NHL Salary Cap Rises
http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=325385
The CBA was extended and the Salary Cap has risen to about $59 million...according to Cap Geek the Wings now have roughly $4 Million free, with some UFA's and RFA's left to sign...This rise also allows Chicago to be over the cap by 100,000+ so they don't have to trade anyone immediately...If they bury Huet in the Minors, his $5 Million Salary will no longer count against the cap...Too bad because I was hoping Chicago was going to have some problems to deal with instead of being able to stay together.
would disintegrate. Still, paying an AHL goalie $5 million has to hurt everywhere else besides the cap.
They still won't repeat.
Uh...the Hawks still have problems. Even if they bury Huet, they will have to sign Niemi, Johnsson, Hjalmarsson, and Ladd. Five million isn't going to go that far. Also, that still leaves them two forwards short if they decided to tempt fate and only go with 12. For what its worth, most clubs sign 14 forwards and 7 defensemen to have depth in case of injuries. Trying to skate by with 12 and no cap room for call-ups is a recipe for disaster.
From what I've been reading, Chicago management has a list of 7 "untouchables" of the 14 players they've signed through next year.
Untouchables (cap hit):
Jonathan Toews 6.300
Patrick Kane 6.300
Duncan Keith 5.551
Marian Hossa 5.233
Patrick Sharp 3.900
Brent Seabrook 3.500
Dave Bolland 3.375
subtotal: 7 players at 34.159
Unmovables:
Brian Campbell 7.140
Cristobal Huet 2.800 (it’s really 5.625, but assuming they do a buyout or he’s claimed off waivers with a cap penalty, I’m averaging it to half)
subtotal: 2 players at 9.94
Unavoidables:
2009-2010 cap overage 4.000 (applied to 2010-2011)
subtotal: 0 players at 4.000
Total (realistic) cap hit: 9 players at 48.099
With a 59 million cap (per NHLPA vote), that leaves approximately 11 million to sign 12-14 players. That averages out to approx. 0.900/player (of course it won't be spread out like that). Again, this is all assuming Byfuglien, Versteeg, Kopecky, Brouwer, and Sopel are successfully traded.
Don't get me wrong, that's a great group of 7 players, but they'll be sacraficing a lot of depth to keep them... like two-thirds of their team. So yeah, I'd say they're in trouble.
Not sure why Bollie is untouchable, I mean, I like the guy, but I haven't seen many people saying that he won't be put up as trade bait along the line. I hope he stays, but I've never heard untouchable.
... this increase gives the Wings more room to sign the players they haven't locked in, yet.
With Nashville & Columbus already reshuffling their rosters, Chicago's inevitable implosion, and St. Louis on the verge of sinking significant cap space into Halek, Detroit has to be the divisional favorite going into the season.
Inevitable implosion? I'll take that bet.
To be clear, I don't mean "implosion" like individual players will suddenly suck. Toews, Kane, Hossa, and Sharp will still be awesome... But literally more than half the roster is going to change.
It's not like Chicago has a history of developing talent and they have a second wave of wunderkinds in the AHL just waiting to be called up. Their success is built upon NHL-ready high-end draft picks in consecutive years (Toews, Kane). WIthout those high draft picks, they aren't contenders.
And without depth, they aren't Cup winners. Kiss that depth goodbye.
But literally more than half the roster is going to change.
I'm not so certain about literally. If Huet is stashed in Rockford, Sopel, Steeger, and Buff are traded, a lot of the problem is gone.
It's not like Chicago has a history of developing talent and they have a second wave of wunderkinds in the AHL just waiting to be called up.
Under Bill Wirtz, yes, absolutely. I'm not sure how it'll be under Rocky, but I don't think it's quite right to say we don't have depth on the farm. We did have quite a few absymal years before '08 rolled around and picked up a number of high picks.
Their success is built upon NHL-ready high-end draft picks in consecutive years (Toews, Kane). WIthout those high draft picks, they aren't contenders.
