NHL should remove the salary cap

[Djp]

Do we really want to see teams suck for 10+ year straight? How’s that good for the sport or fans.

that doesn’t usually happen.

you get bad you can draft top 10 for 4 yrs, 1-3yr in top 5. You also need to get players in later rounds too.

you di well your core can be around for 10+ yrs.

thrn the teams need to be smart and hit on late 1st/ 2nd later on to try and replace the players as the team ages.
you need to be smart with cap management which means being good in not signing players to long contracts beyond 32 yrs old

the hardes part is drafting very good centers outside the top 20.

 

[dortt]

It absolutely did. Small market teams were forced to trade their impending UFA’s for relative peanuts to deep pocketed teams because they couldn’t afford to compete with the 10M+ salaries that would be thrown at them.

Those impending UFAs were also 31+ years old.

Today, you never se the insane contracts that were given out to the geezer UFAs that we saw pre cap. Signing those geezers also didn't exactly help teams much

 

[AM]

"Having no cap will increase the quality of teams significantly"

So, does more money for the players make them better or coach them better?

 

[Ducks DVM]

Those impending UFAs were also 31+ years old.

Today, you never se the insane contracts that were given out to the geezer UFAs that we saw pre cap. Signing those geezers also didn't exactly help teams much

UFA starter\d at 31, so the players were typically 29-30. Signing them didn’t help the Rangers much, but it was certainly beneficial to other teams. And certainly sucked for small market teams. Do you not think that Pittsburgh would have preferred to keep Jagr and all the other RFA’s they had to sell off?

 

[Ducks in a row]

They should never ever consider removing the salary cap.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Poor team fans after reading this :

 

[Machinehead]

I don't even argue this point on the main boards anymore.

People swallowed the propaganda so hard.

They also very obviously don't watch baseball or basketball and make comments that are verifiably false, that's fun.

It has not created parity. The owners don't "need" cost certainty, they're just pinching pennies until they scream (and so do we).

We're basically at the point where a roster costs most than the ceiling. I don't know how you can argue that's healthy, but here we are.

And just to be clear, I'm not advocating for removing it entirely, I'm advocating for not this shit.

 

[Claypool]

Has Tampa not kept it's core together now while using the current system?

Well they did circumvent the cap for the 2021 Cup run.

 

[Green]

hockey is probably the only real team sport left and it is because of the salary cap, other sports like baseball and basketball players stick around for a few years and leave just for the money, great players will just pile on a super team and get a cheap and meaningless championship like they do in the NBA, that being said I am probably in favor of no salary cap as I think it is artificial and richer teams shouldn't be punished on the account of the poorer teams, but just know the NHL will probably be nothing like it is now in terms of teams sticking together and I get the feeling winning a Stanley Cup will lose its meaning a bit as the NHL will turn into a business like the MLB.

 

[HofT]

Why bother? Your Leafs will win the same # of Cups as last time there was no cap...zero

Is the OP even a Leafs fan?

 

[dortt]

UFA starter\d at 31, so the players were typically 29-30. Signing them didn’t help the Rangers much, but it was certainly beneficial to other teams. And certainly sucked for small market teams. Do you not think that Pittsburgh would have preferred to keep Jagr and all the other RFA’s they had to sell off?

selling off those players was probably the correct moves to make. Even today, fan are calling to trade those types of players because they are not worth what they are paid.

The ones who really got hit hard in the old system was the RFAs. They had very little leverage as teams would only give up 5 firsts for the very top talent. There was no threat of an offer sheet for anyone but the very elite. If you were drafted by a team, they controlled you for more than 10 years

 

[Thorton02]

I lived through those ridiculously stacked teams and guys like Bobby Holik being paid $9 million to be a 3rd line center. The salary cap made the game better.

