If the parity the NHL has created for itself (a parity that is likely the envy of other professional sports) offers one lasting dichotomy, it’s the fascination of even casual fans in the NHL draft and prospects.



In theory, that fascination is to be expected out of fanbases who aren’t currently strong (the Ottawas and Vancouvers of the NHL). The tanking teams of the world sell their fanbases on the future and that means selling them on choices made at the draft and the young stars waiting in the wings.



But hockey’s fascination with whatever’s coming, rather than what is, doesn’t discriminate.



As star players begin to take a larger piece of the hard-cap pie, fanbases on contending teams (the Winnipegs and the Tampa Bays) can’t help but wonder about the distribution of the team’s salary and whether their young, cost-controlled talent will be able to cheaply fill in around the margins. It means, ultimately, that many fans...