IMO, the cap is another push to get fighting out of the game. GMs don't want to give up cap space to lose skill. Recently, teams that are out of it frequently have two or three goons with little skill while competitive teams often have none. Or, the better teams have players who are deserving of a spot without fighting but who have fighting in their repertoire. There was a stage where each team had at least one goon but that is disappearing.
In terms of fighting in the game, there are many high end leagues that do without it or punish it much more severely than the NHL. It was interesting to see professional lacrosse where the was fighting as I only knew it at the amateur level where fighting was not a part of the game. I actually enjoyed the amateur play better as it was faster moving and didn't have the interims that were caused by confrontations. I don't think it will be all that long before fighting is practically removed from the game for a variety of reasons.
In terms of Pelech, the Nucks have one or two similar players and Torts has had a penchant for using them.