from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

David Clarkson, Ryane Clowe and even Vincent Lecavalier were anomalies on the free-agent market this summer. The 9.16-percent reduction in the cap from $70.2 million to $64.3 million won by the league via the owners’ third lockout served its purpose.

Teams with money didn’t have the space, while the teams with space aren’t the ones who traditionally spend big money. Thus, despite eye-popping cumulative numbers — incorrectly interpreted as a sign nothing had changed and the lockout was meaningless — the market became stagnant very quickly.

So people like Mikhail Grabovski, Ron Hainsey, Nik Antropov, Brad Boyes, Dan Cleary, Colby Armstrong, Chuck Kobasew, Filip Kuba, Ian White, Tom Gilbert, Ryan Whitney and yes, Scott Gomez, remain unsigned.

The questions are: a) how many of these veterans will accept one-year deals at significantly reduced rates in order to reestablish their value next summer, when the cap is expected to increase; and, b) when will these players grab the few remaining chairs before the music stops?

continued plus other hockey topics discussed....