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A year ago, the NHL was in the middle of a whirlwind. The lockout-shortened season had barely ended and the Sochi Olympics and six outdoor games were on the horizon.Last year was a season like no other, commissioner Gary Bettman said.When Alec Martinez scored in overtime to win the Stanley Cup for the Los Angeles Kings and the league faded into summer, the ice chips settled. Now well into an era of labour peace and two years away from the likely return of the World Cup of Hockey, theres nothing interrupting each team playing 82 from Oct. 8 through April 11.The last couple years have been crazy, Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask said. Playing that shortened season, shorter off-season and really compact season with the Olympics. It was kind of a long year and a half and now a really long off-season and a regular season. Things are back to normal, I guess.This is, indeed, a regular season in the strictest definition of the phrase. There are no glaring problems facing a business with $4 billion in revenues, and things are going so well that the rampant expansion rumours wont go away even as Bettman insists the NHL isnt ready to look in that direction just yet.A new Canadian television-rights deal should result in the salary cap rising next summer, and the health of the league is perhaps as good as it has ever been.The game on the ice has never been better, Bettman said. Its never been more competitive, more entertaining, more exciting, more unpredictable, and everything we do starts with that. We have a system that gives us stability and gives all teams an opportunity to compete, which is why we see such competitive balance.Calm waters all around mean theres not a crisis, but it doesnt mean the landscape is boring. In the Western Conference, the Kings and Chicago Blackhawks each have two championships over the past five years and havent shown any signs of going away.In the process of those duelling dynasties developing, the West is in the midst of an arms race to keep up. The Dallas Stars went out and got Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky, the Anaheim Ducks got Ryan Kesler and the St. Louis Blues got Paul Stastny.The Stars had one of the busiest off-seasons and are a team to get excited about. But given the stiff competition are they even one of the best three or four teams in their conference?I think we get lost under the radar because there are some powerhouse teams in the West, Dallas centre Tyler Seguin said. Teams are only getting better, and a lot of guys and top-end guys from the East are coming over and playing in the West. I think its a lot of fun.The fun in the East is that no ones untouchable and pre-season prognostications dont matter. Again the Boston Bruins are the favourites, even after losing Jarome Iginla in free agency, but the Montreal Canadiens, young-and-talented Tampa Bay Lightning and ever-changing Pittsburgh Penguins could just as easily go to the Cup final.Of course last year the New York Rangers showed they could make a run, too.Its about getting hot at the right time, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. First thing you need to get in, but after that its about peaking at the right time.The 2013-14 season was a test of endurance, specifically for the likes of Lundqvist, Martin St. Louis and the Kings Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter, who all went to the gold-medal game at the Olympics and then to the Cup final. The Rangers and Kings also each played hockey outdoors last year as part of the NHLs Stadium Series.In 2014-15, only two of the 1,230 regular-season games will be outdoors: the Winter Classic at Nationals Park in Washington on Jan. 1 between the Blackhawks and Capitals and one Stadium Series event Feb. 21 at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., between the Kings and San Jose Sharks.Cutting down from six outdoor games to two wasnt just a matter of preventing too much of a good thing, according to Bettman, who said theres still plenty of interest from cities to host in the future.Everybody wants one, Bettman said. What happened, though, this year, when we were looking at doing games, the games have gotten so big our clubs that are interested want more lead time. There were teams that didnt want to go this year. They said, Well take a game, but make it the following year because we want more lead time.Future outdoor games could be coming to Toronto, Winnipeg and Minnesota. But the Maple Leafs, Jets and Wild will have to deal with 41 indoor home games this season.Among those games, the lack of an Olympic break will allow for a more normal schedule without as many back-to-backs and stretches of three games in four nights.The biggest thing is the rest days, the time between games, the time between travel, former Canadiens captain and current Buffalo Sabres forward Brian Gionta said. Everyone looks at it and theyre like, Its a game a week difference, but it makes a big difference in your travel, it makes a big difference in your practice time or your rest time.After that 48-game condensed schedule after the end of