I'm not so sure about that. A team in the playoff running without a realistic shot at the cup may decide to tank and just miss the playoffs if the draft is looking particularly strong. Imagine a team like Dallas picking up McDavid this year
- bezz44

Because the owners and the president and everyone lese whose paycheck is based on revenue will not allow that to happen. Teams do not pay any player salary in playoffs. That means all revenue is profit to the owners. That is the reason most teams are just happy to make the playoffs. Yes it means that teams like Dallas tat mist the playoffs in a tie breaker can win first overall and Buffalo can have absolute worst record get 14th pick. But it also will make better trades as teams will be willing to trade their first round picks more. I think it will make the draft a lot more interesting as well. If a team like Dallas wins first overall and they have Sequin and Spezza as 1 and 2 signed long term will they pick Mcdavid? or trade first overall for 2nd over all and other pieces and get a winger for Spezza or upgrade in D?

So is the floor, and no owner is going to want to spend more money on salaries if they aren't even breaking even. The problem with these Sun belt franchises are all the same. They've been put in places that never developed a hockey culture, have arenas that are either miles away from the actual city they represent (see Arizona, Florida), and/or rely on transient populations that come from hockey markets to sell tickets.

You can overcome a lot of those problems if you build a hockey culture in the areas where the teams play, but that's hard even at the best of times nowadays due to the economy. To play minor hockey as a kid requires a major investment, of money and of time. Both Florida and Arizona are in the middle of recovering from the crash of '08 and the foreclosure of thousands of homes.

I wouldn't say they're failed markets, but definitely decisions to take them off of life support should be made sooner than later.
- DariusKnight

Well put

I hesitate to interrupt this solid discussion on tanking, salary caps and sunbelt teams, but I do have a new blog for you—which includes none of these topics...

Head on over when you're ready:

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=63131

Because the owners and the president and everyone lese whose paycheck is based on revenue will not allow that to happen. Teams do not pay any player salary in playoffs. That means all revenue is profit to the owners. That is the reason most teams are just happy to make the playoffs. Yes it means that teams like Dallas tat mist the playoffs in a tie breaker can win first overall and Buffalo can have absolute worst record get 14th pick. But it also will make better trades as teams will be willing to trade their first round picks more. I think it will make the draft a lot more interesting as well. If a team like Dallas wins first overall and they have Sequin and Spezza as 1 and 2 signed long term will they pick Mcdavid? or trade first overall for 2nd over all and other pieces and get a winger for Spezza or upgrade in D?
- Linden_4_Capt

That may be so, but I just fail to see how teams like Buffalo and Edmonton will get better. Keep in mind that Edmonton is not TRYING to tank, and this will only increase the gap between bottom feeders and bubble/playoff teams