Agreed but timing is involved here as well ..
If you look at the course of events ..
Normal course of events
1) Playoffs end
2) Entry draft in June based on season just finished.
3) UFA spending season begins July 1st.. Teams might even base their spending habits on draft results ..
Simple ..but notice that UFA follows the draft ..
Now
1) Here we have go back to 03-04 Playoffs
2) June entry draft (Ovechkin draft) rewarding
teams for previous years success.
3) July 1st UFA season .. Boston released Knuble, Murray, Rolston etc and as pointed out above in this example with Phoenix teams are vastly different now going into the lockout.. Some teams only have a few players under contract and left the Palffy's, Kovalev's, Kariya's sitting till CBA term are known (which in the stroke of a pen could again vastly change teams going into the new season)
4) No 04-05 results standings as per lockout
5) No honouring of 04-05 contracts that now further make many players UFA/RFA changing teams again.
6) Retiring players and two full years of younger players about to take former NHLers jobs ..
Entry Draft (when a new CBA is signed) based on 2 years ago results with a draft (already rewarding those standings) and an UFA season (vastly changing teams).. and now if the not honouring 40-05 contracts occurs (further change again)
Fergy is pointing out that results if a season occurred would be unknown and now because of the lockout teams are only skeltons of their former selves .