NHL looking at a 56.3M Salary Cap Next season?

[YoungGuns1340 1]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03302008/sport...4233.htm?page=1

Thus the PA estimates that the cap will be approximately $56.3M - give or take in concert with the final HRR number that will be determined by playoff revenues - next season, an increase of $6M from this year. It means clubs will be able to maintain summer rosters of up to nearly $62M in payroll before personnel decisions come due at the end of the training camp.

It also means the floor next season will be $40M, or slightly above that. It seems like expensive flooring, but not so much, actually. For of all 30 NHL teams, only Columbus (barely), Nashville and Phoenix will have invested less in payroll this season.

The Wings will have a hefty chunk of cap space next season...

[Heaton 1]

Gotta re-sign Filppula, Howard and Stuart then save enough to re-sign Zetterberg and Franzen. The Wings could possibly add another decent player but we don't have that much cap space to have too much fun with.

[Yemack 1]

I have never heard any indications that NHL is doing exceptionally well this season. IMO that figure seems little unlikely.. unless the auditor hired by PA has digged up few millions here and there. Could be a PR announcement from NHLPA.

If it goes to 56 then we might be able to sign both Stuart AND Hossa. or accomodate both Stuart and Bruunstrom very comfortably. (plus maybe Jokinen)

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Gotta re-sign Filppula, Howard and Stuart then save enough to re-sign Zetterberg and Franzen. The Wings could possibly add another decent player but we don't have that much cap space to have too much fun with.

Zetterberg and Franzens contracts doent kick in til the following season. The cap will likely have increased yet again by then.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

I have never heard any indications that NHL is doing exceptionally well this season. IMO that figure seems little unlikely.. unless the auditor hired by PA has digged up few millions here and there. Could be a PR announcement from NHLPA.

If it goes to 56 then we might be able to sign both Stuart AND Hossa. or accomodate both Stuart and Bruunstrom very comfortably. (plus maybe Jokinen)

Before the midway point of the season, it was announced that their conservative estimate was 54M. Apparently theyre continually improving.

[Heaton 1]

Zetterberg and Franzens contracts doent kick in til the following season. The cap will likely have increased yet again by then.

Regardless, you still have to not overextend yourself next year when you know you're taking on at least 8m the following year.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Regardless, you still have to not overextend yourself next year when you know you're taking on at least 8m the following year.

Which is why I said theyll have a ton of cap space next season. Not a ton of bloated contracts. I cant see them adding anyone susbtantial as it stands. At most a 4M ish forward or Dman.

[Kp-Wings 3]

Gotta re-sign Filppula, Howard and Stuart then save enough to re-sign Zetterberg and Franzen. The Wings could possibly add another decent player but we don't have that much cap space to have too much fun with.

Filppula should command no less than 2 million, while Howard shouldn't ask for more than 1-1.5 (he may be the goalie of the future, but less than 10 NHL games of expierence does not yet warrant him a big contract). Stuart is the biggest in that list, and will probably ask for something around 3-3.5 million.

Assuming this is what happens, how much does cap space does this leave the Wings? I doubt they re-sign Zetterberg and Franzen right away, and will probably wait until near the end of next season to do so, like they did with Datsyuk and Cleary. If the Wings do take that route, it should leave them with at least some cap space (don't know how much, as I don't have a salary chart right in front of me) to sign a decent player.

Edited March 31, 2008 by Kp-Wings

[Booster313 138]

I could see the Wings resigning Stuart, and trying to land Brunnstrom, as for FA's Sundin if he decides to leave would be an option...Fedorov for CHEAP is another possibility. I'm almost positive Chelios will return. We'll resign the RFA's and I know I may be in the minority but depending on how the playoffs pan out I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that Hasek comes back for one more season.

[eva unit zero 271]

Filppula should command no more than 2 million, while Howard shouldn't ask for more than 1-1.5 (he may be the goalie of the future, but less than 10 NHL games of expierence does not yet warrant him a big contract). Stuart is the biggest in that list, and will probably ask for something around 3-3.5 million.

Fixed.

[Barrie 900]

Well the higher the cap the better for us. I hope it continues to climb.

[Guest Hank=FutureCaptain]

Well the higher the cap the better for us. I hope it continues to climb.

Agreed.

[Majsheppard 203]

You guys don't seem to see that it isn't so simple and straight foward. The benifit isn't really all that concrete, especally next year.

Guys like Franzen and Zetterberg are going to be free agents, not next year but the year after. Meaning they are not going to take up any more or less cap space next year, but the year after they will take up whatever we sign them to.

This means that if the cap goes way up, they have recourse to ask for more money. The same piece of the pie they deserved before is now more, and therefore that cap space virtually dissapears. True next year as of right now, assuming they raise the cap that much, means we will have 17 million bucks to spend, but Johan will prob get a million the following year more, and Zetter 5 million at least more the following year. That could be upwards of 7 million more on just the pair! That money can go fast, if Stuart resigns that could be 3-4 million bucks. Brunnstrom could be 2-3 million, see how that just rapidly goes away?

