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What if Sidney Crosby fails? It is a question no one wants to deal with, not the National Hockey League, not the Pittsburgh Penguins, not NBC, not anyone who has hitched his wagon to this kid who has yet to play a professional game. The position in which the hockey world has placed Crosby in borders on the unfair, basing so much of their futures in so many ways on a talented young guy, who is just a young guy.
--Edmonton Sun

Goaltenders will not only have their equipment trimmed, but they'll also face restrictions in playing the puck, which might not sit well with Maple Leafs No. 1 man Ed Belfour, who is acknowledged as one of the better puckhandlers at his position. The restrictions on the goaltending equipment will definitely have teeth, with the first offence punishable by a $25,000 (all figures U.S.) fine to the team, a $1,000 fine to the equipment guy and a two-game suspension for the goalie. The league moved the goalline back two feet to 11 feet from the end boards and the blueline will also move back two feet, creating a 50 foot-neutral zone compared to the previous 54. Tag-up offside will also return to the game and a team that ices the puck will not be allowed to make a line change for the ensuing faceoff. Any player who instigates a fight in the final five minutes of a game will receive a misconduct and an automatic one-game suspension and the coach will be fined $10,000. The suspension and fines double with each additional incident.
--Toronto Star

Gary Bettman said the league is intent on bringing television viewers closer to the game by having cameras in the dressing rooms and putting microphones on the coaches.
--Toronto Star

All 30 teams will take the ice opening night Oct. 5. The new mantra will be scoring and more scoring. Both the league and players are convinced hockey has lost much of its speed and creativity due to constant hooking, holding and slashing. USA Today The 301-day lockout cost the NHL about 2 million fans in Canada, according to a survey conducted by Solutions Research Group on almost 1,800 Canadians during May and June. Only 55 per cent of sports fans identified hockey as one of their three favourite sports, down 13 percentage points from the last time the question was asked, in 2003.
--Toronto Star

Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin made history in 2004, when they became the first two Russians to go first and second in the NHL Entry Draft. This year, things will be a bit different. OK, a lot different. Forget the first two players taken in the draft being Russians; there probably won't be two guys from that country claimed in the entire opening round. "This is the worst year I've ever scouted from Russia," Phoenix scout Willy Lindstrom said. "They don't have any players up at the top. I don't know if anyone will go in the first round. I don't think so."
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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