Underneath Days

So far, the post-lockout NHL has been something the league traditionally has not been: well-run. The rule changes, the draft lottery, Sidney Crosby's coming out party, the redistribution of free agents, all of it has been pretty damn compelling. Of course, there was bound to be a bump in the road, and that came Monday in the form of the league reinstating Vancouver Canuck Todd Bertuzzi, who had been suspended indefinitely after his brutal sucker punch of Avs forward Steve Moore way back in March of '04. Bertuzzi missed 13 regular season games plus the entire playoffs and probably would have been suspended for all of '04-'05, if the season had been played. Commish Gary Bettman argued in his ruling that Big Bert has suffered enough punishment, but I think it would have been appropriate for Bertuzzi to miss the first 20 games of the upcoming season. Moore appears to be close to possibly coming back, but that doesn't change the fact he was in rough shape for more than a year as a result of the cowardly attack. It appears the league is overlooking those factors in order to bring one of its top power forwards back to the ice, and that's definitely a mistake.

The possibility of Comcast getting NHL hockey as part of its would-be challenge to ESPN reportedly came a little closer to reality with the news that the cable operator made a two-year, $100 million offer to the NHL to carry games on its Outdoor Life Network (which I imagine will get a new name). ESPN, which previously chose not to renew its NHL coverage, has the right to match it. I hope Comcast gets the deal, as well as some NFL games, just so it can provide a valid competitor for ESPN, which has gotten fat and cocky much like MTV, that bastion of suckiosity. If I want to watch poker, I'll rent "Rounders."

In an announcement that surprised absolutely nobody, Wayne Gretzky said Monday he will be the new coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. The move had been rumored for months, and it of course begs the question of why the Great One would want to risk tarnishing his image as the greatest hockey player ever by becoming a coach. He has never coached before, and the history books are filled with former players who have tried to coach and failed miserably (yeah, everyone's looking at you, Magic). Well, Gretzky had no experience at being a general manager, either, and he led the Canadian team to gold in the Olympics and World Cup. So why shouldn't he try to coach if that's what he wants to do? The Coyotes have some talented players but will likely be hovering around .500, but right now, it appears a lot of teams are in that boat thanks to the parity of the new NHL. Certainly, having Gretzky as coach will put fans in the seats and has brought some more excitement to the upcoming season, so I say good luck to him.

The Leafs finally signed Jason Allison over the weekend to an incentive-laden contract that makes sense to me. They're still talking to Eric Lindros, and I'm hoping the rumors of them acquiring Anson Carter come to fruition as well. Supposedly, they want to deal Ed Belfour and then sign a cheaper goalie (Curtis Joseph?), which will only cement their status as a mediocre club next season. Looks like they plan to ride out a rough '05-'06 and then take a run at a bunch of big names next offseason.

I"m still waiting for an announcement on how much the Center Ice pay-per-view package will cost for next season. Hopefully, they'll have the good sense to offer a substantial discount to win the fans back.