Simple, the NFL made a partnership with the players some time ago with a mid 30 million dollar salary cap. Now it is nearly three times that. The NFL is the most successful sports entity in North America.
I consider myself pro-owner, but I'm not stupid either. Owners aren't always honest about their books, no question. However, I don't think anyone can deny that no matter how bad the numbers are fudged, the NHL is in trouble. Bettman, Goodenow, Owners, and Players are all equally culpable in this whole mess. Hopefully, this whole ugly mess gets resolved soon.
Oh, someone mentioned about how a 38 million dollar cap helps a team like Nashville? I would say that when Nashville gets a good player and he reaches UFA age, the higher spending teams will have to cut players to sign the UFA, or offer whatever cap space they have left. As more and more teams have limited cap space, the number of buyers is significantly reduced. This prevents an average player from getting a huge raise unless there are a large number of teams with a lot of cap space. Plus the cap would prevent salaries in the 7-10 million dollar range as they eat up far too much of the payroll to be a successful team. The 3rd and 4th liners wouldn't get hit or if they get hit it wouldn't be drastic, but the better players won't see the huge huge dollars they saw in the past. At least not until revenues are increased.
But I also agree with the player's stance that more revenue sharing needs to be implemented. The 30 owners should be interested in making a profit for all 30 teams. Not just pad the owners pockets in established markets should a cap be implemented. I don't think teams should have the same revenues unless they were generated by themselves but I do think that it is in the league's interest to give markets like Atlanta, Anaheim, and others a chance to succeed and build a stronger fan base. Non traditional hockey markets can become hockey markets, it just takes time. Building a stronger fan base is easier when a team is good. Building a strong team is far easier when the whole league is on a level playing field where everyone has similar money to play with and a limit to spend.
Finally, in the new agreement I hope they agree to independant team audits with full disclosure of team finances. This would hopefully restore a bit of trust between the players and owners. I believe the NFL has something similar with huge fines for any understatements of funds.
I'm probably ranting but I'd appreciate some comments. Constructive criticism welcome, but flaming please leave at the door.