Salary Cap: I hate the salary cap

[ACC1224]

I'm more of a Capitalist, you should be able to spend what you like.

(yes, I understand why the league has a cap. Doesn't mean I have to like it)

 

[Melrose Munch]

Because... it's already the worlds biggest sport?

Get out of here. That's not an excuse. NHL owners don't have the money to compete. That's why we have the cap.

People think that less teams is better but it's not. Scoring would go way down and most games would end 1-0 2-1 as your eliminating the 60 worst defenders and losing 10 worst starting goalies defense would be off the charts good. This league needs to expand if anything and I think the cap helps that happen, so IMO the cap is certainly a good thing in sports

If u want to see a league with no cap and what it looks like today look at mlb and how the Yankees do business. I hate being able to buy your championships, that takes no skill. And I would rather cheer for a team that didn't buy a championship.

This is partially not true. Scoring was higher with less teams. You have to make the nets bigger, but that is for another day.

And the MLB is way more popular than NHL. The cap does not make equipment cheaper or ice time cheaper.

 

[ArcticFox]

Get out of here. That's not an excuse. NHL owners don't have the money to compete. That's why we have the cap.

No I'm sorry: I really meant it!
Football (soccer) is so gargantuan and has for well over a century been engrained into alot of this globes cultures. It really has the easiest position of most sports which is why I was saying you can't use it as a measuring stick for what makes a sport huge.
As you say the owners don't have the money but the economic parity makes sure the big teams don't just create all star rosters to detriment of the entire league. While the O6 era worked long ago it's not really hailed as the leagues finest hours, it was basically a circle-jerk.

With that said there is no real parity, the cap is rising all the time and alot of teams opt to stay at the minimum. Then there's the simple fact that few teams managed to literally buy their way to a cup in the pre-cap days. I'm sure we can pinpoint a few cup wins on that but it wasn't norm.
All the cap does is save the leagues financial long-term viability it's not making contenders out of the Coyotes or Panthers and it sure as heck is not gifting cups to the Pens, Hawks, Bruins and Reds.

So it's most certainly not taking anything away from the Leafs, otherwise OP should explain why the Leafs with no cap for 33 years out of 47 years since the expansion did not manage to come even close to a cup. The answer for any sane fan is that it is the same answer today as during the worst Ballard seasons: poor management and a delusion that they're doing the right things to build a winning team. Cap or no cap the Leafs need an owner with immense hockey smarts and will to win rather than overinflated ambition.

 

[jeangauthier]

Yankees have spent $2 billion dollars since 2000 and have one WS to show for it........they spent another $480 million this past year and no guarantees they will make the play offs..............just because there is no cap does`t mean than it`s the answer to what ails this team...........you still have to have some smarts even though you can out spend the league.............their 90`s dynasty was built from within with a few FA pieces added to compliment..........

 

[missthenet]

as long as teams continue to pay ridiculous salaries to sub par players for long term teams will have cap problems. No problem paying guys 5, 6, 7 million a year but when you are paying these for 5 or more years you are really going to tie your hands once you need to start signing younger players. Every team has players that are paid to much for to long therefore very few block buster trades happen unless a bad contract player is traded for another bad contract. Habs have them, Leafs have them, Canucks have them and now Edmonton will be having the same problems.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Baseball's Luxury Tax seems very good for the Rich Teams.
Hockey's Hard Cap seems good for all teams.
What's the Cap like in Basketball ? In between ?

 

[Golden_Jet]

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

We have a winner imo. Couldn't agree more. I would rather see the max contract 10-15% of the cap and not 20%, that is what screws up the middle tier of guys,

 

[Al14]

I think 20 years from now, people will be talking about how Bettman ruined the NHL by insisting on the "NFL model" as opposed to capitalizing on hockey's international appeal and monetizing that market.

It's very possible that in the near future the KHL is considered the superior league.

How come NFL teams can RELEASE players where NHL teams can't? The NHL CBA is not completely like the NFL CBA! Nope! Underperforming atheletes can be RELEASED by an NFL team minimizing the impact of their salaries on the team.

NHL GUARANTEED CONTRACTS have to go in the next CBA. It's ridiculous that a player that doesn't perform well enough to earn the salary terms of the contract can't be FIRED!

Compliance buyouts weren't enough IMHO!

 

[Golden_Jet]

How come NFL teams can RELEASE players where NHL teams can't? The NHL CBA is not completely like the NFL CBA! Nope! Underperforming atheletes can be RELEASED by an NFL team minimizing the impact of their salaries on the team.

