Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

I forgot about Hank, who would also get $100mil/year for 72 years

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Impossible to resist but then again I am a simpleton like that! :)

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Isles were out of it a few weeks ago. Winnipeg wouldn't be in the league with a different system. And there is a problem with the luxury tax thing is teams spend over to keep a team together but can't really afford it. Tampa would have spent big money to keep that 2004 team together and it would have killed them financially. NBA tv deal helps keep their crap teams alive. NHL will never have a deal like that and that's not Bettman that's just the reality of where our sport is in the general US sports landscape and I'm ok with that.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Somehow my post that I quotes got deleted and doesn't exist anymore on the last page :lol

Anyway, I was agreeing with those that like the cap as it is.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Old Rangers would have been like "Over 33 years old? 8 year deal."

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Regarding the cap, I understand why it is in place and I may gripe a bit because it costs us guys (for example - I seriously doubt the Hawks have the room to resign Darling who has earned his pay-day) who were solid players but in all seriousness the cap has not crated quite the parity people expected, going back to 2009 look at the cup winners:

09 - PIT
10 - CHI
11 - BOS
12 - LA
13 - CHI
14 - LA
15 - CHI
16 - PIT

In 8 years only 1 team besides Pittsburgh, Chicago or LA has won and that was BOS who lost the final in 13 to Chicago. I don't know if you credit those organizations front offices, the playoff experience the players have, dumb luck or whatever but the cap is not creating parity if the same 3 teams have won 7 of the past 8 cups.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

It's about financial stability too. I truly believe the cap was put in place partly to protect teams from themselves. And in terms of winning, you can't control who wins you just have to keep it a level playing field. For the most part it is in the NHL. The NBA? I'd bet pretty good money GS and CLE are back in the finals. I'm glad I'm not a fan of that league bc unless you are a fan of one of those teams...why watch?

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

i disagree.
parity is seen in the regular season, over time.
parity is not defined through varying championships
the draft and the cap provide that as it takes teams 5-7 years to fully revamp.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Shouldn't this argument make you want the current cap to stay the same? Chicago has won 3 cups and were probably a goal away from winning it in 2014 as well.

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I guess this all depends on how you define "parity." I would also look at what teams have been making the playoffs. Teams like the Caps and Rags have had legit shots at the Cup. The Blue Jackets and Wild this year look poised to make a run. My question would be, despite the result of 3 teams winning 7 or the last 8 Cups, do more teams have a legit shot?

Another note about the Hainsey trade, the Hurricanes also retained half of his salary. That might account for the 2nd round pick being thrown in, ensuring the Pens don't run into Cap trouble and have to unload somebody.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Agreed. You look at the standings on any given night, and it's hard to call anything. In just about any given game, it's tough to predict who will win. That's awesome to me. Agree also about the 5-7 year window. Toronto's starting to see it, Edmonton's starting to see it, Columbus is starting to see it. Meanwhile, teams like Boston and LA are starting to see the other side of it. All while still staying competitive. A lot of fun.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

they have the option of putting Daley and/or Maata on LTIR as well, which would free up significant cap space

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True, but they won't do that if they expect them to come back, right? Daley's due back in 6 weeks, so that should be right before the playoffs. I'm not as sure about Maata, though.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

which i don't get

like, if your options are:

1. Maata or Daley missing a few reg. season games, even though they are healthy, in order to complete another trade, or...

2. unable to complete a trade because of cap issues with Daley and Maata on the active roster

option 1 should be chosen every single time...these reg season games are just tune-ups for the Pens anyway

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

True, but we all know that for good teams the regular season is almost a tune up for the playoffs, getting lines clicking, drawing up plays, developing new players, getting new players integrated into the system and getting the highest seed you can.

I am not necessarily against a cap, I just think it should be higher. On an average night a team suits up 12 forewords, 6 or 7 defensemen and 2 goalies - that is 20 or 21 guys so if you divide it up against the hard cap each guy get roughly 3 mil a year which is an absurdly low salary for some of the better players in the league. It also handicaps teams that have a worldwide following, think about say NYR/PIT/CHI - you can go anywhere on the planet and probably see someone wearing a shirt or hat for one of these teams so when it comes to merchandise, tickets, TV contracts and stuff those teams are making the NHL boatloads of money - hell if you told me 20 years ago the Hawks would be more popular and a tougher ticket to get than the Bulls I'd have laughed into my beer but it happened. You can see the same thing happening in places like Minnesota, Edmonton or St. Louis - their teams are sparking an interest in the common sports fan that has been simply not there all along or has waned over the years - this is a good thing for the NHL to have teams go through a rebirth so to speak! Then their is the flip side, do you really think many people outside of TX are buying Dallas Stars stuff or people outside of the Carolina's buying Hurricanes gear - no, because no one really cares about them too much so they are not making much money for the NHL. Lastly, I also think in addition to the cap they should institute a salary FLOOR where if a team does not spend X mil on salaries they get fined or lose a draft pick - some sort of penalty that makes other teams to throw money around on putting a good product on the ice.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

bolded has absolutely nothing to do with parity.

