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Larry Brooks: NHL cap to be $52M. |
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Written by BringBackZezel
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Monday, 04 June 2007 |
Larry Brooks is legendary for his predictions, but this one seems to have a little merit.
He's reporting that he's been told the NHLPA will request a full 5% raise in the league salary cap for next year, which would bring the cap to $52M.
While he doesn't cite the specifics of the CBA that would allow for such an increase, it does seem feasible to us, so we're not going to question this Brooksism for now.
Instead we'll go into what are the results should such a raise take place?
1. So far, revenues have met expectations and because of that, the NHLPA hasn't had to give the owners the escrow money that they're required to set aside per the CBA. Should the cap go to $52M, it becomes more and more likely that that escrow will come into play, effectively giving all players a paycut of around 10% (the exact number isn't really known, only rumored).
2. The raise will help teams like Buffalo in their quest to keep their two headed UFA Captain crisis with both Chris Drury and Daniel Briere looking for a big payday. It'll also help teams like Detroit outbid everyone for Jean-Sebastien Giguere, or Toronto sign everyone in the NHL as their fans insist on every offseason.
3. The raise will hurt teams like the Blues, as it'll raise everyone asking price for players and keep more teams in the bidding.
In my opinion, if the salary cap is at $52M next year, the players escrow will not only come into play, but I think that it's entirely possible that the cap could even go DOWN for the year after.
If this is the case, there would be a massive selling frenzy in the NHL with teams dumping higher contracts for next to nothing. Yes, that means if the Blues don't get stupid this offseason (an offseason that's pretty thin on top-end talent) they have a great opportunity to really cash in next year, when their young talent is more prepared for a playoff run anyway.
Discuss this in our forums HERE
Source: http://www.nypost.com/seven/06032007/sports/rangers/fire_and_ice_rangers_larry_brooks.htm?page=2
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Last Updated ( Monday, 04 June 2007 )
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