The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Much has been learned from the National Hockey League's current free agent and trade season. Edmonton's Chris Pronger learned that if your wife kicks up a big enough stink, one of the game's most coveted names Ð under contract for four more years, no less Ð can be moved to a conference rival for what largely amounts to hope for the future. Ex-Leaf Tie Domi learned that no matter how many guys' lights you knock out, you're just not worth $1.25 million in today's NHL. And Doug Weight Ð having been traded from St. Louis, a city he loved, to help Carolina win a Stanley Cup Ð learned you can have your cake and eat it too, for he is once again a St. Louis Blue. But most importantly, fans of the Coolest Game on Earth have learned that this new highly-touted deal between the owners and players isn't all it was cracked up to be. Salary controls were supposed to prevent the league from returning to the disarray that saw the entire 2004-05 season wiped out by a brutal lockout. But little by little, general managers desperate to win (and keep their jobs) are returning the league to certain chaos. If you think I'm exaggerating, I have two words for you: Zdeno Chara. That's right, he of great height but of no Norris Trophy, Stanley Cup or leading offensive stats will earn $7.5 million with Boston for the next five years. That's almost $38 million in total. For Zdeno Chara. Of course Chara is a premier defenseman and would be a welcome addition to any blueline. However, fans were led to believe that under the new CBA, salaries that high would be rarely doled out, and with extreme care. Joe Thornton we could understand. But Chara? The signing is eerily reminiscent of the dark days of the old CBA, when furrowed foreheads often greeted outrageous contracts. It brings back unpleasant memories of a league that not too long ago made Lance Pitlick and Alexandre Daigle multimillionaires. Granted, things are better than they were. Yet as the team salary cap continues to grow and the Zdeno Charas are paid like the Mario Lemieuxs, one has to wonder whether the league has as bright a future as Gary Bettman believes.
