Remember the last ditch negotiations during the NHL lockout of 2004-05? Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky were riding in on their white horses, hoping to save the day. When the two sides finally met in February of that year, the NHLPA had their sights set on a $45-million salary cap, while the owners were firmly planted at $42-million.

How quaint and cute this all seems now.

According to TSN, the salary cap will rise to a maximum of $50.3-million. That is a $6-million increase from this past season when the cap was set at $44-million.

Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, teams must spend at least $34.3-million on salaries next season.

No major television contract…attendance figures alarmingly low in numerous markets. One has to wonder where this is all headed. And one more question… explain to me again why the hawks in the NHLPA were digging their heels in, and why we had to lose a season of hockey because of their obstinance.

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