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#1
Post by jacksalmon on Dec 18, 2023 12:20:09 GMT -6
Rather than continue to go round and round about whether the Hawks will ever get better and how it might happen, I thought I would set out a proposal for solving the salary cap fiasco and get your minds working on this as how to improve the Hawks has been beat to death, in my opinion. I understand the reason for the salary cap in the NHL. I also know that it destroys teams that build up a good team and then cannot afford to pay its players after success is achieved. To me, that is not fair to fans or the players. So, here is a potential solution that I would like you all to comment upon just for my own sake in evaluating whether there is a solution to the mess that the salary cap creates for successful teams.
Successful teams are made up of players acquired by trade, or free agency; and also through the draft. My proposal is that the cap should be waived to allow increased salaries to those originally drafted by my hypothetical successful team. Here is what that would look like:
Imagine a team subject to a salary cap of $85 million. That team has 10 players who were acquired through the draft and 13 through trades and free agency. Let's say in the year they win the Cup, the drafted players had a total salary of $50 million and the others were paid $35 million. After winning the Cup, the salary cap goes up to $90 million. My idea is that the salaries of the players acquired through the draft can be increased such that the $90 million cap will be exceeded, but the total salaries paid to the non-drafted players can only be increased by $5 million, the difference between the $85 and $90 million caps. The $5 million will be available to pay more to the non-drafted players. The salaries paid to the individual drafted players can be increased to any level the team desires. The $90 million cap is met by adding the previous $50 million paid to the drafted players plus the $40 million to be paid to non-drafted players (the previous year's $35 million plus the extra $5 million allowed). The extra money paid to the drafted players, as determined by the team if merited, will not count toward the cap.
I believe that this solution allows the team to maintain some excellence by rewarding it for making good draft picks and having excellent development and coaching programs. The fans are rewarded by not losing the drafted players because the team is unable to pay them as merited because of the salary cap limitations. The team will not be able to pay more money to its trade/free agency acquisitions except to the extent of the $5 million increase in the cap, divided as merited. Obviously, the team is free not to retain any of its players or make offers that involve less money than previously paid. Those previously acquired by trade, or free agency, can stay and make the same, or slightly more money, in return for being able to have a chance for other Cups for whatever that is worth to such players; or they can simply go with another team, if they can get more money that motivates them more in deciding where to play the next year. The team is also able to acquire other players by trade, or free agency, before the next coming year, but the total paid to its trade acquisitions/free agents will not exceed the $40 million available to pay such players in the coming year.
Obviously, there may be issues I have not thought of, so I would appreciate any comments about such issues. I do not expect the NHL to adopt my proposal wholesale. However, I always like to think about how things should be rather than how they are. So, I put a little thought into the problems posed by the salary cap and this is my proposal about how to address them in a way that I think still serves the league's purposes in having a salary cap and the team's and fan's desire to maintain excellence, instead of having to shred the roster when excellence is achieved. I may have missed obvious problems with my solution, so that is why I have asked you all to comment as you wish.
Successful teams are made up of players acquired by trade, or free agency; and also through the draft. My proposal is that the cap should be waived to allow increased salaries to those originally drafted by my hypothetical successful team. Here is what that would look like:
Imagine a team subject to a salary cap of $85 million. That team has 10 players who were acquired through the draft and 13 through trades and free agency. Let's say in the year they win the Cup, the drafted players had a total salary of $50 million and the others were paid $35 million. After winning the Cup, the salary cap goes up to $90 million. My idea is that the salaries of the players acquired through the draft can be increased such that the $90 million cap will be exceeded, but the total salaries paid to the non-drafted players can only be increased by $5 million, the difference between the $85 and $90 million caps. The $5 million will be available to pay more to the non-drafted players. The salaries paid to the individual drafted players can be increased to any level the team desires. The $90 million cap is met by adding the previous $50 million paid to the drafted players plus the $40 million to be paid to non-drafted players (the previous year's $35 million plus the extra $5 million allowed). The extra money paid to the drafted players, as determined by the team if merited, will not count toward the cap.
I believe that this solution allows the team to maintain some excellence by rewarding it for making good draft picks and having excellent development and coaching programs. The fans are rewarded by not losing the drafted players because the team is unable to pay them as merited because of the salary cap limitations. The team will not be able to pay more money to its trade/free agency acquisitions except to the extent of the $5 million increase in the cap, divided as merited. Obviously, the team is free not to retain any of its players or make offers that involve less money than previously paid. Those previously acquired by trade, or free agency, can stay and make the same, or slightly more money, in return for being able to have a chance for other Cups for whatever that is worth to such players; or they can simply go with another team, if they can get more money that motivates them more in deciding where to play the next year. The team is also able to acquire other players by trade, or free agency, before the next coming year, but the total paid to its trade acquisitions/free agents will not exceed the $40 million available to pay such players in the coming year.
Obviously, there may be issues I have not thought of, so I would appreciate any comments about such issues. I do not expect the NHL to adopt my proposal wholesale. However, I always like to think about how things should be rather than how they are. So, I put a little thought into the problems posed by the salary cap and this is my proposal about how to address them in a way that I think still serves the league's purposes in having a salary cap and the team's and fan's desire to maintain excellence, instead of having to shred the roster when excellence is achieved. I may have missed obvious problems with my solution, so that is why I have asked you all to comment as you wish.