Category: Sport Author : Joshua Lobdell Posted: August 1, 2009
Tags : Chris Pronger, Detroit Red Wings, Marian Hossa, Salary Cap
The NHL is truly the worst run Sports League in North America. They make up the rules, and then when clever GM’s figure out a way around the rules the get upset and want to re-change the rules so things go their way. Case in point the new NHL salary cap.
In most leagues a contract counts against the cap in equal installments over the life of the contract. For example if a NFL player signs a 10 million 5 year contract each season his contract counts 2 million dollars against the cap. In the NHL the money counts against the cap s an average per year of the entire contract. For example if a player signed a two year deal where he was paid 2 million in year one, and 3 million in year two his contract would count 2.5 million against the cap in each year.
Of course this system has now been manipulated by clever GM’s. They sign long term deals of 10 or more years that are front laoded, meaning the player is making all of his money in the first three years of the deal, and then the rest of the years are at a million dollars or less. This keeps their cap number very low, and the NHL apparently doesn’t like getting out smarted in this way.
The Red Wings signed two such deals like this before the season ended, and now the NHL is investigating the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Philadelphia Flyers for their deals with Marian Hossa and Chris Pronger. They have even gone so far as to call the Hossa deal a flat out cheat against the new salary cap rules.
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Aug 1, 2009
I don't understand your post. The NFL and the NHL work the same way – the contracts are amortized over the life of the contract evenly. Frontloaded contracts are a way of life in the NFL, especially in years passed when many teams didn't have the cap room to match such contracts.
I might disagree with you on the worst run league – the NBA is almost irrelevant. At least the product in the NHL is worthwhile.
Aug 1, 2009
Unfortunately you missed the point of what the NHL is upset about. The loophole is surrounding what happens if Hossa retires after, I think it is year 8. If he retires at the right time, the 'Hawks do nbot have to count is salary against the cap for the final 4 years of his contract even though they have benefitted with a lower cap hit for the first 8 years. It is the same with Pronger. The issue surrounds retirement, not necessarily the length of the deals.
Aug 1, 2009
Dude the example doesn't make any sense. The way it's explained shows that the system is exactly the same… a contract's cap hit is an average despite the actual salary paid to the players. This makes good sense- of course Hossa will be worth more over the next five years than the last 7 years of this contract. This works to the Hawks favor initially when he will be out playing his cap hit. At the end of the contract it works against them- he will be underplaying his cap hit. Thats the justification for the system. I think the problem is that if he retires the Hawks will be off the hook and the cap hit dissolves. My understanding is that in the NFL the cap hit would stay despite a retirement??? The NHL is trying to figure out if this was the intent- ie, they really signed an 8 year (or whatever year) contract but stretched it out for purposes of the cap hit. Please clarify because this doesn't make any sense as written.
Aug 1, 2009
This is one of the most poorly written pieces that I've ever read. Impossible to follow, without substantiation and riddled with spelling/grammatical errors. You give bloggers a very bad name.