It has been 385 days, 9,240 hours or 554,400 minutes since the last NHL game was played.

The standard hockey period runs 20 minutes.

However, none of that will matter anymore when the skates cut through the ice and the goal horn blows this Wednesday. The new NHL will be a product worth watching and there is no lack of storylines to follow this season.

One of the most intriguing developments in this campaign will be following the story of Sidney Crosby. This 18 year-old phenom has been considered the next big star. Following the lockout, the first major event was the entry draft, rather, the Sidney Crosby coronation ceremony.

He is expected to bring the league back to the forefront of public interest while scoring plenty of goals. It is rather ironic that Pittsburgh had the honor of selecting the talented teenager because about two decades ago another highly touted superstar came to Pittsburgh and was expected to save hockey in the city. I guess you could say Mario Lemieux did just that. The league hopes its changed rules benefit sleek skating pivots, such as Crosby.

As the league watched its average goals-per-game decrease, it also saw its television ratings and popularity sink as well. By altering the rules, the league is making sure goals increase and hope its public image of goonery dissipates.

The most drastic change to the rules is the tie, which has been eliminated. It has been replaced by one of the most dramatic events in all of professional sports, the shootout. Fans have clamored for ties to be settled for years by this method and they finally get their wish.

Imagine Peter Forsberg coming down on Dominik Hasek to decide a game. It will make you want to tune in to a regular season matchup. Also this year, the two-line pass has been eliminated, vastly enlarging the neutral zone and giving talented offensive players more room to make plays.

However, the most significant change is not a rule change at all; simply, referees will enforce the rules. The clutching and grabbing which has slowed the game down for the past decade is no more. One person who thrived when scoring was high will certainly appreciate this change, and he is now behind the bench.

The sport's greatest player, Wayne Gretzky, is now attempting to become the sport's greatest coach.

Just as many people doubted the ability of the lean 6 ft, 180 pound center to perform when he entered the league, skeptics are now questioning if he has what it takes to coach in the league.

My question is, why can't the great one do it?

He has performed on every level to this point, so why would anyone doubt Gretzky could not do it again? It will certainly be worth paying attention to in the coming months. His Phoenix Coyotes have been revamped and look to climb to the top of the Western Conference.

Teams may not look exactly as you remember them. No, the logo hasn't changed, but the players surely have. With the advent of the salary cap, many teams were forced to ship players out due to budget constraints which did not previously exist. The finest front office minds will be rewarded for their financial responsibility in the new NHL.

As players now realize, there is more to the sport than money. They consider where the best place is to go and win. Many players have decided Pittsburgh will be called home. A slew of free agents wanted to join Mario and Sid the Kid in the steel town. Locally, Doug MacLean has assembled a squad in Columbus that is prime to make its inaugural appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The NHL is back, thank goodness, and is destined to be better than ever. Now only if UD would pick up Outdoor Life Network as part of their cable package so the student body could see this incredible game.