the lockout in 2013 and 82 sandwiched around the Olympics last year, players hope a return to normalcy also means fewer injuries and better quality of play.Itll be nice to practise and work on things, New York Islanders winger Kyle Okposo said. You can really get back to a normal schedule. Thatll be big for everybody, hopefully enable us to stay more healthy than we have. Were excited for kind of a normal routine.Normal, though, is relative and could be short-term. The league and the NHLPA could as soon as this month announce plans for the return of the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, and theres still hope that players go to Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the 2018 Olympics.Thats a concern for down the line, when prospective top picks in Junes draft like Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel are blossoming NHL stars and not just prizes for the leagues worst teams. The Sabres and Calgary Flames can dream of that, but Bettman is glad that playoff hopes are the new normal almost everywhere.What we have in competitive balance now is unprecedented in our history and maybe for any sport, he said at a recent Canadian Club luncheon. Its more important that no matter what team you root for, you feel at this time of year, Boy my teams got a shot at the playoffs, and as weve seen the last few years once you make the playoffs anything can happen.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Will Hernandez Jersey .com) - The New York Islanders will try to solve their issues against Central Division opponents when they visit the Minnesota Wild for Tuesdays battle at Xcel Energy Center. Jonathan Stewart Giants Jersey . -- Canadian freestyle skier Roz Groenewoud isnt letting surgery to both of her knees deter her expectations for the Sochi Olympics. http://www.nygiantsfanatic.com/c-80-gian...xon-jersey.aspx. -- Aaron Rodgers looked fine on the practice field Thursday. Saquon Barkley Jersey ... as usual. Even with the salary cap being set lower than many general managers expected and hoped for at $69 million and whats considered a shallow pool of top-end players available, this unrestricted-free-agent period figures to follow the familiar script of teams bidding up prices to keep up with each other. Lorenzo Carter Jersey . They all do actually — Joel-Hans Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 22, 2014There is no confirmation that the date is actually happening, but that didnt stop Embiid from getting dressed up. Fresh cut..... Getting ready for dinner http://t.co/NNIfKyZQzx — Joel-Hans Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 23, 2014 Almost 930..TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers three questions each week. This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. 1) With J.A. Happ heading to the DL, the Toronto Blue Jays have announced a starting rotation of R.A. Dickey, Drew Hutchison, Mark Buehrle, Brandon Morrow and Dustin McGowan. Should the Blue Jays feel confident with that group or even this early in the season, should they be looking outside the organization for an upgrade? Or should they have kept a prospect like Aaron Sanchez or Marcus Stroman with the big club? The Blue Jays are starting the season with exact rotation they should be using. Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman both need more development but at some point they may be called upon to help. Certainly there are big questions for three-fifths of the starters but there is definitely upside. RA Dickey is just a year removed from his NL Cy Young Award and is predictable and dependable. I cant believe I am saying that about a knuckleballer but it is true. Mark Buerhle is a more than serviceable innings-eater who gives his team a chance to win start after start. After these two though the questions are significant. Brandon Morrow has suffered injuries in each of the past two seasons after looking like a number one starter at times in 2012. Dustin McGowan is throwing in the mid-nineties and is working on a curve ball to go with his devastating slider, but he has thrown just 46 2/3 innings since 2008 because of recurrent shoulder injuries. Drew Hutchison hasnt pitched in the Major Leagues for the past year and a half due to Tommy John surgery but prior to that he looked like he could be a long-term answer for the rotation. Before the season begins players, front office personnel and fans close their eyes and dream about what could be. I can close my eyes and see RA Dickey commanding his dancing knuckler that will baffle hitter. I can envision Buerhle getting a ton of grounders and working quickly getting the powerhouse offense back in the dugout and scoring a ton of runs. I can picture Brandon Morrow rifling his fastball by the games biggest sluggers and logging a ton of strikeouts. I can imagine McGowan and Hutchison fulfilling the potential that they once had as well. It could happen just that way. But it probably wont. My experience is that the more questions you enter with the more things that will likely go wrong. There is a bunch of unpredictability in this rotation. Depth will be important. It is safe to assume that health will be an issue at some point because it has been an issue in the past. Esmil Rogers and Todd Redmond may make starts if necessary. But Alex Anthopolous is going to have to keep working the phones to look for upgrades. Early in the season other clubs arent typically trading good pitchers but he will need to be ready for when they do become available. So when you close your eyes and dream just hope it is not a nightmare. 