“Nothing good happens after 2 a.m.” It’s one of the many lessons offered by the sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” – a rule to live by to avoid bad decisions in your late 20’s and early 30’s. NHL front offices should have its own version to avoid bad decisions on players in their late 20’s and early 30’s: “Nothing good happens after June 30.”



That should be the motto for NHL free agency, but instead, it’s billed as a frenzy where teams sell their fans on the hope of a brighter future, which is rarely the case. There are of course exceptions to the rule, but more often than not, no other day creates more future headaches and costly mistakes than July 1.



It’s a day where players have all the power while on the downswing of their career creating future cap problems for their new home. What you’ve seen lately likely isn’t what you’ll get due to when players hit their peak in...