.....WOW!

So news came down today that the NHL was going to take disciplinary action the Devils, and they did a number on them. Since the league has said that the Devils deliberately attempted to circumvent the salary cap, the league handed out the following punishment: A 3 million dollar fine, the loss of their 3rd round draft pick in the 2011 draft, and the loss of a first round draft pick in any one of the following four drafts.
Now on a personal level I am not a fan of the Devils, but this is ridiculous. Where was the disciplinary action against the Red Wings, Canucks, Blackhawks or even the Bruins and Flyers? Although I have issues this one being suspect since Pronger was over 35 when he signed the extension so the Flyers are on the hook regardless. But either way, the NHL has handled this situation horribly. Say what you will about these deals, there was a precedent set when the first ridiculously front loaded contract was signed. Who honestly expect Marion Hossa or Luongo to play out these deals till the end? The NHL had to have seen the sham these deals were right from the get go. To suddenly now play the bad guy is just a dumb move. You set the example with the rejection of the first deal. One could argue the Devils were punished with that move, by now having a higher cap hit, and consequently having to make tougher roster decisions.
Regardless of team affiliations and/or prejudices, this is just the NHL being pompous assholes about this whole thing. If they really wanted to stick it to the Devils, why did they work with them on the terms of the 2nd deal? The head honchos in charge of the league have once again made it look ridiculous, by handling this situation in the most idiotic way possible. I know there are cries from fans all over the league about favoritism and bias coming from the front office, and this does nothing to sway anyone's decisions. Bottom line is, it's a shitty thing to do. The Devils have been a class act as far as an organization goes, and all they did was play by the rules everyone else has. So why are they punished and the others allowed to go around unmolested? Two words. Bull. Shit. I hope you're happy Bettman.


By the way, Bettman's cap hit is 7million a year. think about that.