It's certainly not the result NHL commissioner Gary Bettman intended, but he may have managed to bumble his way into something that's good for his league.

The free-agent frenzy commenced on Sunday as expected, and it's still under way.
And what do we see? Exactly the opposite of what Bettman intended when he introduced his fatally flawed salary-cap system.

The big-money, big-spending, big-market teams are back in the spotlight with a vengeance, even though Bettman shut down his league for a year and all but killed its support in the United States to prevent such an occurrence.

There was all that talk about "the level playing field" and "making the small-market teams competitive" and "bridging the gap" between the poor and the wealthy.

But now, under Bettman's system, the salary cap has risen to $50.3 million and it seems likely that the average salary will be right back where it was before Bettman killed the 2004-05 season.

And the big spenders thus far in the free-agent market are none other than the wealthy teams — the same teams that spent vast amounts prior to the lockout.


The New York Rangers committed themselves to an expenditure of roughly $87 million when they signed both Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Before long, you can expect them to announce that they've also re-signed Sean Avery, Brendan Shanahan and Henrik Lundqvist.

The Colorado Avalanche grabbed Ryan Smyth for five years for $31.25 million and D-man Scott Hannan for four years for $18 million.

The Philadelphia Flyers, having already raided the Nashville Predators' stockpile by grabbing Kimmo Timmonen (who they immediately transformed into the second-highest-paid player in the league) and Scott Hartnell, didn't need to make a big plunge into the free-agent pool. But they did it anyway, locking up Daniel Briere for eight years at $52 million. Don't forget that they also earlier signed goaltender Martin Biron at $3.5 million per annum and Simon Gagne for $5.25 million.

The Detroit Red Wings, having seen Mathieu Schneider head to Anaheim, pulled off a break-even deal at the cost of $30 million, signing Brian Rafalski for five years.

The Toronto Maple Leafs took goaltender Vesa Toskala off the hands of the San Jose Sharks — and with it his four-year commitment for $17 million, then gave Jason Blake a five-year deal for $20 million. To prevent Mats Sundin going into the free-agent pool, they gave him $5.5 million.

These five teams are the same big spenders that used to dominate the league before the lockout, and if their strategy is successful, then the league will benefit.

Granted, fans of the so-called small-market teams will be unhappy, and after swallowing all Bettman's promises, they have a right to do so. But for the good of the league and for hockey's chances of regaining the popularity that Bettman killed, these developments are necessary.

It's an undeniable fact, whether small-market fans like it or not, that big cities drive the television ratings. And television ratings drive league revenues, both directly and indirectly.

The NHL has never been as popular and as highly ranked in the American sports picture as it was when the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994. If teams like the Rangers and Philadelphia are successful, they are guaranteed to provide better ratings than the likes of Ottawa, Anaheim, Edmonton and Carolina, the last four Stanley Cup finalists.

And look what is happening in other big markets.

The Los Angeles Kings signed four free agents Monday — center Michal Handzus ($16 million for four years) defenseman Tom Preissing, ($11 million for four years), Kyle Calder ($5.5 million for two years) and Ladislav Nagy (one year at $3.75 million). Those are four very useful players, all of whom can help transform the Kings into a contender.

If the NHL can see decent teams evolve in Chicago and Boston as well, it would do wonders for the league's overall image.

With Jeremy Jacobs running the show in Boston, the Bruins are likely to be in for a tough time, even though they did go a long way to making themselves more competitive by trading for free-agent goaltender Manny Fernandez. who will earn $9.2 million over the next two years.

As for Chicago, the league's most dysfunctional franchise and a black hole for common sense, there is even hope on that front. GM Dale Tallon has made some good moves and it is not inconceivable that the Hawks could be on their way back to respectability.

And if all the big-market teams are getting better, it's obvious who's getting worse. It's the small-market teams who have been watching their talent slip away.

This is the exact opposite of what Bettman repeatedly insisted he had accomplished. But it might be the best thing for the league.