's lack of success on the ice and the fact that they've already had one NHL franchise ripped away from them when the North Stars bolted for Dallas. Since joining the NHL as an expansion team for the 2000-01 season, the Wild have made the playoffs just three times, the last appearance coming in 2008. They've advanced past the first round just once, reaching the Western Conference Final in 2003.

Yet the Xcel Energy Center continues to be filled almost every night. Minnesota's fourth straight failure to qualify for the playoffs last year did see the average attendance drop under 18,000 for the first time in franchise history, but the Wild still played before 98.4 percent capacity for the season with an average crowd of 17,772.

And it's not like the Wild have a monopoly on the hockey market in Minnesota. High school and college programs remain as popular as ever across what has been aptly dubbed "The State of Hockey."

Now that faith has been rewarded with new hope, Suter and Parise alone won't suddenly turned the Wild into Cup contenders, but Minnesota does have other pieces in place with Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley up front, Niklas Backstrom in goal and a strong group of prospects on their way.

That support for hockey at all levels has also helped lay the foundation for these signings. It was Parise's desire to come back to that environment after growing up in Minnesota, where his father J.P. played and coached for the North Stars, that was the driving force of the decision. Suter hails from rival Wisconsin, but at least married into a Minnesota hockey family, so he too was quite familiar with the lure of playing in such a hockey hotbed.

"The opportunity to play at home meant a lot to me, and my family," Parise said during his introductory news conference. "Every kid that's growing up in Minnesota would love to play with the Wild. Now, I'm lucky we were able to make that happen."

There's no doubting that the arrival of Suter and Parise will further enliven that passionate fan base and give the Wild a better chance at sustained success on and off the ice. But it is also gives hope to other small market teams that they can compete with the big boys. That it's not always just about who can throw the most money around.

Sure, Predators fans might have a beef, as Nashville isn't exactly a giant metropolis like a New York or an established hockey power like Detroit. But Nashville didn't lose Suter because they couldn't afford him. They were not simply outbid by a franchise with greater resources. Suter made a choice for family reasons.

And now Minnesota sits with the second highest payroll in the league, behind only Boston. The Wild have $67.3 million committed to next year's cap, while the Rangers sit barely over the cap floor at $54.4 million and the Red Wings are actually under the floor at $53.4 million. The Flyers ($59.8 million), Penguins ($59.7 million), Maple Leafs ($57.8 million) and Blackhawks ($62.4 million) all have tons of cap space as well, but with little left on the market to spend it on.

It's a rather remarkable turnaround from past years in the NHL. It's also how it should be in a salary cap world. The cap system was supposed to even the playing field for the smaller markets. There's still a long way to go in that regard with some teams struggling to afford reaching the floor, let alone pushing close to the ceiling. And there's certainly room to question just how much "cost certainty" the cap has brought when $98 million deals are being handed out.

But owners can pay that kind of money because the NHL is a booming industry that hauled in $3.3 million worth of revenues this past year. And every once in a while, even a small market team can beat the big boys and land the prize catch on the market.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Sure, there will be some players who may give more consideration to getting a chance to win a Cup or play closer to home, but most will be more than happy to simply sign on the dotted line for whichever team is willing to break out the biggest check. That's as true now as it ever was in the NHL, even with a salary cap in place. The big-market teams still hold the advantage by being able to spend to that limit, while their smaller-market counterparts are often constrained by much tighter internal budgets.

But on Saturday there was no way for those big market teams to buy the top free agent available. Defenseman Justin Schultz earned his early freedom when he was declared an unrestricted free agent on June 24 after Anaheim, which drafted him 43rd overall in 2008, was unable to sign him.

Schultz was free to sign with any team, but no one could offer more than a two-year deal at the entry-level max of a base $925,000 salary and bonus structure totaling another potential $2.85 million. That's a hefty investment for a player yet to take a pro shift, but Schultz found no shortage of suitors.

As many as 26 teams expressed interest in obtaining his services, but none could woo the Wisconsin blueliner simply by throwing more money at him. Instead, it was an opportunity to play a prominent role immediately and the lure of joining a talented young cast of potential stars that won the day when Schultz elected to take his talents to Edmonton.

The Oilers haven't had much luck in reeling in high-profile free agents in recent years. In fact, they've had trouble just keeping their own stars, with Chris Pronger forcing his way out of town in 2006 the most prominent example. That came after Pronger helped lead the Oilers to an unlikely run to the Cup Final the previous spring.

Edmonton hasn't made it back to the playoffs since, and earned the No. 1 pick in the draft in each of the last three seasons. It took a lot of losing to accomplish that dubious feat, but those picks do provide some hope for the future. Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have already established themselves in the league over the last two seasons, and this year's top pick Nail Yakupov has the potential to do the same. The Oilers also have another budding young star up front in 2008 first-rounder Jordan Eberle, who led Edmonton with 34-42-76 totals last season.

But there's a common theme there. All of those bright young stars are forwards. Edmonton desperately needs help on defense, where just three Oilers managed even 20 points last year, led by Jeff Petry's 25. Schultz had 16-28-44 totals in just 37 games last year at the University of Wisconsin, where he was a Hobey Baker finalist. That followed an 18-29-47 campaign in 41 games in 2010-11.

Schultz won't necessarily be able to duplicate those numbers right away in the NHL, where the learning curve for even the most talented defensemen is steep. But on an Edmonton defense that features the motley crew of Ryan Whitney, Nick Schultz, Andy Sutton, Ladislav Smid, Corey Potter and Colten Teubert returning, plus possibly restricted free agents Petry and Theo Peckham, Schultz will have a chance to win a spot right away.

That, plus a little extra wooing with calls from Hall and Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey, was enough for Schultz to spurn offers to play for the Kelowna, British Columbia native's hometown team in Vancouver, as well as the likes of Ottawa, Minnesota, Toronto and the New York Rangers, who rounded out his short list of finalists.

Those last two Original Six teams in Toronto and New York couldn't lure Schultz despite having some of the deepest pockets in the league. They may have better luck tomorrow when the bidding opens on the rest of the UFAs, and they still have chances to acquire help on the trade market that other teams could never consider with their ability to take on the massive long-term deals of players like Rick Nash and Roberto Luongo.

But for one day at least, money didn't reign supreme in the NHL. Instead, it was an opportunity to play right away that carried the day as small-market Edmonton picked up a rare win in the free agent wars.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Photo via Facebook/Justin Schultz

The writers of the hackneyed material given the presenters to read? Not so much.

