Thawing the ice: July's busy offseason

Summer is not over yet, but it's going fast, at least around the NHL that is.

In fact the first month of the offseason has been pretty active, so in case you missed a few things, here's a look back at the July stories likely to have a lingering impact.

Marian Hossa's contract with Chicago is being investigated by the league. (Getty Images)

Rockin' the free (agent) world: There's a certain comfort that comes from knowing some NHL teams will always refuse to get caught up in the real world. The reminder is there every summer right at the beginning of July, when the free-agent market opens and those in an alternate universe rush to jump like Walmart shoppers the morning after Thanksgiving. As a spectacle it provides a bit of escapism, which is nice these days because most people in the hockey industry expect times to get tougher in the near future. One of the league's more conservative general managers told CBSSports.com that many of his colleagues believed the downward trending salary cap would reduce the value of new deals, but added he really wasn't surprised that "it did not seem to be reflected by the signings." More than $400 million was spent on some four-dozen players in the first few days of July, with many deals questionable, not just for the dollars but the terms. In fact, the NHL is now investigating whether the front-loaded, 12-year pact Marian Hossa signed with Chicago circumvents the rules of the CBA. Makes you wonder what the lockout was all about.

To Russia with no love: Red Wings GM Ken Holland says he expects Jiri Hudler, the 25-year-old forward who broke out offensively last season, to come back to the NHL and play for Detroit. Just not this season, even if Hudler was awarded a two-year, $5.75 million contract from an arbitrator. Thing is Hudler will be getting $10 million tax free from a Russian team, so he'll spend the next couple of seasons plying his trade there. Hudler is a rare example of a player jumping while in or entering his prime. This has the potential to become a bigger problem for the NHL if more players start seeing the Kontinental Hockey League as a viable option or leverage in negotiations. The NHL really isn't worried about aging veterans like Jaromir Jagr, Sergei Fedorov and Sergei Zubov, making one last cash grab on the final lap of their careers. But last summer, Alexander Radulov left for more money while still under contract to Nashville and now Hudler, who technically was property of the Red Wings because he filed for arbitration, has done the same. If nothing else these moves exacerbate the friction that has existed for the last few years between the NHL and the Russian hockey governing body over the validity of each other's contracts. It threatens participation in Russia's 2014 Olympics, which the players want more than the league, but more important for the long term, it eventually could have the effect of draining some of the top talent from the NHL.

Blackhawks down: For an organization that seemed like it could do no wrong, the Blackhawks seemed unable to do anything right in July. Sure they made a splash in the free-agent market, but they left themselves vulnerable in goal and gambled with their great room chemistry from last season by letting Martin Havlat go. Then there was the shoddy dismissal of GM Dale Tallon, a problem compounded soon after with the news that Hossa, the marquee free-agent acquisition, required shoulder surgery that could keep him out for the first half of next season. Making matters worse is last week's revelation that the NHL is questioning the structure of Hossa's 12-year deal, which is set up to let the 30-year-old forward potentially retire several years before it concludes without costing either party very much. The contract appears to resemble deals other teams have given out to players like Henrik Zetterberg and Chris Pronger. But it has become another black eye in what has been a forgettable summer for Chicago and could prove to be a bigger problem than anyone realizes in a season when the Blackhawks are expected to take another major step toward a Stanley Cup.

Breaking up is hard to do: That should be the theme song this summer for Dany Heatley and the Ottawa Senators. Heatley wants out of Ottawa despite signing a $42 million extension a couple of years ago, but only on his terms. He's already nixed a deal that would have sent him to the Edmonton Oilers, and the Los Angeles Kings, one of his preferred destinations, have basically said he isn't worth the headaches. There are some teams still interested -- one being the San Jose Sharks -- but the dollar value anyone has to get locked in for a problem child in the cap world, plus what Ottawa wants in return, make him a tough sell. The Senators have been sounding various notes of reconciliation, unlike Heatley or his agent this summer, so it's likely that the high-scoring forward will still be Ottawa property when training camp begins. But a deal before the season, and probably a blockbuster, is likely.

Phoenix falling: The only thing anyone can say for sure about the Phoenix Coyotes these days is that they are bankrupt after losing $60 million last season. That it is costing the NHL a lot of money to prop it up. Yet the league is fighting tooth and nail to keep the team there, or at least to keep it out of the hands of Blackberry mogul Jim Balsillie. The NHL's board of governors rejected Balsillie's latest attempt to join their club deciding that someone who actually has real money and loves hockey enough to play regularly in a men's league "lacks the good character and integrity required" to do so. It's an interesting assessment because in recent years, the governors have welcomed William "Boots" Del Biaggio, now headed to jail on fraud charges, Henry Samueli, now awaiting sentencing on SEC violations, John Rigas, currently in jail on embezzlement charges, and Sanjay Kumar, now serving time for conspiracy into their circle. But Balsillie's hard-charging attempts to land a franchise -- first Pittsburgh and then Nashville before Phoenix -- he could move to Hamilton, Ontario, haven't won him any friends in high places. In the meantime, the Coyotes are in bankruptcy with owner Jerry Moyes looking for a savior while simultaneously battling the league for the right to do so. The legal battles stretched through July and seemed destined to continue for a long time to come.