EDMONTON - Scott Howson hates the term "capologist," a position that's about to become de rigeur in the new NHL reality. So let's just say the Edmonton Oilers assistant GM will have to know all the ins and outs of the new salary cap.

Not to mention all the other salient points in the 600-page collective bargaining agreement which is the centrepiece of the "agreement in principle" announced Wednesday by the NHL and the NHL Players' Association.

Nice bedtime reading? It is for Howson, who will be in New York today with

Oilers GM Kevin Lowe for a crash course on the document, as will representatives from a few other teams.

"This is what I went to law school for, to learn about documents and statutes," Howson said in an interview prior to news of the tentative deal.

"It's no different than learning about the constitution and how it applies to us."

Howson graduated from Osgoode Law School in Toronto in 1990 following a brief 18-game NHL stint with the New York Islanders and some good scoring seasons in the minor leagues.

Howson, 43, practised corporate law for two years before joining the Oilers organization 11 years ago. He's been Kevin Lowe's right-hand man for the last five years. He's been Edmonton's point man in arbitration hearings and has run the team's minor-league operation. He's also done a lot of contract work. Now he has the added responsibility as the guy who has to figure out the new CBA. Specifically, how to fit Edmonton players into the salary cap.