I read something interesting today – this year’s salary cap floor is over $6m higher than the first year of this CBA’s ceiling. That means hockey revenues have gone up (and the Canadian Dollar has helped) and the players have done well.
But has the NHL done well?
I would argue that the continued “plight” that clubs like Toronto and the New York Rangers find themselves in is not good for hockey. The situation in Chicago a year ago was also not good. You can’t have big market teams making massive profits, but UNABLE to put that money back into improving their club.
Food for though – if the Leafs fail to make the playoffs this season, they will have not made the playoffs during the current CBA. Was missing a whole season of hockey worth it for the game’s biggest market? Hardly.
Has the new CBA helped any of these “bubble” small market teams? Well, Atlanta has moved to Winnipeg. Phoenix is, well, Phoenix – still owned by the NHL and underwritten by the local government. The two teams in Florida are still lemons. Carolina is apparently not doing so well.
Wasn’t this CBA supposed to help these teams?
Is it fair for Leaf fans to watch Ovechkin play with the Caps knowing full well that his ENTIRE salary (plus a few million) comes from revenue sharing? Hardly.
Mediocrity rules.