Farewell Old Vets!

Old veterans such as Chelios, Peca, Sakic, Nolan, and Perrault haven't been signed and have yet to field serious offers from other clubs.

Why is it that they haven't received such offers?

It has nothing to do with their play. All of the above mentioned players have had good seasons.

Other vets such as Forsberg, Selanne, Naslund, and Rob Blake didn't play a lot and didn't wow anyone with their performances, so it's understandable that they haven't received much interest.

Still, it's hard to believe that these players are no longer the ones NHL teams are drooling over.

Sundin is the only oldie that has broken from the mold and is in high demand. Yet, he's the only one who is undecided about returning.

Sure, some of these guys are almost done for when it comes to putting up serious points, but these players could step in and show younger players how to play the game.

It's sad to see these vets wait on the sidelines while younger players get signed for the same job that they would be doing.

The vets are being pushed out of the NHL by force, as opposed to a graceful retirement.

Previously, this was the career of an elite scorer with good hockey sense:

For the first five years of his career he'd put up decent points while learning to play against the bigger, faster, tougher NHL d-men.

The next ten years would see him leading his team in scoring and finishing in the top ten or twenty in scoring.

He'd then finish his career with five years of occasionally putting up decent points, but mainly playing the third line role player.

With the new CBA, the jobs of the vets are being given to the younger players. There isn't a window where an elite scorer loses his point production and can drop down to the third or fourth line.

If the player is lucky, he will have one, two at the most, seasons on the third line.

It's a sad reality to a player when he realizes that he no longer can play in the NHL any more.

It's especially hard for those that find out the hard way.

Not finding a dance partner in free agency is not a pleasant feeling for anyone. Especially the ones that were the be all and end all five years ago.

Fortunately for the guys I have mentioned above, they still have enough juice left for one or two more seasons before they are ungracefully retired by being left out in the cold in free agency.