A Good News Day for the NHL

What a summer it's been for the NHL!

Gary Bettman's master plan for Nashville imploded when the sleazeball brought in to save the Predators was exposed as a sleazeball with no money.

Preds fans have "once again been played for suckers," notes Stephen Brunt at Globeandmail.com. Try Tom Benjamin and the Tennessean for more good reading.

Then there's the league's testy relationship with Russia's new Continental Hockey League, which seems to get worse with every supposed "resolution."

With their pledge to blow wads of cash on half-baked hockey talent - What else do you call $4.3 million a year (tax free) for Alex Radulov? - the Russians will give NHL teams a major salary cap headache for years to come.

Not to worry. At least there's another outdoor game next season. The Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings meet at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day.

It's not quite Yankee Stadium, as was rumored a few months ago. But a legendary venue like Wrigley helps sustain interest in the outdoor game gimmick.

It should be a cold day and a great photo op. And you've got to hand it to Gary Bettman and company. They sure know how to fiddle while Rome burns.

(Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images)