If the NHL can't get through this season without the gloom-and-doom of business realities taking center stage, just imagine what next season will be like.

	Marian Hossa and the Sens' exploits have been overshadowed by financial turmoil.

With the expiration date on the Collective Bargaining Agreement set for September 2004, how 30 teams -- if 30 still exist -- will be able to avoid the perception of a lame duck 2003-04 season enough to make the 2004 World Cup be anything but an aesthetic and commercial disaster remains to be seen.

As it stands, there's enough trouble with the here and now to occupy all the deep thinkers on a 24/7 basis.

There are, of course, more than enough intriguing and downright terrific on-ice stories going on at the moment that would otherwise make for a captivating season.

Minnesota's gone Wild. Joe Thornton, Marian Hossa and Marian Gaborik are making compelling runs at being the NHL player most worth watching on a given night. Ed Belfour, at 37, is looking like a man intent on re-claiming the Vezina.

Mike Peca's return has rejuvenated the Islanders. Dave Lewis hasn't skipped a beat in Detroit, Tampa Bay finally looks like a competent hockey club and Mike Babcock is proving you can make duck salad out of duck, er, feathers.

Even the negative stories -- five coaches fired already, Rangers still a mess, the continuing absence of Kyle McLaren -- should be good hockey stories that would otherwise give the season a intriguing backdrop.

Sadly, however, the financial horrors in Ottawa and Buffalo have taken center stage, and that's for two important reasons.

One, there are more than a few other NHL clubs that see their own futures in what is currently happening to the Senators and Sabres, although a few wouldn't mind being as good as Jacques Martin's fleet Ottawa squad for just a little while.

Two, the precarious futures of both teams are very much linked to the next collective bargaining agreement. Without the hope that 2004 will bring drastic alterations in the relationship between owners and players, the Sens and Sabres probably would just pack it in right now.

The same might be said for teams from Pittsburgh to Calgary to Phoenix.

So while the NHL can do it's best to delete obstruction and interference from the game and try to have a lovey-dovey all-star gathering in Florida this month, there isn't a darn thing it can do about deflecting attention from the troubling business realities that are just now starting to build.

So, in the words of Chris Chelios, the league will just have to play through it.

At the halfway mark of the season, Mario Lemieux finds himself running away with the scoring title, although a groin injury that kept him out of Thursday's home start against the Maple Leafs isn't the best sign that he'll be able to compete in as large a chunk of the Penguin season as he would like to.

Lemieux's brilliance has helped an otherwise average Pittsburgh squad stay competitive in the Eastern Conference. The Pens' ability to continue to do so will dictate whether forward Alexei Kovalev will or will not be available at the trading deadline given that the likelihood he'll remain in Pittsburgh beyond this season remains remote.

Twenty-three NHLers have been traded this season, with Boris Mironov's transfer to Manhattan for a piddling fourth-round pick the latest swap.

	With Mike Richter sidelined indefinitely, Mike Dunham has come to the Rangers' rescue.

The biggest deal so far? Probably the Rangers' acquisition of goalie Mike Dunham to fill for the injured Mike Richter, although Jason Woolley has done well to replace Steve Duchesne in Detroit and the Dan McGillis-for-Marcus Ragnarsson swap was the most significant talent-for-talent transaction.

The acquisition of McGillis by San Jose, of course, came hard on the heels of the dismissal of head coach Darryl Sutter, who within weeks found himself another job in Calgary. The same might happen to Bob Hartley, dumped by Colorado on Dec. 18 and now a possible candidate to take over in Atlanta.

Dave King lost his job in Columbus this week because he couldn't make the Blue Jackets shine as brightly as Jacques Lemaire's Wild and was replaced by his boss, Doug McLean, who once upon a time was axed in Florida because he couldn't make a miracle run to the Stanley Cup final more than once.

The next in line? Maybe Barry Trotz in Nashville, Michel Therrien in Montreal or Lindy Ruff in Buffalo.

Before you know it, it'll be Paul Maurice's turn to be in the rumor pages again.

While Minnesota has been an enormous surprise, and perhaps Ottawa as well, you could make the argument that the ability of the Red Wings to barely lose a step despite the loss of Scotty Bowman and Dominik Hasek, not to mention the absence of injured Steve Yzerman, has been the most remarkable team story.

The ability of the Wings to find useful new talent despite drafting so low every year has been a story that has flown beneath the radar. Dmitri Bykov and Henrik Zetterberg have proved to be more than capable, while Sean Avery, Pavel Datsyuk, Jiri Fischer and Jason Williams give Detroit a more significant youth brigade that one would expect.

The fact so many teams in both conferences are separated by 10 points or less has made it difficult for individual players, aside from Lemieux, to stand out and shine as potential end-of-season award winners.

For the Vezina, you could make a case for Belfour, Marty Turco, Martin Brodeur, Dan Cloutier and even Patrick Lalime. For the Hart, you could see the likes of Belfour, Nicklas Lidstrom, Lemieux, Daniel Alfredsson and Markus Naslund challenge.

The Rangers and Stars, meanwhile, are proof that spending money can work but doesn't necessarily work.

For the Calder, meanwhile, it will be a tricky choice because of the rather undistinguished quality of the rookie class. Chicago's Tyler Arnason leads the freshman scoring race at the moment, but the Calder is so wide open Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller is probably worth watching although he's only had a handful of starts so far.

The Rangers and Stars, meanwhile, are proof that spending money can work but doesn't necessarily work.

Bryan Trottier has simply not been able to get the Rangers to play as a team on a consistent basis, and injuries to Richter, Pavel Bure and Brian Leetch haven't helped. Eric Lindros seems to be getting his game in order, which can only help the possibility of a late New York run to the playoffs.

While Bill Guerin, Scott Young and Philippe Boucher got all the new money in Dallas, the quality of Turco in net plus the savvy coaching of rookie Dave Tippett are more compelling reasons why the Stars have jumped back to the upper echelon of the Western Conference.

Owner Tom Hicks wants to sell the club. But he might just want to take a serious run at a championship first.

Ex-Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock has hit a few speedbumps in Philadelphia, but is slowly carving a team that over time will look very much like his old Dallas clubs. Nobody's going to win any scoring titles for Philly with Hitch around, but this Flyer squad looks far more dangerous than any other in recent seasons for its ability to play like a team.

In Canada, the Leafs have garnered headlines for their recent revival after a terrible start, but the Vancouver Canucks and Senators have been the best of the Canadian six so far.

Neither, however, has much of a recent playoff resume to put on display, and both need to figure out a way to win a series before they can dream grander dreams.

The story of the season? Maybe, just maybe, it was the arranged photo op in New York this week featuring Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow looking rather chummy and anything but enemies.

That public relations effort came in the wake of Ottawa's inability to meet payroll, and perhaps it was an attempt by both men to inject an element of confidence into the league at a time when uncertainty is growing.

More than photo ops will be necessary, however, for this season not to become flooded with negative economic forecasts. The world's fastest game will need another gear to outskate that.

Damien Cox, a columnist for the Toronto Star, is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com.