Salary Cap: I hate the salary cap

[richardn]

I don't know about any one else but I hate the salary cap. It's taken so much away from the game. It has pretty much eliminated the mid tier players in the league. There just isn't enough cap space to build a deep well balanced team. The NHL is losing out on a lot of mid tier players going to Europe to play that would normally be good enough to be decent NHL players.

It has also causes a number of other problems. Many prospects are now rushed to step up and play big roles right away to fill the gap of the departing mid tier players who are being phased out due to the cap. It has also been part of the cause of losing many good Russian players to the KHL and it's not just Russian players it's North American players as well

It doesn't stop there now as well. It had drastically effected the excitement on the trade front and free agent frenzy. Trading and UFA just isn't what it used to be.

I find my self each year having less and less interest in NHL hockey and have been following more and more junior hockey. That said I will never ever stop being a Leafs fan it's just more of my dwindling interest in the NHL right now.

Junior hockey is a more exciting brand of hockey right now in my oppinion over the NHL. It's higher scoring and more of an offensive and aggressive style of play.

I miss the old NHL.

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[HamiltonNHL]

Without the Salary Cap there would be no NHL.
They'd still be on strike.

 

[Swervin81]

The league has never had anymore parity than it does right now, which is good for the game. Plus, there was no way getting out of that 2004-2005 year long lockout without the cap.

The salary cap sucking (in your opinion, not mine) is still not a valid excuse. Other big market teams adjusted, why can't the Leafs?

 

[Jumptheshark]

I don't know about any one else but I hate the salary cap. It's taken so much away from the game. It has pretty much eliminated the mid tier players in the league. There just isn't enough cap space to build a deep well balanced team. The NHL is losing out on a lot of mid tier players going to Europe to play that would normally be good enough to be decent NHL players.

It has also causes a number of other problems. Many prospects are now rushed to step up and play big roles right away to fill the gap of the departing mid tier players who are being phased out due to the cap. It has also been part of the cause of losing many good Russian players to the KHL and it's not just Russian players it's North American players as well

It doesn't stop there now as well. It had drastically effected the excitement on the trade front and free agent frenzy. Trading and UFA just isn't what it used to be.

I find my self each year having less and less interest in NHL hockey and have been following more and more junior hockey. That said I will never ever stop being a Leafs fan it's just more of my dwindling interest in the NHL right now.

Junior hockey is a more exciting brand of hockey right now in my oppinion over the NHL. It's higher scoring and more of an offensive and aggressive style of play.

I miss the old NHL.

Without the Salary Cap there would be no NHL.
They'd still be on strike.

without the cap--about ten teams would be gone

AS an oiler fan, I will add one thing and hopefully you guys will understand. Leafs did not win when there was not cap--how do you know it would change now?

 

[hotpaws]

Basically what you're saying is since Leaf Mang is too incompetent to field a quality team with a cap you want it gone .

The league isn't losing mid tier players to Europe , it's just lost a few Russians to free spending billionaires .

 

[Deebo]

I don't like that the tickets I buy are so much more expensive than other teams tickets and the money we pump into the league pays for lower revenue clubs to beat us.

I'm not complaining about the price, I only buy tickets when I can afford them. I just wish the revenue the Leafs generate from ticket sales could be re-invested in the club rather than pay the competition's bills.

 

[richardn]

The league has never had anymore parity than it does right now, which is good for the game. Plus, there was no way getting out of that 2004-2005 year long lockout without the cap.

The salary cap sucking (in your opinion, not mine) is still not a valid excuse. Other big market teams adjusted, why can't the Leafs?

Parity is one thing but the NHL is losing out on more and more players. Seems like you have your star players and your bottom end guys. Then the mid tier players are recycled every few years and defect to Europe being replaced by cheaper younger players. The European leagues have a lot of players that are better then half the current NHL players. The NHL is supposed to have all the best players in the world and sadly it doesn't.

 

[richardn]

It's not a Leafs thing for me it's the league as a whole.

 

[hotpaws]

Parity is one thing but the NHL is losing out on more and more players. Seems like you have your star players and your bottom end guys. Then the mid tier players are recycled every few years and defect to Europe being replaced by cheaper younger players. The European leagues have a lot of players that are better then half the current NHL players. The NHL is supposed to have all the best players in the world and sadly it doesn't.

Who are these mid tier players you keep talking about ?

 

[Grant]

Not sure if you noticed but the Russian team didn't do very well at the Olympics Not sure if we are missing out any many russians.

 

[exporta]

The league as a whole has never been so profitable. It sucks as a Leafs fan, because we used to be able to buy our way to a playoff birth. The majority will differ though, teams that couldn't compete before can now keep their players.

Trading has become harder, but you'll see that change as the cap increases. I have no problem with the salary cap, aside from the fact that it takes away the Leafs biggest advantage to building a team.

 

[Tdot Soldier]

Parity is the worst thing to happen to Pro sports.

