[Credit: National Post] But here, two decades later, we have labour peace and the sport is perhaps at the peak of its international visibility and popularity. So how should Bettman and his owners spend the summer? Perhaps they should learn from the successes of this postseason, and tweak the game accordingly. The NHL playoffs were fast skating, hard hitting hockey highlighted by skill and spectacular goaltending. And there was but one fight, and not even the most ardent supporter of fighting in hockey could argue fisticuffs were missed. I understand the regular season is a long slog through winter, but do we want a sport where unnecessary violence breaks up the monotony? Especially when weve been witness to the majesty of the sport in its absence? Im not saying take fighting out of the game, but Colton Orr and George Parros are unnecessary elements of the sport.[Credit: ESPN] The hockey entity most in need of this summer break is the expansive community of punditry, from the media (both mainstream and not, though the line between the two becomes more and more blurred with each passing season) to the social media inclined fan. On Monday I witnessed an obsessive and rhetorically flawed argument on Twitter over the rumoured re-signing of Montreal Canadiens forward Dale Weise. Was he signed? Should he be signed? Was the term good for the cap? Who did and did not celebrate his acquisition from the Canucks for Raphael Diaz. French media versus English media versus fan versus blogger, all desperately lacking humility in their arguments. When the Habs officially announced a deal on a two-year contract extension with Weise Tuesday morning (for the exact term and dollar amount reported and endlessly disseminated Monday) the futile and superfluous argument began anew. I mean, over a fourth line winger? Paul DiPietro never received this kind of attention. Neither did Weises concussion, but thats a story the media will ignore another day.[Credit: NY Times] While social media and universal web access has taken the discourse to an inclusive realm, it has created an obsessive and pathologically invested fanbase and a media that stretches itself thin to fulfill the 24-hour new cycle. Take a breath folks. Go outside. Do something extraordinary. Expand your horizons. Go love up on a Bruins fan. Take a day at the beach. Spend a week without checking hockeydb.com or capgeek.com. Leave the sport alone for a few minutes. Itll still be there when you get back.The seasons not quite over yet. This week the NHLs 30 teams will consider buyouts to prepare their caps for next season. On June 22nd the 2014-15 schedule will be released so that we can all plan our November Saturdays accordingly. On the 24th, the NHL Awards ceremony takes place, where scarred players freshly relieved of their playoff beards wonder quietly who George Stroumboulopoulos is. The draft takes place on the weekend of the 27th in Philadelphia, which will ignite the hotstove and fuel dreams of parades and revelry. July 1st, Canada Day, a day we should all be out drinking Labatt 50 in the sun and launching bottle rockets recklessly into the night, finds much of the hockey world inside watching TV and waiting to see which albatross of a contract will be bought out in the summer of 2018. And then nothing until September, beautiful autumn, summer fading into the promise a new season, when all teams in first place, except the Oilers, who will be tied with the Flames for 30th. Nick Kwiatkoski Jersey . Not Peyton Manning. Hes holding on to the heartache to stoke his competitive fire. Akiem Hicks Jersey . - The width of Alec Martinezs shin guard was the difference between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks in their playoff series opener. http://www.officialchicagobearsfootball....s-jersey-womens. JOHNS, N. James Daniels Jersey . According to a report from ESPN, the veteran safety has signed another one-year deal with the team Raiders, the team that drafted him, and who he returned to last year after a long stint with the Green Bay Packers. Tarik Cohen Jersey . Like a magic trick, the puck popped out behind Stalock in the San Jose net. While Sharks coach Todd McLellan decried the legality of the tiebreaking goal, the Los Angeles Kings celebrated their latest, greatest escape yet.Saturdays Champions Cup decider in Lyon will be the sixth time the final has been contested between English and French teams. England currently lead the way with three victories and two of those came on French soil, Bath in 1998 and Leicester in 2001.Saracens were beaten in the last Anglo-French final in 2014 when Toulon overpowered them in Cardiff. On Saturday they face Racing 92, the team that ended Toulons three-year reign as champions of Europe. Ahead of this eagerly-awaited contest, lets look back at the five previous finals between English and French teams.1997: Brive 28-9 Leicester Sebastien Carrat beats Austin Healey to score his second and Brives fourth try Leicester were outscored by four tries to nil as Brive blew them away in the closing stages at Cardiff Arms Park.The French side raced into an 8-0 lead after only five minutes through a Christophe Lamaison penalty and Sebastien