The Winter Classic is really, really cool and breathtakingly beautiful. It also really sucks.

Don't get me wrong, walking into the Big House and looking around at the enormous crowd as the snow fell and the teams took to the ice is a moment I'll never forget and it was every bit as magical as you expect. Magic doesn't keep you warm, however, and about five minutes into the game you start to question your own intelligence.

"I'm done. Good luck with Niklas Kronwall as your No. 1 defenceman."

It's a sad state of affairs when every article has to be prefaced with "if there is a season." It makes reading and writing about hockey almost a futile venture, unless of course you're actually reading and writing about labour negotiations (and I'm with most fans in the 'wake-me-when-it's-over' boat).

But in the face of an impending lockout, I'm taking the stance that there will be a season, facts be damned. The league is making too much money to throw it all away with another lost season. I'm sure the Sept. 15 deadline will pass and the players will get locked out, but this won't be a repeat of 2004, when the season was eventually cancelled.

So if there will be a season (and there better be), I might as well act like it's going to happen. Here's an article I wrote for The Good Point looking at a group of teams that are poised to drop in the standings this season (you know, if there is one).

The old superpowers of the NHL crumbled in the first round of the playoffs and the league is undergoing a changing of the guard. Gone are the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Chicago Blackhawks, three of the past four Stanley Cup winners. Presidents' Trophy winners like the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks have joined them in searching for early tee off times. In their place, teams green to the upper echelon of the NHL like the Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators.

This off-season represents an important crossroads for many of the former elite squads. Aging rosters are beginning to show cracks, especially when compared to the younger and hungrier rosters that bounced them. It isn't full-time panic mode for any of the teams, but moves must be made for each to remain competitive going forward.

One seventh-round pick was used in the making of this photo.

A few weeks ago I wrote an article comparing the rebuilding efforts in Edmonton and Toronto, with the basis being that there are many ways to build a team, and the traditional tank hard and draft high method isn't always a guarantee for success.

I've thought a lot about how teams go about building a contender, mainly because the Maple Leafs are so routinely whipped for Brian Burke's current rebuild, and that led me to examine the league's top two teams, the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings.

The last time either team had a lottery pick was in 1999, which is the year New York selected Pavel Brendl fourth overall. You have to go all the way back to 1990 for the last time the Red Wings selected in the top-5; that year they took Keith Primeau third overall.

Clearly, neither team has undergone the prototypical rebuilding method, which most fans view as the only true way to create a legitimate Stanley Cup threat.

Today's article at The Good Point looks at just how the Rangers and Red Wings came to sit at the top of the standings.

There's a problem with Alexander Ovechkin. It doesn't matter that he has the 7th highest points-per-game of all-time, or that he's cracked 50 goals and 100 points four times. It doesn't matter that he's won two Hart Trophies. There's a problem.

According to TSN, Chris Osgood’s retirement opens up another good Hall of Fame debate. In their article, they state that Osgood’s career numbers are strong: his 401 victories are tenth all-time; he recorded 50 regular season shut outs; and he won three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings (although he was only a starter for two of those teams).

During Osgood’s retirement press conference he said, “if I could sum up my career in Detroit, I was the perfect goalie for the team at the perfect time.” – via TSN

Well that’s nice. But unless we’re inducting those entire Red Wing teams with you, there’s no way you deserve induction into the Hall of Fame.

With the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final, it means that it's back to rumour and speculation season. I know I shouldn't like to hear all the outlandish rumours that get thrown around, but there's something very satisfying about hearing them.

This week's aritcle at The Good Point checks out the top UFAs and RFAs that will be in line for a new contract this summer and where they could possibly land.

Full Disclosure (for those mistrustful of predictions): 6 – 2 in the first round; 17 – 6 including last season’s playoffs

I’m not sure how the NHL will follow-up their amazing first round of action. We experienced four game 7s – two that went to overtime, and one of which was one of the most exciting hockey games of the past decade. We saw crazy comebacks, penalty shots, goalies stealing games, a wardrobe malfunction, and a few head shots for good measure. The first round only missed a few upsets.

What does the second round have in store? Hell if I know.