It’s because our top 6 has three kids still on their ELCs in it. Which is very unusual, especially for a team trying to make the playoffs. All it would take is one good vet top 6 winger brought in and that cap space would be mostly gone.
To put into focus how inexpensive our top 6 is…….. Our 3rd line has a combined cap hit of 10.1mil. Thats more than all 4 (Quinn/Peterka/Benson/Tuch) of our top 6 wingers combined (7.4mil). Its even more than the total cap hit of all 6 players that have played top 6 winger so far (add in Krebs/Kulich and its up to 9.74mil cap hit).
We spent money on our bottom six. We spent money on our defense. It’s probably one of the more expensive d-corps. But we didn’t spend money on our top 6.
I don’t think it has anything to do with being cheap. I think it has everything to do with Adams obsession with his own guys. Everybody who is in the top six or played in it was either given big extensions by him, drafted by him or traded for by him.
Still carrying f***ing water for this loser in year 5.
Everyone in the world knew they needed to add to the top six. He counted on a 19 year old on an ELC instead. One of those ELC top six is already healthy scratched for being trash. The other one has already missed time due to injury. Cozens can’t be a 2C…been clear for a year now. No help. No one to step in. No depth. AND HE TRADED MITTELSTADT WHEN HE NEEDED A CONTRACT.
If you can honestly say risking a FIFTH f***ING SEASON on players who almost all regressed, and providing no depth to sustain a group perennially battling injuries…not to mention, because it’s pretty f***ing important, helping the goddamned powerplay with actual proven nhl talent you can count on…isn’t because of money? Despite him flat out saying repeatedly that they haven’t spent money for years because they need to save future cap FOR THESE PLAYERS WHO DONT WIN TOGETHER (a concept that is so hilariously stupid only the dumbest GM would try to sell it…especially while BUYING OUT A PLAYER AND ADDING FUTURE CAP HITS)…then it can ONLY BE UNPARALLELED INCOMPETENCE.
They set themselves up to be literally unable to spend to the cap for the next five years after this because they’ll be “paying” Skinner while actually saving a big chunk of ACTUAL MONEY…and they refused to spend the one big year of savings they actually get from it…WHILE NEEDING f***ING TOP SIX HELP
If you still somehow believe it isn’t about money…I don’t know what to tell you. Except it means that he has failed so spectacularly on evaluating talent and putting together an NHL roster that his keycard should stop working yesterday.
Let me make this clear. As long as Adams remains in position…it means that he is doing a good job to the man who makes that decision. There is nothing on the ice to justify it. There is nothing in the way contracts are set up in the future that justifies it. There is nothing that 31 other teams would accept in year 14 of a drought. But he remains here. Saving Pegula money. The only thing that matters until Pegula proves otherwise.
