OffThePost.org

No one can accurately predict next season's salary cap, although the early indications are that the drop may not be as dramatic as some had feared. For much of this past season, the expectation was that the cap would remain flat for 2009-10 and then drop – some estimates put it as high as 20 per cent – for next year. Naturally, that would put most teams, operating at or near the cap for the coming year, at a competitive disadvantage, and forced into making all sorts of unpalatable choices next season, if that were to occur.

Now, however, there is a new emerging sense that the NHL has been spared the larger effects of the slumping economy and that next year's cap – if it shrinks at all – won't be nearly as bad as originally thought. The early indications of how the economy might affect the NHL have been mostly positive. Playoff ticket sales were good and season-ticket sales are reportedly going well in most of the traditional markets.

makes sense ... I don't' know about other cities, but Bruin's tickets (regular season even)
were hard to come by this year
which seems strange because when Ray Bourque still played for them, I was able to walk
up to the box office 5 minutes before faceoff and get seats in the Loge for a playoff game
Granted, that was Thornton/Samsonov's rookie seasons (Sammie was a bigger hit that year)
and Bourque was on his way out
I still get confused ... I don't remember Bourque skating with Samsonov and Thornton
I know he did because of the timelines with the trade and all, I just don't remember it
And I watched EVERY Bruins game
I know Oates wrote his ticket out of town by criticizing Sinden in the press
Bourque took the high road and went to Sinden directly
I thought I remembered Allison and Carter being here before Big Joe and Sammie were drafted
I guess Bourque's last few years were less than memorable, which is a shame

What were we talking about again?