adembroski, so far I agree with your suggestion completely.
My only addition (I have tons of idea about progression, but that's not for this topic) is that player contracts should not be based entirely on ratings. I think part of the reason people dislike potential as it currently stands is that if their F rated player performs well on their team, that player will not demand realistic money based on their performance. In addition, other teams will not value that player based on their performance when discussing trades. Basically, for certain positions, there needs to be a hidden rating that reflects their statistical performance. That rating will influence the players value in contract and trade negotiations.
The other issue, using your example of Jake Plummer: You said that he would have been an A potential, but simply never reached that potential. This is another problem with the current system because players with A potential seemingly ALWAYS advance to some degree at the beginning of their careers. Then again, this I suppose would be more of a progression issue..