Many Vets Can't Find NHL Homes-Can't Find Places To Play Bridge

This has been an enormously tough offseason for anyone over the age of thirty with some gas left in the tank. As teams are hit by cap crunch and unfavorable economic circumstances, we have seen more and more organizations turn to their youth to fill in the gaps. Old reliables such as Bill Guerin and Owen Nolan are both without contracts, and younger veterans like Mike Comrie and Ruslan Fedotenko have also been left out in the cold in favor of younger talent. From an organizational standpoint, this makes sense for teams that are not quite in the top tier, or are in the process of rebuilding.

However, for teams that just need an extra push to get over that playoff hump, the worst thing to do is ignore veterans. Yes, they spit up on themselves both on and off the ice. Yes, they play bridge. Yes, they will probably not like your new boyfriend or girlfriend and will most likely embarrass you in front of them at family dinner by making obscene and/or racist comments. Yet they'll also give you the intangibles needed to finally get your team to the promised land.

Veterans provide teams with stable and wise presences in the locker room. They are unfazed by the tumultuous nature of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They have enough skill to get it done, and have more hockey sense and experience than anyone else on the roster.

For proof, just look at Chicago. Chicago undoubtedly has one of the best young cores in the game. In fact, their captain was the second youngest captain to ever hoist the Cup. If one looks at their roster last season, one sees a group of talented young forwards that had more than enough skill to win the whole thing. However, one also sees something else- a plethora of seasoned veterans. In the offseason Chicago brought in the likes of Marian Hossa and John Madden, guys who had been to the Finals many times before, and could provide the kind of skill and wisdom that is so valuable in veteran players. Though it is the young core that won them the Cup, you can be sure that it was the veteran support players that allowed them to do so.

So please Rangers, Thrashers, Leafs, and Blue Jackets, keep going on ahead with your talent development. All of you are god awful teams in desperate need of youth movements (stick tap to the Thrash though, on their incredible off season, they're really heading in the right direction now). But for you teams in need of that extra offensive push *cough* LA Kings *cough* don't over look guys like Billy Guerin or Mike Comrie, because they can be enough to push you over that edge if your core is ready.