But the 2012 NHL Awards did produce one genuine, albeit unintentional, bit of comedy when Erik Karlsson was named the Norris Trophy winner. After all, if giving the award for best defenseman to a guy who can’t play defense doesn’t produce at least a chuckle, what will? And no, the answer is not hockey puns from celebrity B-listers like Joshua Jackson.

Karlsson is fine player. At just 22, the Ottawa blueliner has already blossomed into one of the premier offensive defensemen in the game, a skill for which he was richly rewarded on Tuesday in the form of a new seven-year, $45.5 million contract.

Karlsson led all defensemen with 78 points this past season, 25 more than any other blueliner in the league. That will earn a guy some leeway if his play in his own zone isn’t quite as impressive. It will also earn him an awful lot of cash, as the contract mentioned above attests. What it shouldn’t earn him is recognition as the league’s best all-around defenseman.

And those two words — all-around — are the two most important words in the league’s description of the James Norris Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually “to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-around ability in the position.”

That’s not quite how most who have seen Karlsson would describe his game. Even the Senators appeared to understand his limitations. Karlsson led the team in overall ice time at 25:19 a game, but rarely was used when Ottawa was protecting a precarious lead late. And he certainly wasn’t trusted often when Ottawa was down a man, averaging just 33 seconds a game on the penalty kill. Sixteen other Senators averaged more shorthanded time than that.

Contrast that with Wednesday’s other finalists, Shea Weber of Nashville and Zdeno Chara of Boston. Weber was a workhorse as well, averaging 26:09 in ice time, which included a healthy 2:16 of penalty kill time and 3:31 on the power play. Chara checked in at 25:00 overall, 2:43 shorthanded and 2:39 on the power play.

Weber and Chara also provided a physical presence that Karlsson does not bring to the game. Weber dished out 177 hits with his 6-foot-4, 232-pound frame, while Chara pounded foes with his mammoth 6-foot-9, 255-pound body 166 times. Karlsson, at just 6-foot, 180 pounds, wisely shied away from so many collisions, managing just 60 hits.

He also managed to keep his slender frame out of the path of most flying pucks, blocking just 65 shots, compared to 140 for Weber and 87 for Chara. That may show some wisdom and even a strong sense of self-preservation, but it doesn’t do a whole heck of a lot to help a team defensively. Then again, neither did Karlsson’s 84 giveaways, so maybe staying away from the puck in the defensive zone isn’t such a bad idea after all.

And in fairness, Karlsson’s plus/minus did rise from a wretched minus-30 in 2010-11 to a solid plus-16 this past year. That may have been more due to Ottawa’s improvement from 190 goals scored in 2010-11 to 243 in 2011-12 more than any true improvement in Karlsson’s defense, or the team’s for that matter as Ottawa still surrendered 236 goals after allowing 254 the previous year, but it is still a sign of some progress.

This isn’t to beat up on Karlsson. He is a budding star, and offensive defensemen play an important role in the game too. That role has even been rewarded with Norris wins before. Paul Coffey did claim the trophy three times after all, and no strictly stay-at-home defenseman has come close to winning it in recent memory.

Putting up solid offensive numbers has become a requirement for consideration as well. But Weber (19-36-49, plus-21) and Chara (12-40-52, plus-33) meet those qualifications as well. And that’s where the real injustice of Karlsson’s win comes in.

It’s not just the lowering of the standards by rewarding a player who excels in only one aspect of the game. It’s that two players who represent everything the award is supposed to celebrate were denied their just recognition.

That is especially true of Weber, who was consistently strong throughout the 2011-12 campaign. He truly “demonstrated throughout the season the greatest all-around ability in the position.” But he came up 12 points shy of winning the Norris, with Karlsson edging him 1,069-1,057 (Chara was third in the voting with 950 points).

The Professional Hockey Writers Association, of which I have been a member since 2000, came that close to getting it right on a night when there was little to quibble with on any of the other award decisions.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

The Bruins’ alternate captain has won a Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal and also gold at the World Junior Championships. But those were all team achievements.

In many ways it was fitting that Bergeron’s accolades had all been within the context of team accomplishments. Bergeron is the ultimate team player, after all.

But it was still an injustice that his individual skills and contributions to those successes had never been given the true recognition they deserved.

That changed Wednesday night in Las Vegas, where Bergeron finally won a long overdue Frank J. Selke Trophy at the 2012 NHL Awards. The Selke goes “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” By that criterion, Bergeron should have been accepting his third or fourth Selke Trophy on Wednesday.

Instead, it was just the first time Bergeron was even a finalist. And after watching slick-skating Ottawa blueliner Erik Karlsson take home the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman, Bergeron was surely sweating a bit. My Professional Hockey Writers Association colleagues hadn’t given him much confidence that they could recognize true defensive excellence with that decision, but they made up for it with their voting in the Selke.

Bergeron won in a landslide. He finished with 1,312 points and 106 first-place votes, easily outdistancing runner-up David Backes. The St. Louis center finished a distant second with 698 points and 24 first-place votes. Fellow finalist Pavel Datsyuk, a three-time winner of the award, finished with 553 points and eight first-place votes. For the purposes of full disclosure, my ballot had Bergeron, Backes and Rangers forward Ryan Callahan, who finished fourth with 326 points, in the top three spots.

Bergeron was certainly worthy of such support. He led the NHL in plus/minus in 2011-12 at plus-36 despite regularly going head-to-head with the opposition’s top scoring lines. No one in the league won more draws than the Bruins center, who won 973 faceoffs and finished second in the league among players who took 500 or more draws with a 59.3 winning percentage.

Bergeron also led all Bruins forwards with 67 blocked shots, added 73 hits and had 55 takeaways to just 25 giveaways. He was Boston’s top forward in both overall ice time (18:34) and shorthanded ice time (1:48) as he played a key role in all situations. And he did all that without sacrificing offense, finishing second of the team with 22-42-64 totals in 81 games.

Still, it came as no surprise that when Bergeron was finally being recognized for his individual accomplishments, he thought first of his teammates.

“Hockey is such a team sport that I have to thank my teammates for this award right now,” Bergeron said to open his acceptance speech. “They’re the reason why I’m here. Thanks for making my job easy.”