What? Are either of those two, or Keith leaving? Niemi, ya know, the rookie goaltender that won the Cup, was a free agent signee. Bollie was a high pick, but that was back in 2004 and took some time to develop. Byfuglien was drafted in the eighth round. We definitely, at the core level depend on Toews, Kane, Hossa, and Keith, but are any of them leaving next year?
With Buff, Versteeg, Sopel, and Huet off the cap, the Hawks would still be 2-3 mil over the cap and would also lose Ladd to free agency. This means Sharp would probably be gone too. With 4 top 9 forwards gone, all of their depth is gone, and that's what won them the cup.
I see Ladd gone no matter what. His production was all over the place and it didn't seem like most were that enamored with him. I agree with what you're saying about Sharpie being an issue, but I don't think Bolland would be there if Sharp was not.
Also, not sure if many Wings fans know this, but most around the Chicago camp seem to think that Johnsson, Burish, Madden, and Boynton are definitely gone.
Then again, who really knows what will happen. Did anyone really see Halak getting traded to the Blues?
Obviously trades have to be made. For my intents and purposes, I'm assuming they unload Sharp, Byfuglien, Versteeg, Sopel, and dump Huet in the minors. If they can somehow unload Campbell's awful contract, they may be able to hold onto Byfuglien, but I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen. Here's how I see it shaking out:
Holdovers currently under contract for next season under these terms
Kane - 6.3 mil
Toews - 6.3 mil
Hossa - 5.275 mil
Keith - 5,538,462
Seabrook - 3.5 mil
Bolland - 3.375 mil
Brouwer - 1.025 mil
Kopecky - 1.2 mil
Campbell - 7,142,875
Huet cap hit - approx 2.8 mil
Backup goalie Corey Crawford - 0.8 mil
F Jake Dowell - 0.525 mil
D Ryan Stanton - 897,500
F Kyle Beach - 1,170,833
F Mathis Olimb - 0.6 mil
D Brian Connelly - 0.875 mil
F Marcus Kruger - 0.735 mil
That's 16 players and Huet's cap hit equaling $48,059,670. That leaves the remaining money to re-signing the following (salaries are obviously guesses with these):
Andrew Ladd - 1.5 mil
Antti Niemi - 3.0 mil
Niklas Hjalmarsson - 3.0 mil
Ben Eager - 1.25 mil
Colin Fraser - 0.75 mil
Jordan Hendry - 0.7 mil
Bryan Bickell - 0.7 mil
Those seven projected salaries total $ 10,900,000. Add that to the previous subtotal and it comes out to 23 players (14 F, 7 D, and 2 G) for $58,959,670. As a Hawks fan, these projections are probably more on the optimistic side, but I think they're at least somewhat reasonable.
Not one team in the NHL would be willing to accept a $7.1mil+ cap hit for Campbell for the next 5 years. No one wants that type of commitment on their books or to give the Hawks any help in strengthening their roster. Sometimes the best offense is good defense!
Also, don't forget the $4mil in A and B bonuses due to Toews and Kane that count against the 2010-2011 cap. So the real cap they have for next year is actually only $55mil.
Lastly, Niemi's agent is said to be looking for a contract of $4mil per.
Yup, Johnsson will definitely be gone. Boynton, Burish, and Madden could stay if the price is right but they're nothing more than 4th liners, maybe 3rd on bad team.
not sure if many Wings fans know this, but most around the Chicago camp seem to think that Johnsson, Burish, Madden, and Boynton are definitely gone.
Not sure if Chicago fans know this, but all these players are UFAs and Chicago is still signed to the cap without them.
My point regarding the high draft picks of Toews and Kane isn't that they're going to leave, only that they were "NHL-ready" when drafted. Thier success is due to an abundance of high draft picks in consecutive years, much like Pittsburgh.
Because NHL can draft players so young, it's rare to have professional-level players right out of the box and those types usually go with the first 15 picks, if that. Perennial contenders like New Jersey, San Jose, and Detroit aren't drafting in the top 15 every year. They have a history of developing players. Chicago does not. That's why I don't have much faith in the call-ups that will inevitably round out their roster.
Hopefully they change this in the game too so I don't always have to turn the Cap off in Dynasty Mode!