from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

It is Gary’s World and the rest of us are just living in it. That’s the takeaway from the NHL’s announcement commissioner Gary Bettman had reconsidered the penalty he had imposed on the Devils regarding the Ilya Kovalchuk circumvention case, and would thus return a first-round draft pick to New Jersey.

This was a thank you from Sixth Avenue to owners Joshua Harris and David Blitzer, who swooped in at the last minute — perhaps responding to the commissioner’s plea — to once and for all provide the remedy to the migraine headache the franchise had become under the ownership of Jeff Vanderbeek.

This was Bettman engaging in the power politics that define his reign and explain his mastery in the Boardroom throughout three lockouts, the last two of which yielded smashing victories for owners of disparate interests with one common bond — the commissioner who either invited them into the league or into its inner circle.

Want an All-Star Game in your city? Vote with me. Want an Entry Draft in your town? Vote with me. Want to recover a first-round pick? Buy this team.

continue for more topics including Jagr, Garth Snow and Callahan/Rangers...