There was nothing easy about Bergeron’s path to this moment. He nearly had his career ended in 2007 when he was brutally hit from behind into the boards by then-Flyers defenseman Randy Jones. Bergeron missed the final 72 games of that season with a severe concussion and 18 more the following year with more injury issues, including another concussion. He slowly but steadily regained his old form in the ensuing years, and the last several seasons has emerged as one of the best two-way forwards in the league, even if formal recognition of that fact had been slow in coming.

That wait, unjust as it may have been, only served to make Wednesday’s ceremony sweeter.

“It does feel special,” Bergeron told reporters in Las Vegas. “Playing both sides of the rink is something that I take a lot of pride in. That’s the way I learned to play hockey and to actually win an award that’s given to the best defensive forward or two-way forward is something very special. But like I said, I can’t do this without my teammates. They’re the reason why I’m here, and I’m very happy my name is going to be on this trophy.”

Bergeron then started reading off some of the names he’ll be joining. Those include Datsyuk, Rod Brind’Amour, Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Ron Francis, Doug Gilmour and Bobby Clarke. There’s even one other Bruin, as Steve Kasper won it all the way back in 1982 in just the fifth year of the award’s existence.

“It’s pretty impressive, and also pretty humbling,” Bergeron said of looking at the other names inscribed on the Selke Trophy.

Impressive and humble might just be the two best words to describe Bergeron, even as the unassuming Bruins star now can finally, officially be referred to as Patrice Bergeron, Selke Trophy winner.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Rick Nash

High-scoring Anaheim left wing Bobby Ryan could be "available" once again, TSN's Bob McKenzie reported on Tuesday. Ryan was reportedly available during the past season as the Ducks struggled early in the year.

Anaheim eventually chose to change coaches instead of core players, firing Randy Carlyle and hiring Bruce Boudreau. The Ducks responded with a strong second half but fell short of the playoffs, and Ryan was pulled off the market.

It may have only been a temporary reprieve, however, as Ryan may be getting shopped again this summer. McKenzie did caution that there's no guarantee the Ducks will move Ryan, following up his initial tweet by noting, "That doesn't mean Bobby Ryan is sure to be moved. It does means ANA's phone will be/has been ringing and they will be keenly listening."

If Anaheim really is open to taking bids on Ryan, that will dramatically alter the trade market this season. Columbus general manager Scott Howson has been demanding a king's ransom of roster players, prospects and picks in exchange for Nash despite the onerous contract that comes with the Blue Jackets star.

Nash carries a $7.8 million cap hit for six more years, and unlike most long-term deals that pay the bulk of the money up front, Nash's contract is back-loaded. He'll actually cost his new owner more than the cap hit in each of those six years, rising to $8.2 million in the final year of the deal in 2017-18.

Having turned 28 on Saturday, Nash is also three years older than Ryan. The top pick of the 2002 draft has 674 games of wear and tear on his body in the course of his nine seasons in the NHL, which can take a toll on a player who takes the body as often as Nash does (104 hits last season). The 6-foot-4, 219-pound Nash has saved himself a bit though, with Columbus playing a total of four playoff games in its history.

Ryan, in contrast, is just 25 and carries a cap hit of $5.1 million over the next three seasons, though he too will draw an actual salary that is higher at $5.562 million.

Like Nash, Ryan is a physical forward who uses his size (6-foot-2, 209 pounds) effectively. He had 113 hits last season to go with 31-26-57 totals that mirrored Nash's line of 30-29-59. Ryan, who was taken second in the 2005 draft, one spot behind Sidney Crosby, reached the 30-goal mark for the fourth straight season with just 204 shots, while Nash needed 306 to hit 30 for the seventh time in his career.

Both players would go a long way toward jump-starting a stagnant offense, which is why so many teams have been reportedly interested in acquiring Nash despite the steep price in both assets and cap space. The Rangers were reportedly in heavy discussions at the trade deadline and continue to headline the list of potential suitors, with the Flyers, Leafs, Hurricanes, Sharks and Bruins also mentioned in various reports.

Ryan's potential availability should be welcome news to all of those teams. Not only is there now another attractive alternative to pursue for offensive help and a second chance to land an impact player if you lose the bidding war for Nash, but Nash's price will likely have to come down as well now that the interest will be split between to two power forwards.

That's simple supply and demand at work, though Howson could reclaim some leverage if Ryan is dealt first and the sense of desperation returns for the losing bidders.

And Ryan should be the first choice of those suitors. He's the more attractive option, the newer model with a lower sticker price offering the same performance. That is the player a team in need of scoring should kick the tires on before even thinking about taking on Nash's unwieldy cap hit for an exorbitant price.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

No one has even won titles less than six years apart since New Jersey won in 2000 and again in 2003. And other than Detroit and Pittsburgh splitting a pair of back-to-back showdowns in 2008 and 2009, no team has even made it to the Final more than once since the owners' lockout wiped out the 2004-05 season.

The Bruins looked like they were poised to change all that this past year. Unlike most recent champions, they were not hit hard by defections in free agency and returned nearly their entire Cup-winning roster intact. But the strain of the previous season's long run, the short offseason and the pressure of every opponent going all out to beat the defending champs took its toll on Boston, which failed to even get out of the opening round of the playoffs this spring.

Now it will be the Los Angeles Kings' turn to find out just how real the Stanley Cup hangover is. The Kings claimed the franchise's first Cup on Monday, and while the first order of business is some serious celebrating, eventually Los Angeles will turn its attention back to the ice and look to finally end the long drought between repeat champions.

That won't be easy with all the challenges a reigning champion faces these days, but the Kings might just be better positioned to make a run at it than any other recent champion. At the very least, Los Angeles should prove that this spring's surprising run was no fluke, as they will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

Like Boston, the Kings will have almost everyone back next year. Nineteen of the 23 players who dressed during the postseason are under contract for next season. Of the other four, forward Dwight King, who made a surprising impact with five goals in the playoffs after not joining the big club for good until a February recall, is a restricted free agent who should remain in the fold without issue.

The only unrestricted free agents are forwards Dustin Penner, Jarret Stoll and Colin Fraser.

Penner rebounded from a horrid regular season that saw him manage just seven goals in 65 games and become a healthy scratch at times with a strong playoff. He chipped in three goals (two game-winners) and 11 points in 20 postseason games, which might be enough to help him earn another decent contract, just as his contributions to Anaheim's Cup run in 2007 helped him land a bloated five-year, $21.25 million deal.

