I don't think the cap raises will be linear for role players to be honest.
Think the high-end elite players gets the bulk of that cap increase. Good teams rarely ever have high salaried role players on their team - I don't anticipate that to change.
Good points though. I think $4M is steep for someone who's never scored more than 36 points (will surpass that this year). He's on pace for career highs but he's a consistent bottom six guy. How many bottom six forwards are getting 4M+? Only like elite bottom six F.
It doesn’t have to be linear, but when there is a weak ufa class combined with a to of extra cash available.