Who knows what other costs could come about....

Obviously it sounds great, but I just don't know how exactly much it benifits us to raise the cap. Odds are the money will go out the door all the same, and focus will turn to money coming in the door.

That means all those ticket prices everyone likes to complain about will prob go up significantly.

[eva unit zero 271]

Currently signed for 2008-09:

Datsyuk 6.7m

Cleary 2.8m

Zetterberg 2.65m

Holmstrom 2.25m

Draper 1.583m

Samuelsson 1.2m

Hudler 1.015m

Franzen 942k

Maltby 883k

Kopecky 500k

Lidstrom 7.45m

Rafalski 6m

Kronwall 3m

Lebda 650k

Meech 483k

Osgood 1.417m

This totals up to 39.523m in cap hit for 10 forwards, 5 defensemen, and 1 goaltender. Looking beyond this, we see the following players signed for 2009-10:

Datsyuk 6.7m

Cleary 2.8m

Holmstrom 2.25m

Draper 1.583m

Maltby 883k

Lidstrom 7.45m

Rafalski 6m

Kronwall 3m

Lebda 650k

Meech 483k

Osgood 1.417m

Here we see 5 forwards, 5 defensemen, and 1 goaltender signed for a total of 33.216m. This is the year where cap space will determine what we can do next season.

We'll assume that the projected 56.3m mentioned in this thread is what we see for 2009-10. Based on that, we will have to fit eleven of Zetterberg, Samuelsson, Hudler, Franzen, Filppula, Kopecky, Hartigan, Drake, Downey, McCarty, Stuart, Lilja, Quincey, and Howard, or any FA replacements for those players into about $22m worth of cap space, allowing for some wiggle room. So let's try that, bringing back eight forwards and three defensemen.

Zetterberg $7m

Samuelsson $1.5m

Hudler $1.5m

Franzen $2m

Filppula $1.75m

Kopecky $750k

Downey $600k

McCarty $550k

Stuart $3.75m

Quincey $650k

Howard $900k

This totals up to $20.7m, leaving approximately $3m to fill out the roster under the wiggle room. This would put them at 13 forwards, 7 defensemen, and two goaltenders. So they could conceivably at this point simply call it done. This totals up to $53.916m, and that might look something like:

Hudler/Zetterberg/Franzen

Filppula/Datsyuk/Holmstrom

Cleary/Kopecky/Samuelsson

Maltby/Draper/McCarty

Lidstrom/Rafalski

Kronwall/Stuart

Meech/Chelios

Osgood

Howard

Obviously, this is a roster that could be assembled next season, which would leave an additional $6.443m in cap space available for next season but earmarked for deals already. So we likely will be spending around $50m next season, unless the Wings can sign an impact player for one season, or don't expect to keep one or more of Samuelsson/Hudler/Filppula/Franzen, this is the roster we will likely see. With the possible addition of Fabian Bruunstrom, who would make the rookie max of $850k, but could potentially have a cap hit of $3.7m due to bonuses. Having Bruunstrom on the roster would likely push Kopecky to the fourth line and McCarty out of the regular lineup.

[Majsheppard 203]

Plus, may I remind everyone. EVERYBODY gets that extra cap space. If you ever did the bagel experiment in an economics class you would know that just means higher prices and the same amount of bagels, or hockey players as it were.

[Majsheppard 203]

Currently signed for 2008-09:

Fabian Bruunstrom, who would make the rookie max of $850k, but could potentially have a cap hit of $3.7m due to bonuses. Having Bruunstrom on the roster would likely push Kopecky to the fourth line and McCarty out of the regular lineup.

Brunnstrom will make more then that. He isn't getting a league intro contract as he isn't technically a draftee.

I thought I recall the numbers around 2.3-2.5 million for him, though I could be wrong...

[eva unit zero 271]

Brunnstrom will make more then that. He isn't getting a league intro contract as he isn't technically a draftee.

I thought I recall the numbers around 2.3-2.5 million for him, though I could be wrong...

Players who sign their first contract at age 18-21 are required to sign three-year Entry Level contracts; players age 22-23 will be required to sign two-year deals; and players age 24 will be required to sign a one-year Entry Level contract.

He is going to be a rookie on his first contract. He is 23, so as quoted above he will be required to sign a two-year, entry level contract with a maximum base salary of 850k when he signs.

