CVs to the left of me, CVs to the right of me......

With the Stanley Cup finalists now sorted out (Calgary and Tampa Bay - who'da thunk it!), there are currently 28 NHL rosters-worth of players heading for the golf course, looking forward to putting their feet up for a couple of weeks, and kicking back. But at the back of their collective minds must be the threat of an NHL Lock-Out looming on the horizon. If there's no agreement reached between the NHL Players Association, the NHL Commissioner and the team owners before too long, we could be looking at a season with no NHL.

This could actually work in favour of teams like ours. Now, I'm not advocating support for a Lock-Out (nor am I against it - I'm a natural born fence-sitter and proud of it!) but if the players currently in the NHL want to play next season and can't because of a lock-out, they'll look elsewhere. This doesn't mean, however, that we'll be seeing Paul Kariya and Chris Pronger on the Manchester ice next season (although I'd like to see Pronger and Mark Thomas arguing over the 44 jersey - "place your bets..... NOW!") but there could well be a knock-on. NHL players looking elsewhere means that they will be looking to take the places of players in other leagues, which could lead to a displacement. Which in turns makes it an owners' market - if displaced players want to play, they need to find contracts, and this means that in theory we could get some good quality players for a little less than we'd normally have to pay them.

This is where the double-edged sword comes into play, though. If we get a glut of imports offering their services, what happens to the upcoming domestic talent? Will we pull the plug on the Brits in favour of some inexpensive imported talent? In Phoenix's case, the answer is 'no'. The Manchester Phoenix organisation has a commitment to domestic development, and that means that British born and trained players will be just as well represented this season as they were last season. Whether that means the same Brits come back, or new Brits take their place, or a mix-and-match, I don't know at this point - we'll have to watch the Phoenix website for the answers!

But one thing is for certain - the Phoenix mail-bag is getting pretty heavy these days. Now that Coach Heavey is firmly installed at the top of the pile, the CVs of prospective players are coming in thick and fast: some of the players are fast, some of the players are thick! Seriously though, Coach Heavey has quite a job on his hands at the moment. He's got the unenviable task of putting together the best Phoenix team that he can, within the timescale and budget available. And that's no mean feat!

And to think: all I have to worry about right now is getting Mark Samaru to approve my video work! Kinda puts it in perspective really....