The Kings could afford to give Penner that next deal and retain Stoll and Fraser. But they also have the cap space to sign an upgrade. Despite having 20 players under contract, L.A. has just over $54 million committed. Even if the cap comes down from the current estimate of $70 million after a new collective bargaining agreement is hammered out, the Kings will have the ability to make some noise in free agency.

Los Angeles will also now be a desired destination, with a Cup on its resume and a chance at more championships to go along with the sun and sand at the beaches and the Hollywood glitz as selling points. The Kings could even get into the bidding for prized free agent Zach Parise, and signing away the Devils captain would really rub salt into New Jersey's wounds.

Even without Parise, the Kings are set up for a lengthy reign. Only four players on the roster are over 30. Their entire defense is under contract, as are both Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick and backup goalie Jonathan Bernier, though both of those netminders will need new deals after next season.

Los Angeles also has nine of the 13 forwards who dressed in the Final returning, and that will rise to 10 if and when King reaches a new deal. Key scorers Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne are all back, while King and Jordan Nolan will be up for a full season after being recalled late in the year and establishing themselves as key contributors in the playoffs.

Help within the system is on the way as well, with Derek Forbert, a 6-foot-5 defenseman taken 15th overall in 2010, honing his skills at North Dakota and forward Tyler Toffoli coming off back-to-back 50-goal, 100-point campaigns in the OHL.

One online gambling site, Bovada.com, has already given the Kings 11-1 odds of winning the Cup again next year. Only Pittsburgh has better odds at 7-1. Recent NHL history has proven that repeating as champs is a long shot for any team, but the Kings proved this spring that betting against them wasn't wise, and that may not change any time in the near future.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

It seems like in today’s sports world it’s not enough to crown a hero in victory. There must also always be a goat for the vanquished.

Bernier will fit the bill for most. And there’s no doubt that his reckless hit from behind that led to a five-minute major and three Los Angeles power-play goals changed the course of Game 6 Monday night in L.A. The Kings jumped out to that 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back, finally closing out the series on their third try with a 6-1 win for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.

But while it could be argued that the Devils’ fate in Game 6 hinged on that costly penalty, that one play was not the difference in the series. New Jersey lost the Final by falling behind 3-0 in the series, not by falling behind 3-0 on Monday.

It was the their inability to solve Jonathan Quick in back-to-back 2-1 overtime decisions in the first two games in New Jersey and a complete no-show by the entire team in a 4-0 loss in Game 3 that sealed the Devils’ fate.

They avoided the ignominy of a sweep and made things interesting with wins in Games 4 and 5, but the Devils were bucking seven decades of history in trying to become the first team since the 1942 Leafs to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the Cup Final. There’s a reason that hasn’t happened in 70 years. Winning four straight games while facing elimination is a lot to ask, especially against a team that’s good enough to have reached the Cup Final and win three straight of its own to start the series.

So this should be the Kings’ moment to shine. Quick capped an incredible postseason run with an otherworldly 1.41 GAA and .946 save percentage in the playoffs. Drew Doughty enjoyed a coming-out party as one of the game’s true elite defensemen. Dustin Brown shook over a slow start to the Final with a three-point night. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, who actually know a thing or two about overcoming 3-0 deficits from their days in Philadelphia, made sure it didn’t happen against them in L.A. And all manner of key role players continued to come through with vital contributions for the Kings, right down to the final clinching goals in the closing minutes by depth forward Trevor Lewis and stay-at-home blueliner Matt Greene.

New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer got it right in his postgame news conference when asked about the Bernier play.

“You know what, tonight is about L.A. and letting them celebrate,” DeBoer told reporters in L.A. “If you want to ask me about that in about a week, I’ll give you my honest opinion on it.”

When asked if he felt bad for Bernier in a follow-up question, DeBoer added, “You know, it’s a bad spot for him to be in. Everybody knows Bernie’s heart’s in the right place. He’s not at fault.”

Bernier was not at fault for the Devils loss, though he certainly was at fault on the play. This is not a matter of defending that hit.

While the Devils had a case to complain that Jarret Stoll‘s dangerous hit on Stephen Gionta seconds earlier wasn’t penalized, it doesn’t exonerate Bernier for driving full steam into Rob Scuderi when the Kings defensemen’s numbers were fully exposed to him. That’s exactly the kind of dangerous hit the league has been trying to get out of the game and the kind of play that has been called a penalty all season long, with the injury suffered to Scuderi making it an automatic major.

That didn’t end the game, though. The rest of the Devils could have picked him up, much as Bernier and his fellow fourth-liners Gionta and Ryan Carter had picked up their teammates with their strong two-way play and surprising offensive contributions throughout the postseason. But New Jersey couldn’t kill off a penalty when it needed it most. And regardless of the circumstances surrounding the call, teams aren’t going to win many times when giving up three power-play goals on one penalty in an elimination game.

It wasn’t Bernier that lost this series. It was the Devils as a team. Just as it wasn’t one individual that won it for the Kings. It took a team effort to win hockey’s greatest prize. It always does. And that should not be overshadowed by a single bad decision made in the heat of the moment by one player.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

And it appears that the Red Wings may be in the pole position this year. That's fitting for a team from the Motor City, but a departure from how Detroit has operated in recent years.

While the Red Wings have made the occasional splashes in free agency, they've barely dipped their toes in the unrestricted pool the last three years. That's easy to do when you've drafted the likes of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen et al. In all, 16 of the 21 players who dressed in the playoffs this spring for the Red Wings were drafted by Detroit.

But that draft pipeline has dried up a bit of late, and the Red Wings are in need of a faster infusion of talent to fill some key holes, particularly on defense with the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom and the departure of Brad Stuart.

Stuart was a pending free agent whose rights were traded to San Jose on Sunday. He never lived up to the offensive expectations once placed on him, with his 21 points this past year the most he scored in four full seasons with Detroit after arriving from Los Angeles in a deadline deal in 2008. But Stuart was still a top-four defenseman, providing a bit of a physical presence and ranking annually among the team's leaders in ice time with 20-plus minutes each season, including 21:03 last year.

That's a big void to fill, and it pales in comparison to trying to replace the seven-time Norris Trophy winner and future Hall of Famer Lidstrom, who despite turning 42 in April was still leading the team in ice time last year at 23:46 and leading the club in just about every way imaginable on the ice and off as captain.

