The deal is done

As already noted elsewhere, the NHL and NHLPA have reached a deal. And the Star's Jim Byers doesn't seem to be paying attention to the terms:

The deal as proposed is a huge victory for Bettman, who promised “cost certainty” in the form of a hard salary cap to the owners. But it’s a huge loss for high-spending clubs such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers. Because of the salary cap, many players with big contracts could get turfed in favour of younger, cheaper players.

Let's be clear: on the ice, this will make things difficult for the big-market teams. But off the ice, it's basically a license to print money.

According to Forbes, the Rangers made $118 million in 2003-2004 as a non-playoff team paying $72 million in salaries. They're not going to be tons worse on the ice, and they're sure to reduce their salary costs by something in the range of $20 million (even assuming they pay the full luxury tax).

The Leafs made $117 million while spending $69 million in salaries, and the Wings made $97 million while spending $80 million. Again, the salary numbers are headed into such a precipitous decline that (particularly with relatively loyal fan bases) these teams will almost certainly make significantly more money for at least a season or two even if their quality does drop as well.

If this is a "huge loss", I'd love to take huge losses more often.