In the aftermath of the 2008 Presidential election, some are wondering what Sarah Palin should do with herself to maintain a national profile.

Try this on for size: Sarah Palin, National Hockey League Commissioner.

Let’s do a quick rundown of the plus-minus ledger for such a move:

PRO:
- She’d earn her foreign-policy stripes, the lack of which stung her so on the campaign trail; between quelling Canadian traditionalists and grappling with the Russians in the KHL, Palin will become a veritable Henry Kissinger!
- Handing down a steady stream of player suspensions will reinforce her law-and-order credentials, further cementing her position with the conservative base.
- Representing the owners in the next round of collective bargaining agreement negotiations will demonstrate her fiscal and labor-relations skills — and result in a scheme for a Federal Salary Cap, tied to the over/under in the national trade balance.
- She could use her clout to get Versus into every American household’s cable lineup.

CON:
- Hard to stump for family values when your employees include thugs like Sean Avery, Chris Pronger, and Donald Brashear.
- Scandal opportunities exist if one of Palin’s relatives marries, then divorces, Don Koharski or some other NHL referee — “zebragate”, anyone?
- In a case of one-upmanship for GOP prominence, Palin’s ascension will probably cause Condoleezza Rice to go after the NFL Commissioner job after all.
- That pesky Palin Curse.

Tantalizing possibilities. Of course, there is the matter of Gary Bettman, the current NHL Commissioner for Life. Despite the fervent hopes of some, he’s got his job until at least 2011. Since that timetable would give Palin barely a year before the calls of “oh-12″ come due, she’ll have to engineer some sort of coup. Sounds like a job for Karl Rove…