leafs4thecup said:You say that the 3-4 owners that drove the prices up are idiots. That is a damn lie. It's the other 25-26 owners that stood by as their teams weren't successful. Again I ask this question: If the owners are so united, why not just let the big market teams know that it is unfair, and according to the pro-owner philosophy, the would stop their spending.
These so called small-market teams can exist, they just need to be run much better, not just relying on the miracle runs to exist. The marketing is awful, and so is the on-ice product. It is the owners fault it got this way, and the players should not have to pay.
In other sports, there is a luxury tax. The only one with the hard cap is the NFL, but they have their issues and differences also. Firstly, they have TV contracts in the billions, something the NHL doesn't have. And they can just cut their players at will
Are you kidding me? Please tell me that this is some sort of a joke. Let's go through your points:
1. Under existing laws, your first point would be called collusion, which is illegal. The owners can't get together set a price ceiling. The only way around that is to have a ratified CBA with the players association.
2. The small market teams need to be run better? Improve marketing? On-Ice product. Good Lord. Edmonton runs their great. What is improved marketing going to do for them. The sell out almost every game. They have an exciting team. The small market teams are not the problem, it's teams like the Rangers signing stiffs like HOlik for 9 million and then the rest of the playing using that salary as a benchmark.
3. Yes the NFL has a hard cap that does work. does it work because of the tv contracts. No! The cap is set based on revenues. The more TV revenue, the higher the cap can be. The cap system is not about just lowering salaries to save money. The cap is about creating a level playing field for every team.