A salary cap won't fill the empty seats in these cities - Three years ago, the Carolina Hurricanes were the flavour of the month when they reached the Stanley Cup final; last season, their attendance was pitiful.
A luxury tax with teeth would do a far better job of redistributing wealth between the large- and small-market teams. Bettman has dismissed the NHLPA's projection of savings through a luxury tax as "guesswork."
In a memo sent to the 30 teams yesterday, the NHL said it envisions a revenue-sharing plan that would be funded by a "portion of revenues generated in the Stanley Cup playoffs."
Talk about guesswork. How can you have any accurate projections of revenue from a two-month series with as few as 60 games and as many as 105?
Ticket prices - Bettman has implied on several occasions that cost-certainty is needed to ensure ticket prices are affordable. While the economy of the NHL is driven by gate receipts, it's naive to suggest ticket prices will drop as a result of a salary cap. The Canadiens have already made it clear ticket prices will not be reduced at the Bell Centre.
While the NHL wants to deprive the players of a free market, ticket prices will continue to be determined by what the market will bear. That's why you can get a game ticket, a program, a cap and a pizza for $40 in Buffalo and pay about $150 for the same product in Toronto.
If ticket prices do down, it won't be because there's a salary cap, but rather because market conditions dictate lower prices.