No one will fill those mammoth skates, but the Red Wings will have to try to find someone capable of replacing those key minutes on the blue line. That's where an uncharacteristic foray into free agency could come into play.

The Red Wings have 18 players under contract for next year and just $44 million committed toward the salary cap. That cap is estimated to rise to $70 million for the coming season, and even if it shrinks when a new CBA is agreed upon, Detroit will still have plenty of room to make some major additions.

There's no bigger prize available than defenseman Ryan Suter. He headlines a questionable free agent class of defensemen with the next best options including the likes of Dennis Wideman, Matt Carle, Carlo Colaiacovo and Brett Clark.

That shallow pool puts an even greater premium on landing Suter. He'll have plenty of suitors if the Predators can't convince him to re-sign in Nashville before July 1, but if he reaches the market Detroit is sure to try to pounce. The Wings can offer him the long-term, high-money deal he seeks, a chance to chase the Cup and possibly even an opportunity to play with Team USA buddy and fellow free agent Zach Parise, the top forward potentially on the market.

Detroit's needs up front are less dire. The Wings have their forward corps largely set with 11 skaters returning from last year, plus restricted free agents Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm expected to ink new deals without too much difficulty. That doesn't leave a lot of space, but a team will always make room for a talent like Parise, and the Wings could use some fresh legs.

Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen and Todd Bertuzzi are all north of 30, while Parise is in the prime of his career at 27. One of Detroit's only productive forwards under 30 is Jiri Hudler, who may look to cash in elsewhere as an unrestricted free agent himself after a 25-25-50 campaign.

The Red Wings have made some big signings before, adding Brian Ralalski to the defense in 2007 and Marian Hossa on a one-year deal in his quest for the Cup in 2008. Hossa didn't actually get his name engraved until winning with Chicago in 2010, and Detroit has been quiet the last three summers with last year's signing of Ian White to a two-year, $5.75 million deal to try to replace the retired Rafalski their biggest move in that span.

That should all change this summer, with Detroit finally facing some major holes to fill in its lineup and possessing the cap space to address those needs. What Detroit does in July could dictate the market for the rest of the league in a lean year for free agents beyond the big-ticket prizes of Parise and Suter.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

The Penguins face such a situation now. With franchise centerpiece Sidney Crosby about to enter the final year of his current deal, the club is already working on a new agreement to keep Crosby in Pittsburgh for a long time. Reports over the weekend, most notably from Elliotte Friedman on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, proposed that a 10-year extension worth $90 million might be the terms it will take to get it done.

While Crosby cannot sign an extension until July 1, his representatives and the team can work on putting the parameters in place for such a deal. There's no question about the desire to keep arguably the best player in the league, but it's not quite so simple.

Crosby is the best player in the game when he's on the ice. But over the past two seasons, he hasn't been on the ice nearly as much as he, the Penguins, the rest of the NHL or hockey fans around the world would have liked.

A series of concussions forced Crosby to miss the final 41 games of the 2010-11 season and the playoffs that spring, plus the first 20 games of the 2011-12 season. After a brief return that lasted just eight games, as another concussion sidelined him for another 40 games.

He's been as effective as ever when he's played, collecting 37 points in the 22 games he did play last year and eight more in six games in the playoffs. But the risk of another concussion keeping him out for an extended stretch again or even ending his career is a major factor in making such a huge financial commitment to Crosby. That's especially true since the risk will almost definitely be the Penguins' burden alone as it's highly unlikely they will be able to get the contract insured due to Crosby's concussion history.

That's a significant risk, but still one that must be taken. It's certainly better than not signing Crosby and risking that he stays healthy after signing elsewhere and leads another team to a series of Cups. Friedman, in his weekly "30 Thoughts" column, spoke with five NHL executives on the issue, and each one said they would sign off on such a deal even without insurance.

"You know, it's a risk, but it's a risk you take," one GM told Friedman. A second GM noted, "If you don't do it, someone else is going to."

A third GM laid out the worst-case scenarios of passing on such a deal out of fear over the injury concerns: "If you sign him to this deal and he gets hurt in two years, you're going to look stupid. But if you don't, he plays the next 10 years like he can and goes down as one of the best ever, you're going to look even more stupid."

The injury risk isn't the only concern for the Penguins. There's also that little matter of the salary cap. Crosby is currently tied with teammate Evgeni Malkin for the second highest cap hit in the league at $8.7 million per year on a five-year, $43.5 million deal that runs through 2012-13. Only Washington's Alex Ovechkin has a higher cap hit at $9.54 million on a monster 13-year, $124 million deal through 2020-21.

Crosby could ask for a new contract that could even top that. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, individual players can make a maximum of 20 percent of the team's overall salary cap. With next year's cap estimated to be around $70 million, that would put the max for a player like Crosby at $14 million a year.

Crosby will be looking to get a deal done this summer before the next CBA is done and more restrictions on long-term deals could be in place, but he's not likely to ask for anything close to that $14 million max. If winning means anything to Crosby — and he's already proven that he's driven far more in the pursuits of Cups than he is in chasing every last dollar available — then he has to leave enough to keep a competitive team around him.

Still, Crosby isn't going to take a pay cut, and he's going to look for some long-term security in exchange for leaving some money on the table. That is where the 10-year, $90 million figures comes in. That gives him a nominal boost to $9 million a year without totally crippling Pittsburgh's cap.

They'll still have trouble keeping everyone together though, even at that number. Pittsburgh doesn't have any key free agents up for new deals this summer, but after this upcoming season Jordan Staal is due for a new contract as well as Crosby, while Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang, plus Chris Kunitz and Brooks Orpik, have deals expiring after the 2013-14 season and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is up after 2014-15.

Staal carries a $4 million cap hit on his current deal and could be the odd man out. He's in line for significant raise and there's only so much cap space the Penguins can tie up at one position. Crosby and Malkin are indispensible and their new deals will reflect that. It will be a risk for Pittsburgh to deal away a talent like Staal or let him walk in free agency, but as with the injury and insurance concerns, that is likely part of the price Pittsburgh must pay to keep Crosby.

And when it comes to Crosby, the Penguins must be willing to pay any price to keep that kind of generational talent as long as possible.  

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

While there’s never a good time to find yourself lacking in the most important position on the ice, the offseason at least usually presents an opportunity for NHL teams to address the issue. This year, that won’t be so easy.

