Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

If the league locks out there will be a lot of fans who will be done with hockey for good. Which is pretty terrible because the league is putting a great product out there now.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

The small market teams are getting raped. To get the CBA more level, which they want to do, there will have to be a player salary rollback again and I'm not sure how easy that will be. I understand the floor. It made sense when the cap was 39, 44 or even $50mil. Now it's getting stupid. It's great for my team and it's great for the other big market teams or teams with young talent that needs to get paid. But FLA, PHX, NYI and teams like that that are either rebuilding or can't afford it it hurts them even more. Phoenix lost $40mil last year I think and the floor was in the low 40's what's it gonna do now when this team most likely doesn't make the playoffs this season?

To make sure there isn't a lockout, there is going to need to be a lot of creativity by both the NHL and NHLPA. I hope it doesn't happen. But as someone I was reading pointed out. Last time it was the owners vs the players. Now it will be large market owners vs small market owners.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

Yeah I agree with this 100%. The first lockout was good becasue the league was a mess. They came back with good rules changes and it seemed re-energized. Another lockout now though would kill all the momentum

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

Bieksa is not a number one d-man, but he's very good. When it comes to defensemen, you have to look at more than just their stats to judge their effectiveness, and Bieksa is no exception. He plays with a lot of grit, a lot of sandpaper, and he showed in the playoffs this year he can chip in offensively. He plays with a lot of passion, so much that he crosses the line, but I love seeing that in a hockey player. A great leader, I would've loved to see the Avs get a shot at him July 1.

Now Erhoff is a bit of a different story. I don't always see the same passion from him as I do from Bieksa, but he makes up for that in pure talent. IMO, he was the Canucks best d-man in the playoffs, delivering thundering hits, playing responsibly, and moving the puck well. He will make some money July 1, maybe more than he would command normally because of a combination of a)strong playoff outing, b) the cap floor, and c) the shallowness of the FA pool this season
Yep, for the three reasons quoted above.
This is truly a great year to be a FA

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

The league still is a mess. Yeah the game is better in a lot of ways but the reason they locked out was for financial reasons. Player salaries were getting out of control (they are higher now) and the gap between large market and small market was massive and it still is today. The Panthers need to spend I think $22mil more just to hit the floor.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

Won't the new TV deal help this at all?

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

Not enough from what I have read. If you break it down it's $6-7mil a year per team. The Coyotes would have lost $34mil instead of $40mil.

The things is the CBA didn't do anything that the NHL said it would. Control player salaries? Not quite. Level the playing field? Yes in terms of keeping the payrolls close but if you are playing in front of half empty buildings. Lower ticket prices? That was a lie like the "Coyotes aren't on life support" statement. Salaries don't dictate prices, the market does. Red Wings tickets prices never went down. They stayed the same from a 70mil payroll in 04 to a 39mil payroll in 06.

A year ago I didn't think it would happen but with 7 teams $10mil or more under the floor, and a handful closer to $15-20mil under that's a problem. Do we get rid of the floor? Maybe it's finally time to talk contraction.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

If Dale Tallon was trying to reach the floor, he would not have sent us Olesz's contract which if you use the Player Ability/salary ratio, is worse than Campbell's. Dale Tallon has an idea to make a team down there, and he is going to overpay to make it happen because he can.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

I think we're definitely headed for labor issues. I'm not sure how to fix the issues either.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

He gained $4mil in that deal still though. Currently he'll need to sign 10 players at just over $2mil each to hit just the floor.
Me neither.

Here's an interesting read:http://spectorshockey.net/wordpress/...ts-nhl-market/

I said back when this started in 04/05 a hard cap of $50mil would have been good. The larger markets would been ok at that time and the floor would have been in the 30's which would have been ok. Also funny that everyone was concerned what would happen if the cap went down. 6 years later we're almost $30mil higher.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

eliminate the cap floor. Boom. I'll be sending in my application for GM to the NHL later today

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

Then we truly lost the 04-05 season for nothing. Move PHX to Southern Ontario, FLA to QC. That will help eliminate a few weak teams right now.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

I think with Tallon there are signing bonuses or reward bonuses which count against the cap. Ergo, i think the way it works anyway, is that I sign you for a base salary of 1 million, but there is a potential of another 4 million if you hit contractual milestones, eg 30 goals, 30 assists, 80 GP, etc.

apparently if contracts are written that way, the cap hit includes the bonus, even if the bonuses are not hit and you don't have to pay the player. ie, if the player does not hit the milestones above, they get paid 1 mill, the team saves 4 mill, but the cap is 5 mill.

I think I heard this from Burkie on the radio a few days ago.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

Yeah bonuses are tricky and that sounds familiar. When you read the CBA you can tell lawyers put it together. Makes no sense.

Also FYI, Jagr is on his way to the US as we speak. His flight is into NYC.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

I know southern hockey is Bettman's hill to die on, but can the NHL disband teams for basically any reason? I'd write off or find northern homes for basically all the Sun Belt teams. I know those markets matter when it comes time to negotiate TV and marketing deals, but they're an albatross on the league.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

the hope is that Bettman can get his head out of his ass and move failing teams.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

maybe they don't move shitty teams, they just disband them and the league gets smaller??

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

It would make realignment easier.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

That's really the answer I think - smaller league size. It places less of a premium and demand on the best players which would lower salaries

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

The problem is the NHLPA. They aren't just going to say oh yeah you can eliminate our members jobs. I think we'd be better off even at 28 teams would be better but it won't happen.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

do you eliminate 2 or 4 teams then? and who?

Phoenix? Florida? Tampa (lost $20-25 mil last year)? Columbus (sorry schreiber)?

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

Phoenix and Florida would be the first 2 gone if it was up to me.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

Let's talk about how the Flyers are going to get Stamkos.

Boom. Roasted.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

They'll overpay for him in his 30s. Amirite?

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

:lol it's alright - I have to admit they'd be on the short list of teams to go. Hopefully this Carter trade improves things for them next year

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

I get rid of two. Move Phoenix or FLA to QC. That would be good for league revenue. Then you cut the one you didn't move and probably the Jackets. Tampa has shown in the past people can show up. But I can see the reason to getting rid of Tampa Bay since you wouldn't have anyone close to them with Atlanta and FLA leaving.

West:
Vancouver
SJ
LA
Anaheim
Dallas
Edmonton
Calgary
Winnipeg
St Louis
Minny
Colorado
Nashville
Chicago
Detroit

East:
Boston
Ott
QC
Mont
TO
Buf
NYI
NYR
NJD
Phil
Pitt
Car.
TBL
Wash

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

I'd hate to see the Jackets go.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

Fixed this for you :lol

<3 you!!!

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

I think they could work but if contraction was really on the table they would be on the list. With Atlanta now gone they'd be in the top 4 probably.

Re: NHL 2011/2012 Thread
 

The Jackets either need to re-work the lease deal with Nationwide or get an NBA team to move to Columbus and split it with them.

They also need to get better