NHL NOTES

Now that the NHL games are ending, the fun can start. Actually, for many of the league's general managers, this may not be a very fun offseason - not with so many teams hamstrung by concerns of a shrinking salary cap. The uncertain financial future of the NHL - along with the rest of the planet - has left many teams not only with limited flexibility in assembling their rosters for next year and beyond, but with some problems that have no apparent solution. The Bruins are in a tight fix, with their total cap hit for next season now at some $50,483,000 after the new deals for Tim Thomas and David Krejci. Assuming the 2009-2010 cap remains about the same as this season's $56.7 million, that leaves some $6 million with which to sign restricted free agents Phil Kessel, Matt Hunwick and Byron Bitz, along with any of the unrestricted free agents the team may wish to retain (perhaps P.J. Axelsson, Mark Recchi or Stephane Yelle). And then there's the cost of any rookies able to make the team, certainly including goalie Tuukka Rask, who would earn $850,000 plus bonuses. And the price of any coveted outside free agents. Factor in the concerns that come into play a year from now, when the salary cap is expected to drop by a sizable amount. The B's will then have several significant contracts ending (Marc Savard, Shawn Thornton, Andrew Ference and Aaron Ward), and will need new deals for the likes of Milan Lucic, Blake Wheeler, Mark Stuart and Rask). ``You have to be fully aware of where the cap will be the following year,'' Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said last week. ``While you don't have the specifics, you get a sense (that it will fall). ``It's better to be conservative now than aggressive on the future planning. You can see the contraction that's going on throughout the whole world; the same applies to Hockey. ``As much as (the B's cap issues have) been a lively topic of discussion, every manager is facing this, and it will be even more highlighted the following summer.'' There will be a few interesting business matters for fans to watch for the next few weeks: ** What will the final revenue numbers be for this season? As it looks now, the players will have given back about 17.9 percent of their salaries to make up for the owners' loss of revenue. ** Where will next season's cap be set? ** Will the players vote at their meeting June 20 in Las Vegas to implement the 5 percent escalator in the cap that the CBA allows them? This would mean more money for GMs to sign players, but it also would mean next year's escrow takeout could rise to 25 percent or who knows what? ** Will teams buy out a large number of players during the June 15-30 period when they are allowed to do so? Cutting a player in that way, the team must pay him two-thirds of his remaining money, but can spread it over twice the remaining number of years in his pact - which offers some cap relief. Look for many buyouts to occur, perhaps making some interesting players UFAs. But for all the GMs, it's going to be a very difficult task trying to make it all work. ``You have a wish list, you'd like to sign everybody,'' said longtime Boston-based player agent Neil Abbott. ``GMs want to lock in good players so they don't lose them to free agency. ``But if you look at payrolls, at all the teams that are at the cap already, they have no flexibility at all. The worst crunch everyone has to avoid, the nightmare scenario, is where you've got locked-in dollars, the cap goes down, and you're over the cap even before you start. ``It's very, very difficult to change your team. This is one of the inherent flaws in this CBA. Once you're locked in (on a contract), you're options to get out of it are limited. The buyout window is limited. There is no restructuring of contracts like there is in football. And you can't make a trade where you split the dollars. ``The GMs have been put into this financial box by (the NHL office in) New York which is completely inflexible. It's counter-productive in my book.'' One way out for the Bruins , of course, would be to trade one or more of their higher-paid guys. But that becomes very difficult, since so many teams are feeling the same sort of cap squeeze. So it will be an interesting next few weeks. A Mile-High salute Good luck to Medford's own Joe Sacco, who takes over as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. Sacco had four years of minor league coaching experience, two as the head man with the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. He walked through the door already dealing with the perception he must succeed quickly - because Patrick Roy, who turned down the Avs job when it was recently offered, is still waiting in the wings. ``Patrick would have been a great choice, but that situation doesn't affect me,'' said Sacco, 40, a former Boston University star who played 738 NHL games for five teams. ``He was the face of this franchise. But I'm here to try and help this organization right now, try to help them become a contender again.'' . . . The Philadelphia Daily News reported that the Flyers will sign former Ottawa goaltender Ray Emery when the free agent market opens in 24 days. Philly GM Paul Holmgren confirmed that signing Emery was under discussion by the team brass. Signing Emery would be somewhat risky, since he has had a history of erratic and disruptive behavior. But there also would be a potentially big upside, since he is only 26 and has been a very good player. He took the Senators to the Stanley Cup finals in 2007, after a regular season in which he was 33-16-6 with a 2.47 GAA. His career record in 134 games: 71-40-14 (2.71). But he proved to be too much of a headache for the Sens, who bought out his final contract year after '07-08. He played this past season in Russia, very effectively, with a 2.12 GAA and .926 save percentage in 36 games. ``Maybe going to Russia was a good experience for him and maybe he wants to come back and be a real solid pro,'' Senators GM Bryan Murray told the Ottawa Sun. ``I don't know why Ray got out of whack the way he did. He went to Russia and from what I understand he had a very good year. He's young. He certainly has the ability.'' It's thought the Philly flirtation with Emery stems from difficulty re-signing Marty Biron, a UFA who may be seeking a big raise over the $3.5 million he made this year. What about Sully? It is interesting and a bit sad that Mike Sullivan's name rarely if ever is mentioned when there is an NHL coaching job open. It may turn out that he was one of the biggest victims of the hideous blunders by Jeremy Jacobs & Co. in ripping apart the Bruins after the 2003-04 season. It's funny how meaningless perceptions can be. Sullivan was seen as a terrific young coach when he led the B's to a 104-point campaign in 2003-04. Then when the team - having dumped most of its best players in a foolish attempt to boost profits - struggled after returning from the lockout in '05-06, suddenly Sullivan wasn't any good? At the age of 41, the guy certainly deserves another shot - with a roster with which he has a chance to win. . . . Sales of several NHL teams are apparently on the table right now, and must be approved by 75 percent of league owners to go through. Reportedly, the Florida Panthers have an offer of $240 million for the team, its arena and adjacent land. A deal that still seems doomed is the attempt by BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie to buy the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes and move them to Hamilton, Ontario. Commissioner Gary Bettman - and the Toronto Maple Leafs - are adamantly opposed to such a move. Balsillie filed a 38-page application to the NHL on Monday to relocate the team, citing what he said were $316 million in losses by the team in Phoenix. He claims the team - which does not yet have a prospective name - would be immediately profitable playing in the 18,000-seat Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. The Montreal Canadiens' ownership has reportedly been exploring a sale of the club. And a group claiming to have $1 billion in assets badly wants to establish a second NHL team in Toronto - something the Maple Leafs will also fight to prevent.