Cap to up to 52 million?...Outdoor games encore?

There are a few interesting tidbits out there that may have gone unnoticed due to the Cup Final euphoria/Chris Pronger suspension and all.

Here's the latest news...

-Salary Cap to go up to $52 million

Larry Brooks reported recently on his blog, very briefly, that the NHL Salary Cap ceiling may be at $52 million for the upcoming season, this contradicts previous reports from media moguls like TSN, Sportsnet and the Score, that the cap will rise to an estimated $49 million.

All I have to say is, NHL, watch out.

I'm getting a bad feeling in my gut that the annual raise in the Salary Cap will bring us back to those old NHL days, and that NHL GM's will continue spending in a pricey way.

Why does the cap have to keep going up, why can't it just stay at say $49 million for a long while, and in 5 years or so, the NHL evaluates its finances and how it's improved and decides from there.

The people in the NHL's Board Room are making decisions that could potentially harm the game, especially if GM's go back to their freespending ways.

Thank God we are not in the MLB, that's all I have to say.

-Outdoor hockey game revisited?

ESPN claims inside NHL sources report that the NHL is indeed planning a follow-up to 2003's highly successful ''Heritage Classic'' which featured the Canadiens and the Oilers, and both of their vintage teams.

If your memory is foggy, guys like Guy Lafleur and Wayne Gretzky faced off in the Old-Timers game, while Jose Theodore introduced the Canadiens tuque he wore on his head in the actual NHL game as they skated in sub-zero temperatures at a packed Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

I would very much appreciate another outdoorer, even if it didn't include my Habs, would a Rangers vs. Islanders, or Detroit vs. Toronto game sound good?
Meh, the fact that it was two Canadian teams that faced each other made it more interesting than if it was some American team.

Then again, Original Six teams like the Rangers, Red Wings, Maple Leafs, Bruins or Blackhawks (as long as they got their old-timers) might make that an interesting experience.

-NHL to announce 2 expansion cities?

Bob McCown, during ''Primetime Sports'' on the Fan590 radio waves in Toronto 4 days ago, said that there's a rumour the NHL will announce two Western expansion towns, and that Las Vegas and Kansas City are two strong options, McCowan noted that Winnipeg was rejected and that these ''meetings'' have already taken place.

Hmmm, why not a place like Portland instead of Kansas City?
Geez, I just cringe at the thought of bringing hockey to a place like KC, I mean that's almost as bad as bringing a hockey team to Oklahoma!
And why, God tell me, was Winnipeg rejected while Kansas City, who can't even field a decent baseball team, is considered a strong option?

Just, please, Gary Bettman: let these two cities be legitimate hockey towns, and not KANSAS CITY or OKLAHOMA!

--BBR

Let it begin...NHL team vs. European team

Could a guy like Miro Satan endure intercontinental travel, even if it meant going back to Slovakia to play a game or two?

According to nos amis at TSN, a European team would face-off against next season's Stanley Cup Champion in September of 2008.

The IIHF apparently hopes that this exhibition will become an annual tradition, that most fans probably won't even bother with.

So:

European champion vs. Stanley Cup Champion = Something champion?

Really people, we need a name for this, "world champion" sounds too international, like a national team, and the term "world champion" has been abused enough greatly as it is.

I remember hearing the other day on TSN as well, that the NHL may expand...no, not in the US or Canada, but in Europe!
Cities like Moscow, Stockholm, Prague, Oslo may one day be home to an NHL team.

My question to you: does this foreshadow, or is it an indication that NHL hockey may one day end up in Europe?

But of course, there is intercontinental transportation involved here, which translates to jet lag, fatigue, time loss and I'd rather be on a plane heading to Chicago than to Olso, Norway.
I also don't think NHL'ers would appreciate the fact that they will constantly have to go to Europe and leave their family behind, and more teams in Europe may mean a longer schedule as well.

Transportation is one thing, but being able to attract a big enough audience AND build a succesful team in order to attract fans and support financially any new arena built is another.
There's no guarrantee that Europeans will switch from their Swedish Elite League Djugardens to watch some crummy Americanized Stockholm Stormers team!

Just a theory, it would be very interesting, but, I can already see the negative outweighing the positive, should this idea pan out.

--BBR