NHL 2017 Off-Season Thread

[redsox4evur]

Oilers having presser in an hour and a half (most likely for McDavid and Draisaitl signings). My reaction:

[Psyblast]

I'm quite confused. What exactly are the Oilers supposed to do, NOT pay the 20-year old Hart Trophy winner who just scored 100 points in an offense-starved league while captaining the team to its first postseason appearance in over a decade???

[redsox4evur]

Quote: Originally Posted by Psyblast

I'm quite confused. What exactly are the Oilers supposed to do, NOT pay the 20-year old Hart Trophy winner who just scored 100 points in an offense-starved league while captaining the team to its first postseason appearance in over a decade???

Nah they should pay him, have no issue with the contract. They shouldn't have signed Kris Russell to 4x4. And knowing Chiarelli their 3rd/4th liners gunna be getting around $1-2M AAV in the next couple of years whenever they come up. They are going to be in cap hell for the next 5 years or so.

[Majingir]

It's not Oilers exactly who get heat, it's Mcdavid. He's worth it, and Oilers are paying him for what he will do, but everyone is just expecting him to take a cut like Crosby, or get that massive deal after winning like Toews and Kane.

But like I said, I think this sets up interesting talks for next CBA. This massive deal along with price being highest paid goalie in history, not that neither have earned it, but it could continue bad trend in future with teams being unable to keep their team together. NHL loves teams being equal, so they might like that, but from owners perspective, and pushback from Rogers whose big ratings draws are the ones who'll be taking the big cap hit, might think otherwise.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Majingir

It's not Oilers exactly who get heat, it's Mcdavid. He's worth it, and Oilers are paying him for what he will do, but everyone is just expecting him to take a cut like Crosby, or get that massive deal after winning like Toews and Kane. But like I said, I think this sets up interesting talks for next CBA. This massive deal along with price being highest paid goalie in history, not that neither have earned it, but it could continue bad trend in future with teams being unable to keep their team together. NHL loves teams being equal, so they might like that, but from owners perspective, and pushback from Rogers whose big ratings draws are the ones who'll be taking the big cap hit, might think otherwise.

I wonder if the NHL would consider putting in rules that state a cap hit is x-% less if it's a player that was drafted and developed by the team.
Using McDavid as an example, perhaps they get a 25% cut on his salary.

I doubt the NHL wants that as it would hurt parity and give rich hockey markets an advantage.
But we're getting close to team salaries from the late 90's when the Wings and Avs were spending $80M each.
And all that did was create one of the greatest rivalries in hockey - if not sports.

I was a huge proponent of the cap when it was introduced, but now I'm favouring baseball's system with each passing year.

[Majingir]

Parity is nice and all, but tv ratings are the important thing. That's where the money is. As much as I hate NBA being a superstar and big market driven league, they know how to market themselves. Would coyotes VS panthers finals be good for the NHL? It might draw some interest in those markets, but won't touch a leafs VS hawks cup finals in ratings.

[pietasterp]

Quote: Originally Posted by Majingir

Parity is nice and all, but tv ratings are the important thing. That's where the money is. As much as I hate NBA being a superstar and big market driven league, they know how to market themselves. Would coyotes VS panthers finals be good for the NHL? It might draw some interest in those markets, but won't touch a leafs VS hawks cup finals in ratings.

It might be a good thing, if they built up enough of a fanbase and relevant presence on the scene naturally. I mean, 15 years ago, I don't think anyone would have thought that a Cleveland-Golden State final would be a good thing for the NBA, but here we are...

The league has to make sure that any rising tide lifts all boats, though - keeping the Coyotes in permanent purgatory and oddly deciding that the Florida market could somehow support 2 largely non-descript teams has not worked out to make either a relevant market on a national/international level. The league just has to be run in a more thoughtful way with a longer view of things (I know, news flash, right?).

[Majingir]

Quote: Originally Posted by pietasterp

It might be a good thing, if they built up enough of a fanbase and relevant presence on the scene naturally. I mean, 15 years ago, I don't think anyone would have thought that a Cleveland-Golden State final would be a good thing for the NBA, but here we are... The league has to make sure that any rising tide lifts all boats, though - keeping the Coyotes in permanent purgatory and oddly deciding that the Florida market could somehow support 2 largely non-descript teams has not worked out to make either a relevant market on a national/international level. The league just has to be run in a more thoughtful way with a longer view of things (I know, news flash, right?).

To be fair, it's not Cleveland VS golden state that's drawing. It's Lebron VS Steph/Durant that draws.

The 04 lockout helped teams like Buffalo, Carolina among others out big time, but hurt one's like Toronto. NHL needs these big market teams at the top. I'm sure even in Arizona the ratings for a leafs VS hawks final would be huge. Marketing Matthews in a big way where fans there even if they don't care about the Leafs will still watch for Matthews.

That's how NBA is. I don't care about Cavs or Warriors, but I do care about Lebron, Steph and so on.