Let The Cutting Begin

So it has begun...

With the NHL's new collective bargaining agreement in place, so does a new era for the NHL...the salary cap era. As a result the teams that are already over that cap need to adjust their rosters and you will see a ton of big names floating out there as free agents...

It began Saturday when the Philadelphia Flyers bought out the contracts of John LeClair and Tony Amonte. LeClair was due $6.8 million this next year and Amonte $4.26 million, it's probably very unlikely that either will make near that if they do sign with a new team this next season.

Today, word from Detroit is that the Red Wings are waiving defenseman Derian Hatcher and forwards Darren McCarty and Ray Whitney, all three quality veteran players who all will no-doubtedly land on new teams but with reduced contracts.

The trend so far...at least from these two moves...is shedding your team of the players who appear to be in their waning period of their NHL career but have substantial contracts. I think this is all good for the NHL. Theses big name veterans, with the new salary cap in place, makes them affordable to the smaller and mid-market NHL teams. I think of a team like the Minnesota Wild, a team that sells out every game but still can not muster enough scratch to land a big name/quality player, but that all changes now and I think overall will add a great deal of parity to the league, making the game as a whole that much better.

Of course the announcement of the new cba isn't the only big news for the NHL, they also are implementing some new rule changes which should also bring a whole new look to the game. Here's the low-down on them all straight from NHL.com:

DIMENSIONS OF THE RINK

• The neutral-zone edges of the blue lines will be positioned 64 feet from the attacking goal line and 75 feet from the end boards in the attacking zone. The addition of four feet in each of the offensive zones should encourage more offensive play, particularly on power-plays.


• The goal lines will be positioned 11 feet from the end boards, two feet closer to the end boards than previously.


• The size of the neutral zone will be reduced to 50' from 54'.


• The blue lines and center line will remain at 12 inches in width.

FEWER STOPPAGES, INCREASED "FLOW"

• Passes from behind the defensive blue line to the attacking blue line will be considered legal. The center red line will be ignored for purposes of the "two line pass".


• "The Tag-up Rule" will permit play to continue if offensive players who preceded the puck into the zone return to the blue line and "tag" it.

ICING THE PUCK

• Icing the puck offenses still will be penalized by a face-off in the defensive zone of the team that ices the puck.


• A team that ices the puck cannot make a line change prior to the ensuing face-off.


• "Touch" icing will remain the practice, although the Linesman will have discretion to wave off apparent icing infractions if they are deemed the result of an attempted pass. Providing the discretion to the Linesman also should have the effect of reducing the number of situations in which a race for the puck might result in an injury to a player.

INSTIGATOR RULE

• A player who instigates a fight in the final five minutes of a game will receive a game misconduct and an automatic one-game suspension. The length of suspension would double for each additional incident.


• As well, the player's Coach will be fined $10,000 -- a fine that would double for each such incident.

LIMITS ON GOALTENDERS

• The dimensions of goaltender equipment will be reduced by approximately 11 percent. In addition to a one-inch reduction (to 11') in the width of legpads, the blocking glove, upper-body protector, pants and jersey will also be reduced in size.


• Goaltenders may play the puck behind the goal line only in a trapezoid-shaped area defined by lines that begin six feet from either goal post and extend diagonally to points 28 feet apart at the endboards.

OFFICIATING POINTS OF EMPHASIS

• Zero tolerance on Interference, Hooking and Holding/Obstruction.


• Goaltenders who play the puck behind the goal line but outside the designated puck handling area will be penalized for delay of game.


• Goaltenders will be penalized for delaying the game if they "freeze" the puck unnecessarily.


• Any player who shoots the puck directly over the glass in his defending zone will be penalized for delay of game.

SHOOTOUT

• Following a scoreless five-minute overtime, three players from each team participate in the order the coach selects.


• Each team takes three shots. The team with the most goals after those six shots is the winner.


• If the score remains tied, the shootout will proceed to a "sudden death" format.


• Regardless the number of goals scored during the shootout portion of overtime, the final score recorded for the game will give the winning team one more goal than the score at the end of regulation time.

UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

• In addition to the minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct/diving that may be assessed by the Referee during a game, Hockey Operations will review game videos and assess fines to players who dive or embellish a fall or a reaction, or who feigns injury in an attempt to draw penalties.


• The first such incident will result in a warning letter being sent to the player.


• The second such incident will result in a $1,000 fine.


• The third such incident will result in a $2,000 fine.


• The fourth such incident will result in a one-game suspension.


• Public complaints or derogatory comments toward the game also will result in fines.