Wayne Gretzky and I are of the same opinion.  There will be NHL hockey before the New Year.  January 1st, to be exact.  You see, that is the date of this year’s winter classic, where the league forces their hockey players to freeze their keesters off outside in an actual meaningful game.  This year, 100 thousand fans are expected to pack Michigan Stadium to see the Leafs and Red Wings do battle.  And there’s no way Bettman’s gonna let that cash cow slip away.  Both sides know it.

     However, when the Leafs eventually do get back to hockey, they’ll have to do it without defenseman Cody Franson.  Yesterday he announced that he was joining some of his North American brothers in Europe and signed a contract with a Swedish club.  Trouble is, when the lockout is over he ain’t coming back.  Y’see Toronto hasn’t bothered to re-sign him, so he’s an unrestricted free agent and he’s committed to playing the entire year over there.  The Leafs will most certainly miss his five goals and 16 assists.  He said, ‘it’s really inspiring to come to Sweden and play the whole season.’  Really?  Inspiring?  I guess his definition of inspiring is a borderline journeyman defenseman who couldn’t even make the crappy Maple Leafs after they shipped Luke Schenn out of town.  Inspiring, indeed.