Salary Cap: Future Roster Building (2017-18 and beyond) Pt. 3 | Contract/FA charts in Post #1

[Peat]

The problem is you're ignoring the salary cap. The reason people think Schultz works at $4 million to $4.5 million, is because it leaves more money to fix the other holes in the lineup, and because a player of Schultz's caliber shouldn't be taking up so much of your cap space. If he's making upwards of $5.5 million, it's not that he's "garbage", it's that a team that's up against the cap is paying a player about $1 million too much instead of using that money more wisely.

This isn't the old days where it doesn't matter if you overpay a guy by $1 million just to keep him around. You have to be a lot more judicial in how you allocate the cap space, particularly when it comes to non-core guys.

Valuing not having to trade for guys ahead of the tightest salaries =/= Ignoring the salary cap

The same way that

Being willing to move guys if their salary demands are too big =/= being willing to trade them for next to nothing

Personally I think people are overrating the value of being really salary efficient. No team in the NHL is paying the best possible price for every player, its not a big deal to do it every now and again. This roster's got a few overpaid players on it already. Moving a few on and adding a few more is not the end of the world, at least not compared to the price we might have to pay for another PP QB on Schultz's level.

As long as they're at a fair enough value where they can be moved again if needs be, I'm not seeing the issue.

 

[Riptide]

The problem is you're ignoring the salary cap. The reason people think Schultz works at $4 million to $4.5 million, is because it leaves more money to fix the other holes in the lineup, and because a player of Schultz's caliber shouldn't be taking up so much of your cap space. If he's making upwards of $5.5 million, it's not that he's "garbage", it's that a team that's up against the cap is paying a player about $1 million too much instead of using that money more wisely.

This isn't the old days where it doesn't matter if you overpay a guy by $1 million just to keep him around. You have to be a lot more judicial in how you allocate the cap space, particularly when it comes to non-core guys.

BS. Here's the bottom line. We absolutely need both Bonino and Schultz or at least someone very very like them over the next 2 years - beyond obviously, but the next 2 years are key.

Our best window (beyond this year) is next year while Hornqvist and Cole are here and Rust and others are on dirt cheap contracts and then the following year while Guentzel (and likely Sprong) are on dirt cheap contracts. And while overpaying to retain Schultz and/or Bonino obviously isn't the best situation... we're not talking about just a regular joe. Schultz is the closest thing to a Letang like player we have in the system. Like it or not, we need him - even if it means overpaying to keep him. The same goes for Bonino. We can replace Hornqvist or any other winger we have - and the same thing goes to a lesser extent for any other D we have outside of Schultz or Letang. But a RD who has the offense Schultz has and can QB the PP and a #3C are very very important positions - and these are not ones we can afford to not have filled with quality players.

So if we can find other options who fit our cap better, great. But if push comes to shove, I'll suck it up and pay them, because over the next 2 years we need them more than we need an extra 1m in cap space. Especially as we have other players who we could move to make room if absolutely needed.

 

[Penske]

Valuing not having to trade for guys ahead of the tightest salaries =/= Ignoring the salary cap

The same way that

Being willing to move guys if their salary demands are too big =/= being willing to trade them for next to nothing

Personally I think people are overrating the value of being really salary efficient. No team in the NHL is paying the best possible price for every player, its not a big deal to do it every now and again. This roster's got a few overpaid players on it already. Moving a few on and adding a few more is not the end of the world, at least not compared to the price we might have to pay for another PP QB on Schultz's level.

As long as they're at a fair enough value where they can be moved again if needs be, I'm not seeing the issue.

That's what is getting Chicago in trouble now.

Through the Crosby/Malkin years we need to be smart with our cap.