NHL GUARANTEED CONTRACTS have to go in the next CBA. It's ridiculous that a player that doesn't perform well enough to earn the salary terms of the contract can't be FIRED!

Compliance buyouts weren't enough IMHO!

The players would not sign the CBA if that happened. GM's need to stop the ridiculous deals. The NFL gives out 25 million a year in the guaranteed portion, and then dumps the players after the guaranteed portion is up.

 

[mcleex]

Yankees have spent $2 billion dollars since 2000 and have one WS to show for it........they spent another $480 million this past year and no guarantees they will make the play offs..............just because there is no cap does`t mean than it`s the answer to what ails this team...........you still have to have some smarts even though you can out spend the league.............their 90`s dynasty was built from within with a few FA pieces added to compliment..........

Would love it if the Leafs spent $2 billion for a cup

 

[TheOneArmedMan]

Why do Baseball, football, and basketball players make so much more than hockey players? Fans seem to be able to afford tickets to those games and yet they don't have a salary cap? Hockey is a much more physically demanding sport than those others. I know the arenas can't hold anywhere near the capacity of a football stadium but it shouldn't matter.

 

[htpwn]

Why do Baseball, football, and basketball players make so much more than hockey players? Fans seem to be able to afford tickets to those games and yet they don't have a salary cap? Hockey is a much more physically demanding sport than those others. I know the arenas can't hold anywhere near the capacity of a football stadium but it shouldn't matter.

American TV money.

Obviously as a Leaf fan, no salary cap would be better. Spending tens of millions won't ensure that you win the Cup every year but will almost guarantee the playoffs in a league where 16 of the 30 teams get it.

From an NHL perspective though, it does far more good than harm, allowing smaller markets to be competitive. Where I find fault with it is how difficult rebuilding a team has become. To tear down a team means half a decade, if not more, of rebuilding. Few free agents hit the market anymore and if they do, then they're asking far and beyond what a team can expect to pay. It's all good and fine to say "draft well, develop well" but when you get seven picks a year, presuming 2 or 3 turn out, your still looking at 4-5 years to field just 12 NHLers.

 

[-DeMo-]

Get out of here. That's not an excuse. NHL owners don't have the money to compete. That's why we have the cap.



This is partially not true. Scoring was higher with less teams. You have to make the nets bigger, but that is for another day.

And the MLB is way more popular than NHL. The cap does not make equipment cheaper or ice time cheaper.

Scoring was the highest it ever was in the 80's right after the league expanded. Because the difference between the best players and worst players in the league is greater then it is today, if you eliminate teams you shrink that distance even further evening things out and scoring goes down.

 

[Guy Boucher]

How come NFL teams can RELEASE players where NHL teams can't? The NHL CBA is not completely like the NFL CBA! Nope! Underperforming atheletes can be RELEASED by an NFL team minimizing the impact of their salaries on the team.

NHL GUARANTEED CONTRACTS have to go in the next CBA. It's ridiculous that a player that doesn't perform well enough to earn the salary terms of the contract can't be FIRED!

Compliance buyouts weren't enough IMHO!

That's not what I was referring to.

 

[HoweHullOrr]

In theory, the salary cap hurts big market teams like Toronto, the other Canadian teams, and the Rangets etc., because those are teams that could, and did, put a ton of money into their payroll.

That spending power isn't all that defined anymore. That's one of the reasons why the cap was put into place.

And who are we even kidding? When the cap wasn't in place, it's not as though the Leafs were a great team.

At some level, the cap has helped the Leafs readjust their focus back on youth development and pushing young players through the organization - that was something that was almost unheard of before the cap era in Toronto. As pathetic as it is to say, the Leafs were one of the worst placed organizations in terms of young prospects when the cap was introduced, and they are still reeling from that. Almost an entire generation of young talent has come through the league, and the Leafs were nowhere near any of it because they were awful at drafting / didn't value the draft.

Proof that if you don't take care of your organization, poor management can hurt you for a VERY long time. This team is still hurting from decisions that it made prior to the lockout being initially introduced

Exactly.

 

[Melrose Munch]

Scoring was the highest it ever was in the 80's right after the league expanded. Because the difference between the best players and worst players in the league is greater then it is today, if you eliminate teams you shrink that distance even further evening things out and scoring goes down.

I agree. So make the nets bigger rather then contraction.

 

[K19*]

Saying you hate the salary cap is like saying you hate drafting and player development (since you'd rather spend your way to success), and also that you hate parity.