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

Once the NHL season is over and the 2008/09 Stanley Cup champions are crowned, it will be an interesting summer to say the least when the salary cap figure is released and all 30 teams try to figure out how to balance their budgets for the upcoming year.

Gary Bettman and the NHL do not like admitting this, but the main reason the salary cap has ballooned from $39 million in 2005 to this year's $56 million is that the Canadian dollar has been very strong, even sometimes surging past the U.S. dollar, all while Canadian rinks have consistently sold out. It is a gate-driven league, and the pittance they get from American television doesn't compare to the revenue generated by Canadian fans, whose 6 teams account for 1/3 of all league revenues.

Now that the loonie is around the more realistic 85 cent mark (and actually might continue to go down) while everyone holds their breath looking at the TSX numbers, the fans might have greater priorities than buying NHL tickets this year (although that doesn't excuse the empty seats in Detroit for their Stanley Cup championship banner-raising ceremony. C'mon, your team won the Cup). And what that will likely mean is that next year will be the first season the salary cap will go down to reflect these realities.

Many in Ottawa were upset that GM Bryan Murray didn't land free agent Brian Campbell in the off-season, but he might end up looking like a genius when he decided not to give him $7.14 million each season for eight years. What would Ottawa do if they did sign him, while trying to retain Alfredsson as a "Senator for life", and at the same time trying to spend less in salaries because the cap went down? It couldn't be done. And this is the risk involved signing these free agents to these lengthy contracts at inflated rates: What will teams do, when most of them are already pressed near the cap, to reduce their payroll next year? Especially when you have the additional task of re-signing some of your star players? Free agents dreaming of signing that huge, lengthy fat contract might be in for a rude awakening. Most of them will still be well paid, but teams will (should) wisen up and be more conservative in their contract offers.

On a side note, I voted today, and I hope you did to.