Three Periods Of Peace. But Who Still Gives A Puck?

I've never opened Pye In The Face up to a guest writer before, but as the launch of my new joint-venture looms ever-imminent I thought I'd give you all a taste of what's in store over at GoonBlog.com which launches July 31st. Detroit Velvet Smooth - take it away:

It appears that after a 300 day odyssey, the NHL and NHLPA have finally come to an agreement. The deal they are forging still needs to be approved, but they would be fools to turn this one down as any subsequent arrangement will not be as lucrative. As far as the players are concerned, this isn’t the deal they should have taken. No, the multi-millionaire club should have taken the deal that almost saved the season 5 months ago after Bettman's initial cancellation. Surely you remember that most-magical 'Glimmer-of-Hope' weekend. I spent it constantly looking for hockey-related updates anywhere I could find them. And, of course, porn.



For the owners, this deal is exactly what they've been looking for - a salary cap tied to revenue, different arbitration rules and a chance to buy out crappy contracts that messed up the prior CBA. Mr. Holik - pack your bags. This summer will be like the Wild, Wild west on ice and without spurs. There are only 228 players currently under contract in the whole league. That means whatever your favorite team looked like before, it is probably going to end up radically different. The Crosby draft will be July 30th, so any team could wind up with the phenom, for example. The larger question is: does anyone still care? All I hear is about is the NHL is dead, and no one will be back. I call "shenanigans".

The NHL will relaunch itself this summer. There will be new rules (a proposed ejection for anyone instigating a fight in the last 5 minutes of a game being among them,) new logos, a ton of new marketing and some groveling fan invites to bring us - the long suffering NHL fan - back to the rink. If I may go all Arnie on you for a second - I’ll be back. I will be the first to sign up for the Center Ice Package and the first in line for Opening Night tickets. So, come along for the ride with me. Check in at Goonblog starting July 31st for the latest enforcer happenings, and some general mucking it up in the corners. The NHL! It’s a whole new game.

Thanks for the contribution, Chris. Stay tuned, hockey fans - we drop the gloves July 31st.