It's not cheating the system, it's just embarrassing that you can't afford to ice a roster that's above the cap floor without resorting to on-paper transactions. Western teams get to beat up on a roster that isn't cap competitive while eating up their revenue sharing to barely stay afloat while absolutely hemorrhaging money. It's a strange and unnecessary experiment. The strangeness is really punctuated when some delusional people actually think that this organization can afford a 15+ million offer sheet on top of all that. You actually have to pay those, you know?
I'm okay with not spending to the cap during a rebuild. We gutted the roster in attempts to tank to get McDavid and that went against the organization. We've taken measures to keep team competitive during this period while giving ourselves maximum roster flexibility. AZ hasn't put themselves into cap difficulty with free agency where agents can take advantage of them like potentially the agents for Mathews and Marner have done to Leafs. Those agents are going to continue to float likelihood of offer sheets and Leaf fans will continue to be defensive. I don't think it's the Coyotes I would be worried about. Not until we get clarity on the new owner and his desire to make headlines.
As for AZ. They are a middle of the pack team this year with a fairly strong record considering the decimation of injuries on their roster. AZ should be dead last but they aren't. In fact I think they are a playoff team with a healthier lineup. For all the shade you are throwing this is a pretty underrated team right now. Much better than I expected considering who is out.
And this thread wasn’t created by someone who posts on AZ board.
Leaf fans. Trust me when I say this but fans of other teams like to see your reactions when they float stuff like this out there. It may be other Coyote fans but it’s unlikely.
Personally I have a kid who’s a Leaf fan and I have a signed Marner jersey hanging in the man cave. I’m cheering for the Leafs in the playoffs.