Paul Darrow / Reuters

The 'Sidney Crosby sweepstakes' will be one of the most anticipated moments of the brief, but action-packed NHL offseason.

Here’s another bonus that hockey probably never figured it would achieve by taking a year off: wholesale roster changes.

There are currently more than 400 free agents in the league. The Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and Washington Capitals each have four players under contract. The Vancouver Canucks have five players signed.

General managers, start your engines. Signing season has begun and my, how entertaining it should be.

Players will switch teams as if they were all clones of Brent Ashton.

Clubs will take the ice in the fall having undergone a complete metamorphosis in personnel. Many veterans will retire, others will simply be bought out of their contracts and put out to pasture.

There hasn’t been radical player movement of this nature since the NHL’s first expansion, when the league doubled in size from six to 12 teams in 1967.

From the fans’ point of view, it’s going to be Christmas in July and August, because every day until training camp will be like trade deadline day.

Then there’s the Sidney Crosby sweepstakes. All 30 teams will get at least one ball in the draft lottery to determine which one gets the first pick and the rights to Crosby, the best prospect to come down the pipe since Mario Lemieux in 1985.

"Everyone will get a shot, but not everyone will get an equal shot," Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lowe said. "That’s the way it should be."

With so many changes on the horizon, the NHL might just find out it hasn’t fallen as far off the map as people tend to believe.

The hockey talk is just beginning to heat up, so sit back and enjoy the festivities.

The NHL is here again. And it sure is going to be fun to watch.

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