 

[BeastoftheEast85]

It’s not going to happen from a financial perspective especially with the recent expansion and long term trends in viewership/attendance. Removing/wreaking the cap would only really benefit the top few teams who could afford to pay higher salaries and still be profitable. While making 20-25 teams uncompetitive or unprofitable. Those teams would never vote for that and most owners would probably rather lockout for years if the NHLPA tried to push it. And the NHLPA wouldn’t get support from most of the player base in any case if the change to the cap only benefits the top players.

 

[beowulf]

Just no

 

[Mr Positive]

It forces teams to actively tank while season(s). It drives down the quality of the league's product.

Like, was there a point of Chicago, Columbus, San Jose, Anaheim or Arizona in entering a tram this year?

What's the point in them and for their fans this year?

Teams pre-cap tanked as well. The only thing the cap does is make it that rich teams tank once in a while too instead of spend their way out

The only talent argument is that the cap makes it that there are more great players who do not make it into the playoffs.

 

[Shrimper]

Do we really want to see teams suck for 10+ year straight? How’s that good for the sport or fans.

This isn't kindergarten

Get good

 

[Edenjung]

Teams pre-cap tanked as well. The only thing the cap does is make it that rich teams tank once in a while too instead of spend their way out

The only talent argument is that the cap makes it that there are more great players who do not make it into the playoffs.

Best example of that was the tank for Mario Lemieux.
If teams could do that today, there would be an outrage never seen before. Pittsburgh traded everything that was able to skate. And called up Vincent Tremblay for the last 4 regular season games which he lost with an avarage of 6 goals against. And that made it possible to outtank the devils for Lemieux.

And the Devils where pissed.

 

[Ace]

Poor team fans after reading this :

Buffalo’s owner is licking his chops about the idea of removing the cap…floor.

 

[Jerzey Devil]

Uh oh. The O6ers are getting mad about the cap again.

Quick, someone say how much better the league would be with 1/2 the teams.

 

[TGWL]

Hfboards should remove the salary cap post.

 

[Channelcat]

Leafs can't manage a cap.......so eliminate cap. Problem solved.

 

[TGWL]

What are you talking about? A team like Pittsburgh and Washington would free up nearly 20M with Malkin, Crosby, Ovechkin and Backstrom off the books, you're saying that wouldn't help them?

What you're talking about is teams who don't grow expensive talent like the NYR but even they would take a cap relief to add depth players, literally any team would to get more flexibility.

How would it incentive tanking moreso than now? Lol, you talk like teams don't want high end talent through the draft currently. Makes no sense.

So a team that gets awarded McDavid (yes, awarded) because they sucked that year, will get to have this best player off the books because they "Drated" the #1 ranked player in the world by having the #1 pick? Of course a team like Penguins having Crosby and Malkin off the books would help have helped them more, but how is that remotely fair? I understand the arguments for some savings on home drafted players that they hate losing, but exempt from the cap? Absolutely not.

 

[Civetty]

Nah, I think this is a really bad idea. The sport is not suited for it because there isn't a big enough pool of good players. I just feel like it'd get very one sided if someone with **** *** money decided to invest in it.

 

[Sky04]

So a team that gets awarded McDavid (yes, awarded) because they sucked that year, will get to have this best player off the books because they "Drated" the #1 ranked player in the world by having the #1 pick? Of course a team like Penguins having Crosby and Malkin off the books would help have helped them more, but how is that remotely fair? I understand the arguments for some savings on home drafted players that they hate losing, but exempt from the cap? Absolutely not.

This is like crying because 31 teams don't have a McDavid, every team in the league would benefit from being able to keep players they drafted longer. To make it fair across the board you could have a maximum cap limit to said drafted players ie. 8M exemption to players you drafted, GMs can use that space as they wish.

 

[Golden_Jet]

This is like crying because 31 teams don't have a McDavid, every team in the league would benefit from being able to keep players they drafted longer. To make it fair across the board you could have a maximum cap limit to said drafted players ie. 8M exemption to players you drafted, GMs can use that space as they wish.

So then not a 50/50 split

More like 60/40 or whatever the math works out to.

So no bad idea.
Players voted to not stay with teams as long, as UFA dropped from 31.