The free-agent pool promised to be a shallow one this summer, and that was before the Penguins acquired the rights to Tomas Vokoun and signed him to a two-year, $4 million deal on Monday to keep him off the market.

Trade options could be limited too, especially now that Tim Thomas has made it clear he’d rather take his ball and go home to his bunker than play this season. Even at 38, the two-time Vezina winner would have been an attractive option for teams in need of a starting goalie, but now the only option the Bruins may have to deal him is to send him to a team struggling to reach the cap floor.

For a cash-strapped team, Thomas’ $5 million cap hit could still be appealing, especially since they won’t have to spend any actual money if Thomas makes good on his threat to sit out the season. That could really mark the end of Thomas’ career too. While the Bruins may be hesitant of tolling the contract and risk having $5 million of dead money on their cap again the following year, a team looking for a cheap way to reach the floor may just enjoy the $5 million boost for as long as possible until Thomas officially retires.

That, of course, assumes that the cap floor remains in the next CBA. The current deal expires in September, and no one knows for certain what the next agreement will entail. That uncertainty extends to all moves this summer, as the league’s general managers have to navigate some uncharted waters in building their teams for next year without knowing exactly what the economic landscape will look like for the upcoming season.

But regardless of the regulations in place, teams know they can’t afford to be weak in goal. There are a number of clubs coming off disappointing seasons that reinforced that basic fact of NHL life. Now the likes of Toronto, Columbus, Tampa Bay and Chicago, among others, could find themselves the odd ones out in a costly game of musical chairs, as there are not as many proven netminders available as teams seeking them.

Toronto, which squandered a strong start to the season and fell out of the playoff picture for the seventh straight season as James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson faltered down the stretch, was reportedly interested in Vokoun. Philadelphia, which already committed $51 million over nine years to Ilya Bryzgalov last summer, was also contemplating a run at Vokoun to have a better backup to push Bryzgalov.

Columbus is desperate for help with Steve Mason unable to regain his Calder Trophy-winning form from 2008-09 over the past three seasons, and may look to land a true franchise goaltender when they finally part with Rick Nash, though that may be easier said than done with few of Nash’s suitors having such a netminder to spare.

The winners in all this could be Vancouver and Los Angeles. The Canucks have gone from a awkward situation with youngster Cory Schneider appearing to supplant veteran Roberto Luongo to a position of strength with Luongo, despite having 10 years left on a 12-year, $64-million deal, being the only proven veteran No. 1 netminder potentially available.

The Kings, as if they need any more help now that they’re one win away from the Cup, could also reap the benefits of a bidding war if they make Jonathan Bernier available. Bernier is blocked by emerging star Jonathan Quick in L.A., but is just the kind of cost-controlled, promising young netminder (one year left at $1.25 million and still a restricted free agent after that) that a GM like Tampa’s Steve Yzerman would love to build around after 42-year-old Dwayne Roloson proved unable to deliver an encore to 2011′s surprising playoff run.

Beyond those potential trade targets, the goalie market is pretty lean on the free-agent front. New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur is up for a new deal, but he’s not leaving the Devils unless it’s for retirement. Minnesota’s Josh Harding might have starting potential and there still could be some upside left in Al Montoya. Otherwise, the likes of Scott Clemmensen, Martin Biron, Johan Hedberg, Alex Auld, Chris Mason and Dan Ellis could fill backup roles, but don’t offer much more optimism in a No. 1 spot than the aforementioned fellow UFAs Gustavsson and Roloson.

That leads to the teams that could face the biggest risks this offseason. Boston, Vancouver and Montreal have restricted free agents in Tuukka Rask, Schneider and Carey Price, respectively, who could be awfully attractive in such a lean market. Traditionally, rival GMs have eschewed the use of offer sheets to attempt to poach RFAs, but will the looming end of the current CBA and the lack of alternatives force a team desperate for a goalie to resort to such means?

The Bruins, with Thomas’ unexpected departure likely leaving them with $5 million less of cap space to work with, could be the most vulnerable. At the very least, Rask, who like Thomas is represented by Bill Zito, has a lot more leverage and will cost the Bruins more to re-sign, making Peter Chiarelli‘s job to fill out the rest of the roster as he desires more difficult.

After having had the luxury of having both Thomas and Rask for the past three seasons, Chiarelli won’t get much sympathy from his fellow GMs, especially not the ones scrambling to find just one reliable netminder this offseason.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Tim Thomas has always marched to his own beat, alone on an island even inside a crowded locker room.

But now it appears the Bruins netminder could be about to make his separation from the team much more literal.

After reports began to surface Thursday that Thomas was contemplating sitting out the upcoming season, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed the goalie’s intentions in a conference call Friday afternoon.

A final decision has not been made and Chiarelli has not yet discussed setting a deadline for Thomas to make that decision, but the GM is proceeding with his offseason team-building on the assumption that Thomas will not be playing.

So what happens with Thomas?

If he chooses to sit out, Chiarelli said the Bruins will suspend him. He won’t get paid the $3 million salary he’s due to earn, but his $5 million cap hit will remain on the Bruins’ cap. That will have a major impact on what the Bruins can do in free agency, even if Chiarelli is confident he can cover the bulk of that dead money by placing Marc Savard and his $4 million cap hit on long-term injured reserve for some cap relief.

But Thomas risks paying an even steeper price. At 38, he doesn’t have much time left playing at this level. He had to battle his way to the NHL with a long and arduous journey through multiple minor leagues and several seasons in Europe before finally getting his break with the Bruins in the 2005-06 season.

He’s since established himself as one of the elite netminders in the NHL, winning a pair of Vezina Trophies and a Conn Smythe as playoff MVP after leading the Bruins to their first Cup in 39 years last spring.

That’s a mighty legacy that he’s risking with this move. He’s already tarnished his image in many eyes with his refusal to accompany his teammates to the White House in January and his controversial Facebook posts, putting his own political agenda ahead of the team.

Sitting out a season could risk even more serious damage to his reputation.

It could also be extremely detrimental to his on-ice performance. Returning from that long a layoff would be a challenge for any player, but someone Thomas’ age would really face an uphill battle getting back into NHL condition.

“It depends on the person,” Chiarelli said. “I think just at first blush it would be hard for a 38-year-old to not play and to come back. I would think that.”

Chiarelli did say that Thomas still hoped to play again, though returning to the NHL wasn’t his biggest concern.