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Agreed but my point was just that the parity the cap was predicted to create never really panned out as far as winning championships. Sure some teams do a better job dealing with the cap and staying competitive but then there is teams like AZ/CAR/CO who are just a joke - maybe they steal a few games in the regular season but they are not coming anywhere near a playoff berth let alone the possibility of a deep run to encourage the fan base and boost ticket/merchandise sales.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Sorry to dump on CO Matty but I think even you would admit they are pretty bad and not exactly moving in the right direction.

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at the end of the day, parity = talent/competitiveness/yadda yadda. that most certainly exists in the NHL regular season.

I 100% disagree in believing the NHL wanted that to create that for solely championships. the ratings and general fan interest would be erratic and unfavorable.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

No need to apologize. I've been saying in here for months (including my post about parity) how bad they are. But that's not the league's fault. That's poor drafting and signing decisions.

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ding ding. at the end of the day, the success of the team is only as good as it's front office.
you all had pieces and upside

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They needed everyone to be on a level playing field in terms of the cap. Like I said before, 2004 Wings had 77mil to payroll and the Preds had $23mil. And if you put some sort of luxury tax in, teams would milk it as much as possible and the difference would be there again. Not ad large but still there and the NHL can't afford that like MLB or NBA can.


Right on. A cap can't help bad drafting. There is a lot of stuff that goes into it.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

I don't think that really defines parity though.

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Correct. Parity is about leveling the playing field so that all teams have at least a fair shot at the playoffs and the Cup. Once you're in the playoffs, anything can happen. Look at the Kings. It's about tight regular season races to get us excited for the playoffs.

And that's never been more apparent than right now, when there's only like, what, 3-4 teams with no chance of making the playoffs? That's awesome. (and yeah, yeah, I know that in reality that number of "no chancers" is probably a little higher, but you never know!)

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

The Isles are in the playoffs now. No way I thought that a couple weeks ago.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Thanks, did not want you to think I was picking on you - I was just using CO as an example of a franchise that is doing virtually nothing to better themselves.

That is one of my gripes, teams that come nowhere near the cap, they use revenue to line the owners pockets rather than pay for better players. NHL needs to address that somehow, maybe a fine or loss of a draft choice if you don't spend X mil on salaries.

Agreed, but to be honest a lot of it literally the tight regular season where the teams who have a legit chance are jockeying for playoff positions. Each and every one of us in here can post in October on who we think will make the playoffs and with a few exceptions we would likely all pick the same group of teams. Yeah, there will be the occasional Cinderella team (hell, look at last season, when it started I was certain PIT would be in the mix but by Jan 1st they looked awful but they rebounded) that will make it over some team most of us thought would get in but for the most part the people in this thread can evaluate teams well enough to tell if they are built for a playoff season or a deep run.

I doubt they will make it, they just look a little better on paper because the past 4 games they eeked out a win against the Rags, split a pair with NJ and knocked off Detroit. In those 4 games alone Ladd collected a quarter of his season's goal total so that helped a bit. He has been underperforming. I do not see them as sellers just yet but if they did I would not blame them because even if they do make the playoffs they are going to get bounced PDQ.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

The problem is they have made some good decisions, but for every good decision, they make two bad ones. The ROR Trade? Good one (getting Zadorov). But then, couple that with letting Stastny walk and signing Iginla to that ridiculous deal.

Sakic isn't the worst GM in the world, and many of the problems with the current team are ones he inherited. But he definitely has some things to fix that were his doing. I applaud him, however, for not going for a quick fix. He's made some quiet in-season moves that were good ones (I'm thinking the waiver pick-ups of Barberio and Nieto, the latter has looked great). As for the big moves, he's holding his ground and waiting for the right deal. He knows this season is a wash, so there's no need to make a hurried deadline move. If the right offer doesn't come along, no big deal, just wait for the draft.

In all, this bottoming out, as dramatic as it is, was needed for a full re-calibration.

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Trust me I get it entirely - I was a Whalers fan for 20 years and they constantly disappointed me (Ron Francis, Ulf Sameulson and Grant Jennings for John Cullen, Zarley Zalapski and Jeff Parker anyone lol) and being a Hawks fan from 1997 through say 2007 was not exactly a great ride either, same reasons too - bad signings, 1 step FWD and 2 back, etc, etc. I know it sounds dumb since the Hawks have 3 of the past 8 cups but I do know exactly how you feel because I have been there! :)

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Lol hey NHL, welcome to the Jonathan Toews show.

Jesus Lord have mercy.

https://media.giphy.com/media/BYhoMtJMQsYVy/giphy.gif

Re: The NHL Thread (lolcaps)
 

Yeah, early on it was all Hawks, when Kane netted that to bring it to 3-1 I thought it would be a easy win. Few defensive breakdowns and a blunder by Crawford and we are tied at 3 after the first period. I need another beer!

and Happy Birthday Schmaltz!