[WhiteLightning91 105]

2008-09

Pavel Datsyuk 6.7

Brian Rolston* 3.75

Daniel Cleary 2.8

Henrik Zetterberg 2.65

Valterri Filppula* 2.65

Tomas Holmstrom 2.25

Kris Draper 1.583

Jiri Hudler 1.015

Johan Franzen 0.941667

Kirk Maltby 0.883333

Fabian Brunnstrom 0.875

Aaron Downey* 0.55

Darren McCarty* 0.55

Tomas Kopecky 0.5

Nicklas Lidstrom 7.45

Brian Rafalski 6

Niklas Kronwall 3

Brad Stuart* 3

Andreas Lilja* 1.5

Chris Chelios* 1.2

Kyle Quincey* 0.75

Derek Meech 0.483

Chris Osgood 1.416667

Jimmy Howard* 1

Cap Number 53.497667

*Projected Cap Number

2008-09 Line-Up

Filppula Datsyuk Rolston

Franzen Zetterberg Holmstrom

Brunnstrom Kopecky Hudler

Maltby Draper Cleary

Downey Hartigan McCarty

Lidstrom Rafalski

Kronwall Stuart

Chelios Lilja

Meech Quincey

Osgood

Howard

Berkhoel

Drake: Retired

Samuelsson: Traded for picks

Lebda: Traded for picks

Hasek: Retired

[Guest Hank=FutureCaptain]

Plus, may I remind everyone. EVERYBODY gets that extra cap space. If you ever did the bagel experiment in an economics class you would know that just means higher prices and the same amount of bagels, or hockey players as it were.

Yeah and EVERYBODY had the unlimited cap space prior to '04. Doesn't mean all teams are gonna go crazy. Only a few select teams we're even willing to have really large payrolls. But we happen to be a team that does. Which means having a higher cap space WILL help us. It will help a few others as well. But there will be a lot of teams not willing to max out their cap. Teams that only spent 30-40 mill before the salary cap, are still gonna continue to spend that after the cap. But one thing is for sure... The Red Wings will utilize 95%+ of their cap. So as long as it keeps rising, we will keep spending.

[lidstromfan5 3]

Sign Fil, Downie, Stewie, Cheli, Howard, and Ericsson. Go after Rolston and Brunnstrom. Get rid of Sammy and either Meech or Quincey(you just have to, we have too much depth). And that would make me happy.

Zetterberg Datsyuk Homer

Cleary Franzen/Fillpula Rolston

Hudler Fillpula/Franzen Kopecky

Maltby Draper Downie

Helm(keep in mind Brunnstrom needs seasoning with the american game)

Lidstrom Rafalski

Stuart Kronwall

Chelios Lebda

Ericsson Meech

Howard Osgood

Edited March 31, 2008 by lidstromfan5

[WhiteLightning91 105]

(keep in mind Brunnstrom needs seasoning with the american game)

No Brunnstrom for you then. He isn't going to come here to play in the AHL when a desperate team for scoring, IE VAN or TOR, is willing to give him top-six minutes next year on their club.

[Yemack 1]

No Brunnstrom for you then. He isn't going to come here to play in the AHL when a desperate team for scoring, IE VAN or TOR, is willing to give him top-six minutes next year on their club.

how are they going to guarantee top-6 minute? is it gonna be in contract that if Brunnstrom doesn't play x number of minute in everygame he will be compensated? I've never heard such a contract and I don't think anybody can guarantee 100% that he will play top 6 regardless of his performance.

and If Brunnstrom is going to demand how Red Wings organization is going to be run, he really needs to sit down and get his head straightened out. Noone is going to give anything for you for free. If Red Wings management thinks Brunnstrom isn't ready for NHL yet, chances are, he really isn't, unless Brunnstrom guy wants to stick around for few forgettable years in Van or Tor as has been and back to SEL after 2 years. Red Wings scouts have dealt with better talents than him and probably know what's the best development process for him. So in a sense, Red Wing is the best option for his career in NHL.

If he wants to sign a contract that after 1 year he has an option to go back to SEL, that seems fair to me but If he thinks he is sidney crosby already, Wings need to pass on this guy because he doesn't know much about being a professional and is going to be detrimental to Red Wings.

Edited March 31, 2008 by Yemack

[therock48880 14]

Which is why I said theyll have a ton of cap space next season. Not a ton of bloated contracts. I cant see them adding anyone susbtantial as it stands. At most a 4M ish forward or Dman.

I'm hoping for a forward and not dman. If they re-sign Stuart, which I think they will, then they could go with Lidstrom-Rafalski, Kronwall-Stuart, Ericson-????. The last spot could be Quincey, Lebda, etc....

[therock48880 14]

They should save all their cap space and use it at the trade deadline! (dripping with sarcasm)

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

They should save all their cap space and use it at the trade deadline! (dripping with sarcasm)

Why do so many people look down on Holland simply because he only made one deal? Stuart is a huge addition, but even putting him aside Holland didn't sell the farm, yet made this current Wings team tougher to play against in the playoffs. I swear, nobody will ever be pleased regardless of the smart moves Holland makes.