The Lockout is Over

It may have taken a considerable amount of time but finally civility reigns and hockey is back.

What can we expect from the shortened season?

• Salary cap scrambles: First things first, teams need to get their rosters ready to go and do it fast.  The salary cap usually moves in an upward direction, but the lockout has caused a salary cap dip going into this year.  It was expected to be 67 million going into this year but will end up being only 64.3 million.  As of now, only 8 teams exceed the cap according to CapGeek but many teams are dangerously close.  There will have to be some sacrifices by these teams to get below the cap and get there fast.  The lack of time gives teams little leverage when it comes to negotiations, so good luck to Vancouver getting any value from Luongo this week.  Also, this low cap will result in a very boring trade deadline due to financial restrictions.  But when the deadline is not even halfway through the season's completion who really cares about that anyway?
• No more obnoxious contracts: To teams like the Islanders this is a relief, for they will not make the mistake of signing a terrible goalie with injury problems forever.  For con artists like New Jersey and Minnesota who really bend the rules and sign players to 13-15 year contracts this signals the end.  The rules are simple:
• Contracts to resign a player have an 8 year cap
• Contracts to sign a free agent have a 7 year cap
• Mysterious playoff teams:  Sometimes in sports even the worst teams in the league can go on a hot streak while the best the league has to offer goes on a skid.  Last year's Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings are testament to that.  They went cold and seemed to forget how to score goals.  The GM Dean Lombardi was forced to fire the team's coach and make a blockbuster trade for Jeff Carter to jump start the offense and get a team with high hopes to the playoffs.  From there everyone knows the West Conference's 8th seed dominated their way to a Stanley Cup.  If last year was a shortened season the LA Kings would not have squeaked into the postseason to go on that incredible Stanley Cup run.  A 48 game schedule allows for someone like Detroit to miss the playoffs for the first time in 21 years or maybe, just maybe, allow a team like Toronto to sneak in for the first time since 03-04.
• Injuries could derail a season: When 82 games are played, players will miss games.  Almost every player misses at least a small handful of the 82 scheduled games for injury, sickness, fatigue, or personal reasons.  When a key player misses time the team usually suffers in their absence.  This will be magnified in the shortened year.  If someone as important as Pekka Rinne or Steven Stamkos goes down with an injury, their teams will not just suffer, they will be hopeless.  Anze Kopitar and Claude Giroux are two important players that have sustained injuries playing in Europe and this could play a big role in the success or failure of the Kings and Flyers.
• Excitement:  Last but not least, fans should expect an exciting season.  It was painful for players and fans alike to wait this long for hockey.  Expect the players to come out hard and ready to go come opening night.  Games will have more on the line due to the short year.  Rivalries will be buzzing due to the lack of East vs West matchups.  Divisional teams will play each other 7 times and the other 10 teams in the conference will do a home and home.  By the end of the year there will be new rivalries, and stronger rivalries because of this scheduling.