“He’s told me he wants to play in the Olympics the following year,” Chiarelli said of the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

That could be problematic for Thomas, who earned a silver medal in Vancouver in 2010 while serving as Ryan Miller‘s backup. Not only would Thomas be hard-pressed to get back to the level of play needed to earn a spot on the Olympic team, but he also has to face even tougher competition with the emergence of young American netminders like Jonathan Quick, Cory Schneider and Jimmy Howard along with Miller. And that’s not even factoring in whether Team USA will even consider having Thomas represent the nation again after the way he disrespected the office of the Presidency.

Thomas also may not get to choose where he plays if he does return to the NHL, as the Bruins can suspend him and toll his contract, leaving him still owing the team the final year on his contract and unable to sign with another team.

Chiarelli, who was informed of Thomas’ potential sabbatical through the netminder’s agent in May, stated that family concerns and exhaustion were the reasons Thomas cited for potentially taking the year off, and the GM told reporters not to expect Thomas to offer much in the way of any public statements to clarify his thought process.

“What I can tell you is he’s not going to comment on it,” Chiarelli said. “He may post something at some point on his Facebook.”

Thomas’ Facebook postings created quite a stir this past season, as he used that forum to attempt to explain his White House boycott. That decision disappointed many within the organization, and Thomas sitting out the upcoming season would be frustrating as well. But Chiarelli is willing to accept Thomas’reasons and move on.

“I’m a little disappointed, more than a little,” Chiarelli said. “I’m disappointed, but these things happen and you have roll with them. You’ve got to deal with them. When someone talks about their family and stuff like that, you have to respect that.”

Chiarelli also noted that Thomas said he was very tired after last year’s Cup run and after this past season, again said that he was definitely worn down a bit.

“I just think with all the stuff that’s gone on in the last couple years with playing and all the other appearances and the fame that goes with winning, I think he’s a little worn down,” Chiarelli said.

If that really is the only motivation for this proposed hiatus, the break could actually be good for Thomas. But he runs the risk of hurting his chances of returning to his elite level of play if and when he does want to come back to the NHL, and he may find himself returning to a very different reception than he’s become accustomed to as a Stanley Cup hero.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

For most, even the greats, there's a natural inclination to overstay your welcome. And who can blame them? Who wouldn't want to extend the time in the spotlight, the special bonds with teammates and those hefty pay checks as long as possible?

That's why the final memories of Willie Mays are of the former Giants great hobbling around the Mets outfield. The constant waffling and endless comebacks are the first image that now comes to mind at a mention of Brett Favre. The aura of Michael Jordan lost some luster when he was shown to be a mere mortal with the Wizards.

The accomplishments of those greats in their prime will never be forgotten, but their legacies were tarnished a bit by sticking around a little too long.

Nicklas Lidstrom won't face that issue. The Red Wings standout defenseman announced his retirement on Thursday, stepping away from the game at age 42 after 20 seasons in the NHL, all with Detroit.

Lidstrom isn't leaving because he has to. His skills may have slipped ever so slightly over time, but he remains one of the top defensemen in the NHL and there's no reason to believe he couldn't stay at the level for a while longer.

Lidstrom was a rare talent, winning seven Norris Trophies as the league's top defenseman, four Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2002 and a gold medal with Sweden in the 2006 Olympics. But he's the rarer athlete able to walk away from the game without having suffered any noticeable decline in his abilities.

"Retiring today allows me to walk away with pride, rather than have the game walk away from me," Lidstrom told reporters at a news conference Thursday in Detroit to announce his decision to retire, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.

Lidstrom was as strong as ever this past season, putting up 11-23-34 totals and a plus-21 rating. That last number rectified a rare blemish on his resume after he finished a minus for the only time in his career last season. Of course, even at a minus-2 in 2010-11, Lidstrom still won his seventh Norris with 16-46-62 totals, matching Doug Harvey for the second-most Norris wins, one behind the legendary Bobby Orr.

Lidstrom was an ironman throughout his career, never playing less than 70 games in a season outside of the lockout-shortened 1994-95 campaign. Overall he played in 1,564 regular season games with 264-878-1,142 totals and an astounding career plus/minus of plus-450. He added 54-129-183 totals and a plus-61 in 263 playoff contests.

This past year was his lowest full-season game total with 70, but he still led the Red Wings in average ice time in both the regular season (23:46) and playoffs (23:43). But while he may have shown no outward signs of decline, the weight of all those minutes and games had been taking a toll on Lidstrom, letting him know it was time to go.

"The last two years, I waited until season was over to assess if I could play again," Lidstrom said. "I let my body recover. Sadly, this year, it's painfully obvious to me my strength and energy level are not rebounding. My drive and motivation is not where it needs to be to play at this level.

"That's why it's time to retire," Lidstrom added. "I'm aware some think I can still help the Wings win games. I appreciate that. It's been a great, great ride.

"I take a lot of pride in how hard I worked, in representing my country, and in representing Detroit."

Lidstrom handled his exit from the game with the same class and grace he always displayed on the ice. His departure will be difficult for the Red Wings and their fans to accept. It's a disappointment for every hockey fan to know that one of the true greats has played his final game.

"It's one of the most emotional days in Red Wing history," Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch said at the news conference. "Nick has been a Rock of Gibraltar. A solid leader. The word perfect comes up."

And painful though it may be, it was the perfect exit. Like any good showman, Lidstrom left them wanting more.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

A week after being linked to the Habs' opening, the veteran coach was hired by the Flames on Thursday.

He replaces Brent Sutter, who was fired after the Flames failed to reach the playoffs in each of his three seasons in Calgary. They came close this past season, finishing ninth in the West at 37-29-16, five points short of eighth-place Los Angeles. Those same Kings are now up 1-0 on New Jersey in the Stanley Cup playoffs, showing just how slim the margin between ultimate success and utter failure can be in today's NHL.

Hartley is a safe choice for the Flames. He has a proven track record at every level of hockey right up to the NHL, where he guided Colorado to the Cup in 2001. Prior to that, he reached the Memorial Cup with Laval of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 1993 and won the Calder Cup in the AHL in 1997. In his last NHL stint, he took Atlanta to the only playoff appearance in Thrashers history after winning the Southeast Division in 2006-07. This past year Hartley showed he hasn't lost his championship touch, winning the Swiss title with ZSC Lions.

Repeating that success in Calgary won't be easy. In addition to failing to qualify for the postseason the last three years, the Flames haven't won a playoff series since reaching the Cup Final in 2004.