Viars try, but two first-half penalties from John Liley kept Leicester in contention.Liley added another penalty to give the Tigers the lead on 54 minutes but Brive then shifted up a gear and the pressure finally told.Leicester lost Dean Richards to injury and tries from Brive wings Gerald Fabre and Sebastien Carrat (2) ensured back-to-back victories for French teams in the fledgling tournament.1998: Bath 19-18 Brive In front of a partisan crowd, Bath became the first team outside of France to win the Heineken Cup Bath became the first non-French side to win the European Cup when they overturned a 15-6 half-time deficit against the defending champions in Bordeaux.The West Country team produced a stunning final quarter which was kick-started by Jeremy Guscott sending John Callard over for the games only try. Road to the Champions Cup final How Racing 92 and Saracens reached this seasons decider Full-back Callard scored all of Baths points and he kicked an injury-time penalty to give his side the lead for the first time after the touch judge spotted a late tackle on Adedayo Adebayo by Brive lock Yvan Manhes.There was further late drama, with Brive awarded an 82nd-minute penalty inside Christophe Lamaisons range after Bath collapsed a maul, but he was unable to add to his 15 first-half points.Lisandro Arbizu also saw a drop-goal attempt drift narrowly wide as Bath held on for the narrowest of victories.2001: Leicester 34-30 Stade Francais Leicester beat Stade Francais 34-30 in the 2000/2001 Heineken Cup. Leon Lloyds 80th-minute try snatched a thrilling victory for Leicester as they stunned Stade at the Parc des Princes to complete a Premiership and European double.Stade looked on course for victory in their home city thanks to an incredible 30-points tally from the boot of Diego Dominguez, but the Tigers scored three second-half tries to deny the French team.Leicester trailed 15-9 at the interval but Lloyd scored the games opening try just 50 seconds after the restart. Leon Lloyd scores the match-winning try Neil Back also crossed the whitewash while Dominguez kept his side in contention with two 50-metre penalties.Leicester suurvived the sin-binning of skipper Martin Johnson for punching but they fell behind with three minutes remaining when Italy fly-half Dominguez slotted a drop goal.ddddddddddddHowever, the Tigers would have the final say as Lloyd crossed in the right corner following a superb break by man of the match Austin Healy, and they withstood a late barrage to clinch the first of back-to-back European Cups.2004: Wasps 27-20 Toulouse Rob Howleys last-minute try clinched a first European Cup for Wasps Clement Poitrenaud called time on a fantastic career last week but hes probably still having nightmares about the final minute of the 2004 decider at Twickenham.Wasps led a thrilling contest for large spells but their French opponents drew level with just three minutes remaining as replacement Jean-Baptiste Elissalde slotted his third unanswered penalty.Both teams were guilty of some abject kicking during a tense finish and a poor drop out from Frederic Michalak bounced into Rob Howleys arms. Howley celebrates with the Heineken Cup The Wales scrum-half booted the ball up the wing and gave chase but Poitrenaud was well positioned to deal with the danger.However, the Toulouse full-back tried to let the ball go dead, and as he waited for it to bounce into the in-goal area, Howley beat him to the punch and touched the ball down to snatch the most dramatic of victories.The day prior to that I was kicking with Shaun Edwards and he told me to be prepared for a huge kicking game, and to never kick and hope, said Howley.Well the kick and hope actually won us the cup final. He told me afterwards, never listen to me again!2014: Toulon 23-6 Saracens Toulon beat Saracens in the last ever Heineken Cup final Jonny Wilkinsons final game on British soil was a memorable one as Toulon comfortably retained the European Cup with a crushing victory over Saracens at the Millennium Stadium.The World Cup winner kicked 13 points as tries in either half from Matt Giteau and Juan Smith ensured the French heavyweights became only the third team to successfully defend their crown.Having hammered Clermont in the semi-finals, Saracens opened the scoring with an Owen Farrell penalty, but they were punished after failing to capitalise on the sin-binning of Juan Fernandez Lobbe.Instead, Toulon scored the opening try while down to 14 men, Wallabies centre Giteau crossing on the half-hour, and a drop goal from Wilkinson gave them a 10-3 lead at the interval. Jonny Wilkinson and Paul OConnell join our coverage of Saturdays Champions Cup final Saracens began the second half like they did the first as Farrell slotted another penalty, but that was cancelled out by Wilkinson and Toulon struck a decisive blow on the hour.Mathieu Bastareaud broke from inside his own half and Smith and Lobbe combined to send the Springbok over in the corner.Wilkinson landed the conversion to finish with a 100 per cent record off the tee.Watch Racing 92 v Saracens live on Sky Sports 2 HD on Saturday from 3.45pm. 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