 

[Grant]

Parity is the worst thing to happen to Pro sports.

Studies show attendance to games rise significantly when the outcome of the game is uncertain (parity). Increase attendance allows fuller arenas and higher ticket prices to those arenas that are already full. For pro sports, parity is definitely a good thing.

 

[richardn]

Who are these mid tier players you keep talking about ?

Off the top of my head I can think of 3 former leafs. Antropov, ponikatovsky and Kaberle. All players who are just to costly to keep for most teams but arguably better then a lot of players in the NHL currently

 

[likeabosski]

without the cap--about ten teams would be gone

AS an oiler fan, I will add one thing and hopefully you guys will understand. Leafs did not win when there was not cap--how do you know it would change now?

The Leafs have lead the league in generated revenue for a very long time (Toronto surpassed Montreal as the biggest Canadian economy. At one point Montreal was the biggest city in Canada. So I'd imagine that back in the day the Montreal Canadiens were a bigger financial force than the Leafs). Yet the Leafs have never leveraged their resources in an attempt to contend for the cup. Former owner Harold Ballard was a notorious cheapskate. Then the team went to Stavro (owner of Knob Hill Farms). Another big cheap skate. In the 90s the Leafs were only 5th in payroll despite earning more revenue than anyone else. And in 1996 Stavro vetoed signing Gretzky as an unrestricted free agent because he wanted to cut payroll by $6 million and he saw no point in signing Gretzky because the Maple Leaf Gardens (and later the Air Canada Centre) was always a full house anyway. Then the ****ing teachers pension plan owned the team. And all they really care about is making money, not the Stanley Cup.

The Detroit Red Wings owner on the other hand pumped his own money into the the team all throughout Detroit's economic collapse. Because he made his money through other business ventures, hockey to him was more of a passion than a business venture. To him, it's about the love of the game. It has never been like that for Leafs management.

 

[hotpaws]

Off the top of my head I can think of 3 former leafs. Antropov, ponikatovsky and Kaberle. All players who are just to costly to keep for most teams but arguably better then a lot of players in the NHL currently

All 3 were at the tale end of their careers and all 3 were easily affordable if some team wanted them .

We may have lost the odd player but outside of the K that will grossly overpay to try to keep their guys at home the NHL still pays more even with the cap .

 

[richardn]

All 3 were at the tale end of their careers and all 3 were easily affordable if some team wanted them .

We may have lost the odd player but outside of the K that will grossly overpay to try to keep their guys at home the NHL still pays more even with the cap .

Then you look at situations like Mason Raymond who had to settle for a pto. Teams just don't have the money to pay guys like Mason Raymond. You got to think he was walking along that fence and considering going to Europe. Grabovsky almost didn't get a contract last year. It's only going to get worse as the KHL gets stronger as a league. Players get closer to there 30's and are either having to take cheap contracts or go else where.

 

[GordieHoweHatTrick]

Who are these mid tier players you keep talking about ?

Kyle Wellwood and Wojtek Wolski.

Also, Mason Raymond was a casualty of the cap going down, not the cap per se

 

[Steve]

If there wasn't a cap, salaries would be out of control. If salaries were out of control, you wouldn't be able to afford tickets....

 

[HoweHullOrr]

The Leafs organization just has to do a better job. Blaming the cap is just an excuse.

 

[Beleafer19]

without the cap--about ten teams would be gone

AS an oiler fan, I will add one thing and hopefully you guys will understand. Leafs did not win when there was not cap--how do you know it would change now?

Soft Cap would have been the better solution. Teams like Toronto and Montreal should be able to benefit from being big hockey markets. We can afford to pay luxury taxes like the NBA does and since we have such passionate fans we should be able to buy or trade freely without worrying about a cap since we can afford it and our markets deserve it.

 

[Mansfield]

don't hate the salary cap, hate that general managers sign stupid contracts and then blame the cap for their inability to make roster moves

 

[hotpaws]

Then you look at situations like Mason Raymond who had to settle for a pto. Teams just don't have the money to pay guys like Mason Raymond. You got to think he was walking along that fence and considering going to Europe. Grabovsky almost didn't get a contract last year. It's only going to get worse as the KHL gets stronger as a league. Players get closer to there 30's and are either having to take cheap contracts or go else where.

The KHL isn't getting any stronger nor are they a league that is making money.The Oligarchs are funding the league and absorbing the losses.

Raymond wasn't going to make any more over there than he did here and neither will any other fringe/mediocre player.I'm sure the K will pony up cash for our top players but none of them have shown any interest in playing over there .

Money aside , how many non Russian even want to play in that league ?

 

[Pi]

I hate blaming it on everything but the performance of the team.

It takes a special kind of suck to miss the playoffs 8 out of 9 times inn a league where more than 50% of the teams make it every year.

 

[share]

without the cap--about ten teams would be gone

AS an oiler fan, I will add one thing and hopefully you guys will understand. Leafs did not win when there was not cap--how do you know it would change now?

My opinion exactly.