In the eras of the NHL, each comprising roughly 25 years of hockey history, one of the most exciting periods to consider is the one ahead; the Future Era. In today’s game, scoring is going up as the game becomes faster, cleaner and younger, which is exactly what the NHL wanted. As teams continue to find out how to best utilize the salary cap, the game will become more competitive and player contracts will stay within the stratosphere of what’s reasonable, unlike some other sports.

The draft system in hockey is just as intense as any other sport. Junior players are followed for months on end as people predict who will go where in the draft, and the fact that NHL teams can trade draft picks makes for a more exciting summer. The new kids break into the league at a very young age, and today’s superstar becomes tomorrow’s mentor to them. Rookies become phenoms overnight, but the player who can perform year in and year out has become the most highly cherished commodity.

Several of the NHL teams are in financial trouble, and it doesn’t seem like there are many buyers ready to take over the failing franchises. Phoenix was lucky to find a new owner, but their plan to keep the team in Arizona may backfire. The problems in Tampa Bay and Atlanta have also been widely reported. Within the next decade, expect to see some major changes to the hockey market in the Southern States, assuming Gary Bettman eventually admits defeat.

The league is going to have to expand back in to Canada. The six Canadian franchises are doing incredibly strong financial numbers, and the game is only improving north of the border. Moving back in to Manitoba or Quebec, and perhaps adding a second team in Toronto will increase revenue in the league and certainly help to support the weaker teams. The league will also have to reconsider the structure of the divisions. By shuffling teams around where they are able to, they’ll create not only a more competitive market but a more competitive league as well. One where tomorrow’s superstars will thrive no matter what jersey they wear.