The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

With the NHL beginning the arbitration hearings, everything that was accomplished in terms of salary cap and a level playing field seems to have evaporated. Or maybe, the haves and the have-nots in the NHL will be more divided. Sort of like when George W. Bush decides an upper-class tax cut is needed. Yeah, that does wonders for medicare and infrastructure; Conrad Black gets $10,000 off his new helicopter and that's somehow good for the country.

But I digress.

When Daniel Briere was awarded $5 million a year by an arbitrator, you have to think what the heck divides the excellent and the elite athletes in the league. Much like Martin Havlat: Is he a good player? Yes. Is he a superstar? No. So why are they getting paid superstar wages?

Briere is an injury prone player (much like Havlat) who in my opinion really hasn't paid his dues and has only had one solid season, where he played 48 of 84 regular season games. He got a contract that increased his salary over 200%. What exactly does an arbitrator look at when they make a final decision?

Havlat's $6 million deal is worse. He now makes more than either Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley or Jason Spezza. Out of those four, Havlat is easily my last pick. He has the potential to be a superstar, sure, but until then there's no way the Chicago Blackhawks can justify his contract, other than they're desperate for a scorer.

The ripple effect is felt throughout the league, and what happens is you have two levels: guys making the league minimum up to about $2 million, and then guys making between $5 and $8 million. In the long run, teams will be comprised of rookie players top heavy with "star" players making huge contracts, and you'll have cases like Alexander Mogilny being sent to the minors so the team doesn't go over the cap.

I thought this new CBA would help things, and it did in some respects, but it looks like more problems have been created in the process.