OK, so there's a new collective bargaining agreement. All that means is -- pending ratification of course -- that there will be National Hockey League action at an arena near you this fall. However, while I am thrilled with the fact that my days of writing about legal haggling and citing quotes from Bill Daly are almost over, I need to see what the NHL is going to do in the aftermath of this disaster before I can get too excited. Gary Bettman and Co. are seemingly on their way to fixing the league's financial problems off the ice, but let's see if the actual product their constituents will be paying for is improved. Before the lockout, the NHL was a relatively bland league that featured too many small-market teams and too few superstars. Defense was often preferred to offense, and the television ratings were closer to those of the XFL than the NFL. The new CBA doesn't allow for player costs to go above 54 percent of the league's hockey-related revenues. While that's all well and good, the focus needs to be on increasing those revenues by making the NHL more than the regional draw that it is. Whether it's through the parity that may come from a salary cap world or the aggressive new rule changes around the corner, the NHL needs to make itself more attractive to casual sports fans. A new CBA will help matters, but the league must reach out to a significant amount of people outside of Canada and the northeastern United States, areas it is currently successful in. The NHL made a lot of mistakes which led to the financial ruins that forced the lockout -- over-expansion and the advent of the neutral zone trap to name two. Just do me a favor and learn from the past. SID THE KID The one thing the NHL has going for itself as it exits hibernation is phenom Sidney Crosby, whose career will officially lift off the ground when the NHL holds its Entry Draft in the coming weeks. We've had Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Ovechkin go first-overall in recent years, but Crosby is the most anticipated prospect since Eric Lindros in 1991. The Draft Lottery will be the first order of business, and from there we'll know where Crosby's career will begin. Toronto, Montreal and New York are likely the preferred destinations from a marketing standpoint, but wherever this kid goes the league needs to promote the heck out of him -- immediately. Crosby is exactly the opposite of what the NHL has been for the last 10-15 years. A player that tallied 120 goals and 183 assists during his last two seasons of Junior hockey is the perfect poster boy for a league trying to give itself an on-ice makeover. The NHL showed hints of promise as a marketable entity in the mid-1990s when stars like Lindros and Jaromir Jagr appeared ready to carry the NHL in the post-Gretzky-Lemieux era. Unfortunately that plan failed to pan out, and, while filled with promising young talent, the NHL has been without larger- than-life superstars. Perhaps Crosby will be the one to pick up the unclaimed torch and lead the likes of Kovalchuk and Rick Nash into the next generation. OFFSEASON FRENZY While the draft will be the focal point of an abbreviated NHL offseason, the most difficult task will be assigned to NHL general managers. Bob Clarke, Bob Gainey and their cohorts will have to assemble competitive hockey teams under the shackled rules of the new CBA. No more free spending and winning over that prized free agent with an equipment bag full of money. Many teams only have a handful of players currently under contract, and some of those players will have their deals bought out because of age and a high price tag. The Philadelphia Flyers, for example, are likely to part ways with John LeClair and Tony Amonte for those very reasons. And as what is essentially two years worth of player movement transpires, we will see which clubs' have been preparing themselves the best. Expect the rumors to begin soon and occur often. Heck, several weeks ago talk in Philadelphia was already swirling that reigning Norris Trophy winner Scott Niedermayer wants to skate for the Flyers. Another thing we'll see is which teams have drafted well in recent years. With unlimited cash no longer a tool used to build a club, many GMs will opt for utilizing the young talent down in the AHL rather than expensive veterans. Well, fasten your seat belts. It should be a fun few months leading up to the opening of the 2005-06 NHL season. Let's just hope the excitement of a frenzied summer can spill onto the ice when the puck finally drops in the fall.