Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Idea for Easing Cap Transition

You're so smart Bill

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Idea for Easing Cap Transition
- bmeltzer

thank you for your guidance during these difficult times

thank you for your guidance during these difficult times
- watsonnostaw

I second that

Was Bryz the highest paid player in the league last year? Was that the most ever paid out to a player in a single year?


Edit : That was probably a stupid question as I'm sure the signing bonuses on those $100 mill contracts signed in the offseason exceed that.

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Idea for Easing Cap Transition
- bmeltzer

Snyder could launch ComcastXfinity1 to shoot down Bryz's spaceship

thanks for reminding us we have 3 years left of Briere's contract

This lock out has been about reining in the big spenders and the teams that have found loopholes .....I think the idea is great but can't see the NHL agreeing to any rule that helps those teams....

thanks for reminding us we have 3 years left of Briere's contract
- Buzzo

Not bad at a 4 million hit though!!!

I don't think Craig Leipold would be too happy about having a combined $24 million in cap space devoted to Parise and Suter for the first year of the new deal. It's an interesting idea though.

Miscellaneous thoughts here:

For example, once the AHL waiver option is eliminated, the New York Rangers will be compelled to take Wade Redden's salary back on their cap through the 2013-14 season without an amnesty clause for cap relief.

Which is honestly kind of stupid, because Redden has a flat salary by year and so the Rangers don't gain any cap savings from him having been in the NHL in '09-10 (other than the fact that his full $6.5 million doesn't count against the cap in any way). I'm honestly surprised the NHLPA bought into this, because it has the potential to take money out of their pockets that could be put toward players actually in the NHL - but then again, I'm surprised the NHL didn't demand that guys on 1-way deals outside the NHL count against the Players Share.

Kimmo Timonen is in the final season of the six-year contract he signed in the summer of 2007. The deal currently has a cap hit of $6.33 million but the actual salary he was due in 2012-13 (pre-lockout) was $3 million. So reduce his remaining cap hit accordingly to $3 million.

The problem with this (and other similar) examples is that Timonen has been paid (ignoring the '12-13 season) $30 million so far, but the Flyers have only incurred $25,333,333 against the cap. That's $4,666,667 they've saved that they haven't paid back - but would have if Timonen had been in the NHL in '12-13 and '13-14. I'm not necessarily saying the Flyers should have to incur that $4,666,667 on the cap in '13-14 and Timonen's $3 million (that can lead to other issues), but I also don't think that benefit should come for free (if someone wants to propose a luxury tax, this might be an area to put it in and have it get considered by the NHL).

Go through other contracts for other teams, you have similar issues where teams would have had to spend more money to hit the cap floor now get a free boost from a higher cap hit on a contract and now get to spend even less money than they would have otherwise had to spend.

The cap figure adjustments would make a team's cap figure much closer to matching its actual payroll (which is something the NHL wants). It would also making it easier to comply with the 50-50 split instead of being penalized for using the 57-43 upon which the temporary cap was set this past summer.

Note that this is a short-term fix to get from 57/43 to 50/50. Long-term, it doesn't fix the problem where high-revenue teams grow faster than low-revenue teams and thus drive more of the growth in the cap and the floor; eventually, they'll just shove it north to the point low-revenue teams can't afford to hit the floor again - and then what, decrease the split point for HRR again and have yet another lockout to have that fight?

I have no problem "penalizing" any team that rushed out to sign deals this summer (or even in the last year) under the 57/43 system, especially when everyone knew (or should have known) the next system was going to be lower than 57/43. I'm sensitive to how teams will be affected, and I'm OK with making accomodations to help the transition - but I'm not OK with handing out "get out of jail free" cards to do it.

thanks for reminding us we have 3 years left of Briere's contract
- Buzzo

among active players in the NHL Briere is ranked:
#4-Playoff Points
#7-Playoff Goals
#7-Playoff Goals/Game
#4-Playoff Powerplay Goals
#2-Playoff Game-winning Goals
#9-Playoff Assists

...just sayin...

I don't think Craig Leipold would be too happy about having a combined $24 million in cap space devoted to Parise and Suter for the first year of the new deal. It's an interesting idea though.
- CrisCrossCrease

As I understood it, Bill's way of calculating the caphit would just be to count average salary of the remaining years (and removing past years salary). So basically there would be no change to Zach's and Suter's caphits since the contracts are brand new.

thanks for reminding us we have 3 years left of Briere's contract
- Buzzo

Briere

The little man with the big cap hit!

Every small market team's thoughts on this problem: too bad.

The big markets (if they cared) could have leveraged a compromise here to make the cap compliance smoother/easier, but they didn't want anything to do with that solution: expanded revenue sharing.

It's possible the Flyers are going to end up getting walloped, but the reality is that there is no one to blame but management here. They've been fast and loose with the cap for a long time, and there is a price to walking that knife's edge potentially.

As I understood it, Bill's way of calculating the caphit would just be to count average salary of the remaining years (and removing past years salary). So basically there would be no change to Zach's and Suter's caphits since the contracts are brand new.
- PhillySteen

Yes, it would be remaining term on all contracts so newly signed contracts from the 2012 offseason (or ones signed last year that take effect this season) would carry the same cap hit. So Suter and Parise would remain unchanged.

As I understood it, Bill's way of calculating the caphit would just be to count average salary of the remaining years (and removing past years salary). So basically there would be no change to Zach's and Suter's caphits since the contracts are brand new.
- PhillySteen

Ah, I see. For some reason I thought it meant using a player's salary for a given year as their cap hit. That makes more sense.

among active players in the NHL Briere is ranked:
#4-Playoff Points
#7-Playoff Goals
#7-Playoff Goals/Game
#4-Playoff Powerplay Goals
#2-Playoff Game-winning Goals
#9-Playoff Assists

...just sayin...
- Dkos

Even if his play tails off a bit in the remaining years, it's not like he's Riley Cote out there.

Not bad at a 4 million hit though!!!
- landros 2

Which means the NHL rejects this idea

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Idea for Easing Cap Transition
- bmeltzer

It's an interesting idea, Bill, but anything that provides relief to previous loophole exploiters will probably get voted down by the teams who couldn't afford (or weren't willing) to front-load under the previous CBA.

The PA would have to introduce the idea and fight for it for it to have any chance at all of ending up as part of the final deal.

As for the Flyers, without any kind of transitional mechanism, they'll be forced to live with the dead cap space from buying out guys like Walker and Shelley who have no trade value, and really push to deal Briere in Summer 2013 when his real salary begins to decline.

I have full confidence in Holmgren being able to circumvent the cap in the next cba.

I have full confidence in Holmgren being able to circumvent the cap in the next cba.
- Just5

It probably won't take long for GM's to figure out a way again.

I have full confidence in Holmgren being able to circumvent the cap in the next cba.
- Just5

He'll be fired or resign by July 1, 2013

I like it. It would help with prongs too since there is no amnesty, right?

Even if his play tails off a bit in the remaining years, it's not like he's Riley Cote out there.
- BulliesPhan87

HE'S GOOD IN THE DRESSING ROOM