Hartley inherits a veteran lineup lean on depth and lacking young talent with significant upside. He'll have to work with an aging corps of veterans led by Jarome Iginla, 34, Miikka Kiprusoff, 35, Alex Tanguay, 32, and Mike Cammalleri, 30, along with possibly Olli Jokinen, 33, who is an unrestricted free agent after finishing second on the club with 23-38-61 totals last year.

Iginla, as usual, was first on that list at 32-35-67. It was his 11th straight season with at least 30 goals, but how many more years like that does Iginla have left in him? The window is closing on this veteran core, and it's already been shown that even that group is not enough to make Calgary a legitimate contender with the weak supporting cast around it.

That includes high-priced defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who has provided little return for his cap-killing monster contract that has two years remaining at an annual $6.68 million hit. Bouwmeester has never reached the playoffs in nine seasons in the NHL, and has managed point totals of just 29, 24 and 29 in his three years in Calgary after putting up 46, 42, 37 and 42 in his final four seasons in Florida.

Hartley has won before with veteran groups, winning that Cup in Colorado with an experienced group led by Ray Bourque, Rob Blake, Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy. That Avalanche squad was a true powerhouse though, far stronger and deeper than anything Calgary has seen since the glory days of the Battle of Alberta when the Flames went toe to toe with Edmonton's dynasty and came away with two appearances in the Cup Final and a championship in 1989.

Cowtown hasn't been titletown since. Hartley won't be able to change that by himself, but his arrival is a step in the right direction. His no-nonsense approach might be just what the Flames need to snap out of their recent lethargy. He has the ability to return Calgary to respectability and will get the most out of the players at his disposal, but how far he can take the Flames will be determined by how much help he gets on personnel side in upgrading the club's talent and depth.

In that regard, Hartley may have been better off going to Montreal, where despite this past year's last-place finish in the East a younger core is in place with Carey Price, 24, P.K. Subban, 23, Max Pacioretty, 23, and Tomas Plekanec, 29, plus the chance to add an impact player with the third overall pick in this year's draft.

But Hartley has never shied from a challenge. He'll certainly get that in Calgary. And the Canadiens will now face a tougher challenge of their own in landing a bilingual coach with a resume as impressive.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Not to worry though, the Kontinental Hockey League is hoping to bring European hockey to North America instead.

The KHL plans to play a pair of regular-season games in Brooklyn next January, according to a report by Dmitry Chesnokov of the Yahoo! Puck Daddy blog. The plan is to hold the games at the new Barclays Center, the home of the NBA’s Nets, who are owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.

Brooklyn is also home to a large Russian population, which could add to the appeal of the games. It could also be an interesting option for NHL fans if this latest round of labor negotiations causes a shutdown anywhere near the length of the last owners’ lockout.

Even if the NHL is up and running next winter, the chance to see another league in person and compare the style and level of play of what is largely considered the second best professional league in the world should elicit some curiosity from Big Apple hockey fans. The KHL hopes to make as big a splash as possible, with several of its marquee teams and players likely to be chosen to make the trip, though the actual participants for the proposed games have not been finalized.

“In January before the [KHL] All Star Games the KHL will hold two regular season games at the new Brooklyn arena. We are planning to send teams with names to New York,” KHL president Alexander Medvedev told Sovetsky Sport on Tuesday, as translated by Chesnokov.

“There are five candidates at this time,” Medvedev added. “They are CSKA, Dynamo [the reigning KHL champion], as well as the teams [Jaromir] Jagr and [Alexander] Radulov played for [Avangard Omsk and Salavat Yulaev] and SKA St. Petersburgh. I am sure these games will be sold out.”

Despite the announcement in Sovetsky Sport, Chesnokov reported that it’s not quite a done deal yet.

“Discussions with Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment are ongoing about having two games in January 2013,” a KHL representative told Chesnokov. “There isn’t anything official/done to be announced at this time.”

Still, if the games do come to fruition, it will be a welcome chance for a unique hockey experience with a taste of European hockey on North American soil.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

It worked for future hall of famer Mark Recchi last year and Ray Bourque more than a decade ago. But it's still a rarity for one of the game's true greats to go out on their terms at the top of their game.

So, with Brodeur four wins away from a chance to skate off into the sunset as a champion once more, it's easy to think the 40-year-old netminder could be thinking of just such a scenario playing out in the coming weeks.

Not so fast. Brodeur certainly wants to win that Cup again. He's just not ready to commit to hanging up the pads even if the Devils do win.

"I can't say no, but I doubt it,” Brodeur told Tom Gulitti for the Bergeron Record's Fire & Ice Blog when asked about retiring if the Devils win the Cup. "I'm really enjoying this. Regardless of what happens in this series, I think we made a great step last year at the end of the year and through this year to have a really good team and a good coaching staff together, and it's fun. To me, it's all about having fun coming to the rink. I know a lot of people say it's great to retire on top, but at the end of the day, when I'm going to say it's over, it's over, I'm not going to come back.

"Hopefully, we won't have to replay that tape," added Brodeur, who holds the NHL record for wins (656) and shutouts (119) in a career that's lasted 1,191 regular-season games and counting. "I want to make sure I make the right decision. Right now I'm leaning toward coming back. We'll see."

While walking away a champion again would be a fitting end to an outstanding career, there's no reason for Brodeur to feel any pressure to call it quits regardless of how this Cup Final ends. He may not be quite as dominant as he was in his prime a few years back, but he's proven this postseason that he can still get the job done.

This spring he's 12-5 with a 2.04 GAA and a .923 save percentage in the playoffs. He's even dished out four assists, showing he's not ready for the scrap heap just yet as he prepares for his 200th postseason contest in Wednesday's Game 1 against the Kings.

Meanwhile, the Devils look like a team that isn't just on a remarkable run. They could remain contenders for a while, especially if they find a way to re-sign Zach Parise. Why call it a career after four Cups if there's a chance to stick around for more?

The Devils shouldn't be looking to push Brodeur out the door, either. They don't exactly have a solid succession plan in place. Backup Johan Hedberg is 39 himself, while the system lacks an elite netminding prospect to hand the reins to in the coming years.

So, while it would make for a nice storyline to see Brodeur go out on top if the Devils were to win this upcoming series, hockey fans should enjoy the fact that they may just be able to watch one of the all-time best at his position for a little while longer.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.