2) Is manager John Gibbons on the hot seat with the Blue Jays? If the team is slow out of the gate again this year, will he be replaced? Are his and Alex Anthopouloss future tied together (if one goes, the other follows him out the door)? I dont think John Gibbons is on the hot seat during the season this year. I know there were big expectations last year but the collapse wasnt Gibbons fault. The starting rotation just fell apart on him as Morrow and Josh Johnson got hurt and Ricky Romero imploded. Jose Reyes injury crushed the offense early in the season and more injuries followed. The expectations are less this year than a year ago. It certainly behooves the Jays to get off to a good start so they can start to believe in themselves but Gibbons cant pitch for his team and the staff will be the key. I have never been a believer that managers and general managers are tied at the hip. The manager needs to look at the GM as his boss. Clearly Gibbons was brought back to the Jays because of his relationship with Anthopolous but if Anthopolous thinks a change needs to be made he will have to make it. If ownership gets to a point where they believe the roster is flawed and they decide to make a decision on the general manager it is unlikely Gibbons would survive a change in regime. Anthoplous can possibly survive the firing of Gibbons but I dont believe Gibbons would survive the firing of Anthopolous. As it stands today both the manager and general manager are on firm ground as they should be. They just need to be honest with themselves and their bosses about what the expectations are with the roster they have. The owners can hope to be competitive in the tough AL East but if they expect to win it then both Anthopolous and Gibbons are in trouble. This is a roster for which you can hope but not expect great things. 3) With Reds starter Aroldis Chapman and Rays starter Matt Moore both being hit in the head by comebackers to the mound in spring training, is it time for Major League Baseball and/or the players union to implement mandatory pitcher protection? It seems that pitchers have become more annd more vulnerable over the past few seasons.ddddddddddddnbsp; Fortunately, we have avoided major catastrophe but we shouldnt be shocked if a pitcher were to be killed by a hit ball. We have just been lucky so far. I am a firm believer that we should never wait for someone to be killed to make a change. Baseball already did that once. Base coaches wear helmets now because a minor league first base coach was hit in the head by a line drive and killed. If protecting pitchers is being considered then protect them. Lets not wait for a tragedy. It is currently optional for pitchers to wear the new protective headgear that was developed by MLB for this year. The feedback so far is that the hats look funny and are not overly comfortable. MLB needs to keep refining the protective hats to make them functional. This needs to be a priority for the Players Association as well. Protective hats for pitchers need to be made mandatory at the minor league level initially. Let the kids get comfortable with them so by the time they are big leaguers it is commonplace. Once the hat is advanced enough make it mandatory for major league pitchers to wear. There is no clock in baseball but we need to put a clock on this. Every pitch thrown puts a pitcher at risk. Please hurry. 4) With the second and third opening days approaching for Major League Baseball it is time to make predictions. Here is how I see the American League:AL East AL Central AL West 1) Boston Detroit Oakland2) Tampa Bay* Kansas City** LA Angels3) Baltimore Cleveland Texas4) Blue Jays Minnesota Seattle5) New York Yankees Chicago Houston * first Wild Card ** second Wild Card AL CHAMPION: Oakland As defeat Detroit AL AWARDS AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, DetroitAL MVP: Justin Verlander, DetroitAL Rookie of Year: Yordano Ventura, Kansas CityAL Manager of Year: Ned Yost, Kansas City Here are my predictions for the NL:NL East NL Central NL West1) Washington St Louis LA Dodgers 2) Atlanta** Milwaukee SF Giants*3) NY Mets Cincinnati Arizona4) Philadelphia Pittsburgh Colorado5) Miami Chicago San Diego* first Wild Card ** second Wild Card NL CHAMPION: Washington Nationals defeat Dodgers NL AWARDS NL MVP: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta BravesNL CY Young: Stephen Strasburg, Washington NationalsNL Rookie of Year: Gregory Polanco, Pittsburgh Pirates Manager of the Year: Mike Matheny, St Louis Cardinals WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: Washington Nationals defeat Oakland As LET THE GAMES BEGIN…..PLAY BALL!!! 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