This column originally ran in The Standard-Times on July 15, 2005.

By Nick Tavares

So the National Hockey League appears to be back on its feet. Before long, schedules will be printed, a teleconference draft will take place and the league will do its best to carry on as if nothing happened.

You'll hear commissioner Gary Bettman, players' union leader Bob Goodenow and any player near a microphone say that the game is back, that it's time to get back to matters of the ice and to let the fans know that it's safe to return to the game they love.

The hope is that all will be forgiven once the first puck is dropped and that the fans will flock back to the arenas they once called home.

And they will -- sort of.

In some cities, the NHL really has nothing to worry about. Fans in Detroit, Colorado, Minnesota, Philadelphia and the six Canadian cities whose teams haven't migrated south will find their way to the turnstiles in no time, win or lose.

In the middle are teams in Boston, Buffalo, Los Angeles, St. Louis, New York and Long Island. Here lie franchises that each have a definite history, a legacy of great players and winning memories, even if they are getting old. In these markets, there are still definite fans and a real sense of hockey knowledge, but each of these teams need to win a playoff series to climb back into the consciousness of the average fan.

The Bruins, for example, are clearly sitting fourth on the sports food chain in New England, and no matter how many points they rack up in the regular season, only a legitimate run in the playoffs will resurrect them as a real player in the region. Another playoff collapse won't bankrupt the team, but it will keep them out of mainstream consciousness.

Then there are the bottom-feeding teams that have made this deal -- cost certainty and a chance to compete -- what it is. The owners and Bettman have allowed the top 10 cities to be brought down by these bottom feeders in an attempt to make a 30-team league viable. Nashville, Carolina, Florida and Phoenix, for example, are going nowhere in their cities. Except for an occasional run to the Stanley Cup finals, they can't do a thing to fill up their buildings.

So, here we find cost certainty and revenue sharing to make sure everyone is near the same financial scale as Detroit and New York. And coming soon will be the gimmicks.

The league looks ready to erase the red line and ties. Shootouts will be added. Then touch-up offsides to keep the offense moving. Maybe 4-on-4 play will open up the ice. Fighting could be outlawed. Bigger nets could be on the way, too. Actually, maybe we could just do away with that pesky goalie entirely and throw in a third defenseman. Or how about a 3-goal line?

The NHL feels like it has to make the game more exciting and more appealing to get non-fans to come to games, thus justifying the over-expansion of the '90s.

The fact that you can't sell hockey to a person who doesn't care about hockey is basically moot. This agreement is just another step on the NHL's "National or Bust" tour. They will kill the professional game in North America if they have to in order to make it a national game.

Well, it won't be. It will never, ever, ever work. It's so obvious that it hurts.

So here's hoping this new deal is a flop and that, in six years, there's a lot of bankrupt teams, empty arenas and new leadership who will recreate the league as a regionally-based enterprise.

Until then, returning hockey fans, try to enjoy the game while it still resembles hockey.

Because it won't be long before they try to take that away from you, too.

Nick Tavares is a columnist for The Standard-Times. E-mail him at ntavares@s-t.com.

This story appeared on Page C1 of The Standard-Times on July 15, 2005.