One of the great tragedies of the 2004-05 lockout for the NHL’s poorer teams is that it enabled them to act like richer teams and spend a lot of money. Lockout II changed the financial playing field, limiting what the rich teams could spend and increasing what the poor teams could spend but it didn’t change any of the underlying realities of the NHL. There are very, very few players who are real difference makers and players in their thirties are generally on the decline. In the old days, the poor teams would have to let players go at a point when their salaries skyrocketed while their playing ability decreased. Now they can keep them (or add them in free agency) and they frequently choose to do so.



Blake Wheeler’s contract extension in Winnipeg is as good an example of that phenomenon as I’ve seen in a while, with the Jets buying Wheeler’s age 33-37 seasons for an AAV of $8.25-million. Wheeler has been, in keeping with the tradition of the Jets...