Draft Day Notes >>>

[JohnnyMapleLeaf]

And a good question about the Oilers from the Toronto Sun...

A question worth posing in retrospect: If Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe is willing to spend $4 million a year for Penner or $8 million a year for Tomas Vanek, tell me again why he couldn't afford to keep Ryan Smyth in Edmonton?

[JohnnyMapleLeaf]

I understand the cap to be tied to revenues as well...I think Ang is right. That was the whole point of the strike...Bettman wanted it directly tied to revenues. It could go up or down each year...depending...and I'm almost positive it isn't guaranteed to go up every year by a certain percentage like FF says, don't know where he heard that. That's what I have always heard in media reports anyway...

[Angelus]

The cap is formally titled the Upper Limit of the Payroll Range in the new CBA. For the 2005-06 NHL season, the salary cap was set at US$39 million per team.

Due to better-than-expected revenues in each of the past two seasons, the cap was raised to $44 million for the 2006-07 NHL season, will be set at $50.3 million for the 2007-08

The salary cap is tied to profits. There was no agreement about a certain percentage increase. Nobody could have guessed it would increase over 10mil in two seasons.

Penner making 4m is not going to kill the league. Having the NYR spend over 80M in a season would. That was the problem before the lockout. But now, that is restricted...and as long as profits continue to increase the salary cap will as well.

[FlyersFan]

Actually Angelus- the salary cap isn't directly tied to profits. That is simply not true. There was an agreement that it would increase each year by a certain percentage, that is the only reason the players agreed to it. And the fact is that a lot of teams can't afford to play AT the salary cap this season. BUF can't get near the cap, NAS can't get near the cap, COL can't get near the cap...i could go on. So yes, those salaries are going to hurt the league in the long run. It is going to create a situation where players are overpaid and we are going to be right back to where we were before. Where a few teams make money and the rest lose money, or some teams simply aren't going to be able to compete. You are only allowed 3 years in the collective money pool and that 3 years is coming to an end for a number of the bottom 10 teams in the league.

[Angelus]

The problem is, to get players here we have to OVERPAY. That's life. Sorry, but Penner making 4m per year is NOT going to kill the league.

And I disagree with your statement that escalating salaries cannot work with the NHL's economic structure. That's simply not true. The Salary cap is directly tied to profits. The reason it went up 5million is because profits are up that much. If profits decrease, so does the cap. But the cap keeps going up and there's a reason for that. So everything that happened (Gomez/Drury at 7m, Penner at 4m, Vanek at 7m) can be sustained by the economic structure in the league. That was the whole point of the last CBA.

Burke is just whining. I could care less what he thinks. We basically handed him the cup last year by giving him Pronger for almost nothing. In any case, I'm not sold on Penner and hope Burke matches. But yeah...I think Penner is an Oiler.

[FlyersFan]

Ducks GM Burke calls Edmonton offer to Penner 'gutless' - NHL - Yahoo! Sports


burke really is right about offering a guy 4.5M from 450K and how it effects everyone in the league. league can't sustain itself if guys like Penner are going to increase their salary 10 fold like that. just doesnt' work with hockey's economic structure. not enough revenue, tv money etc...to support it. good luck with him angelus. by all local accounts you're going to get him. i kind of hope he is a huge bust for offering him that kind of contract. but then again i do feel bad for oilcan fan so i don't know what to think

[FlyersFan]

[Angelus]

Oh, I agree...he's gotta do what's best for the team...I'm just saying, next GM meetings in Arizona, he might find himself golfing in a "one-some" lol.

Also...not to many GM's are going to do him any favours in the trade market, I presume.

Meh...

The players screw us...the league screws us....it's about time the other GM's screw us as well!

Although I guess Burke already did that by trading us Lupul for Pronger...

[JohnnyMapleLeaf]

How else do we get players here? Nobody signs as UFA...so Lowe is doing what he can...

Oh, I agree...he's gotta do what's best for the team...I'm just saying, next GM meetings in Arizona, he might find himself golfing in a "one-some" lol.

Also...not to many GM's are going to do him any favours in the trade market, I presume.

[Angelus]

How else do we get players here? Nobody signs as UFA...so Lowe is doing what he can...

I kind of hope Anaheim matches this one. Penner could be Lupul v2.0. I think he really benefited from playing with Getzlaf and Perry.

Oh well...guess we'll see.

[FlyersFan]

Lowe is certainly not making any friends....lol.

lol...i thought the same thing, though, at this point i don't really think he much cares. it's almost like he's said, screw it, im gonna be a dick just like everyone has been to him.....:beerbang:

[JohnnyMapleLeaf]

Lowe is certainly not making any friends....lol.

[FlyersFan]

OILCAN sign DPenner to a 5 year 21.5M offer sheet. Ducks don't have much cap room, so they may pull this one off. But come on, talk about grasping at straws....dude made 450K last year and now he is worth 5 years at 4.25M a year?? NHL is going to be in trouble in a short while again the way salaries are going up. Penner is a good player, and i guess if you're EDM, you don't have anything to lose since nobody wants to play there anyway. And Penner is a good player, but i dunno....i don't thing he is 4.5M a year for 5 years good.

Angelus- where are you?

[chickameng33]

Good stuff...... If you hear anything shoot it out. Even though if it does happen there may be a butt load of tickets I imagine they will still be a hot commodity.
Thanks Vaz!

[vazman05]

Being that you are right there have you heard anything in the Buffalo news about the ICE Bowl actually happening??? I am about 3 and half but its an easy drive .... just off I90...

No offense to the Nucks, but I like Max in Buf.

and my wife went to high school with Roy and from how I understand it he loves Buf... keeps him close to home. You would think that BUf would want to retain a goal scorer to from the recent loses of Drury, and Briere.

I guess the NHL wont commit to the game until it can get sponsers to pay for the presentation of the game.....