Ideas to improve the free agency market

[bleedblue1223]

The Rangers don't need it. Every year we hear about how bad the cap is gonna get us and every year we ice a better team than the one we had. It's not about the Rangers. We don't need help, we've succeeded with the cap.

I think it makes the league better. We don't have any truly great teams anymore. A .500 team can easily win the Stanley Cup.

That's not even close to being true.

 

[StoneHands]

I have 2 suggestions, I havent read through every post so I don't know if they have been suggested or not. They aren't necessarily just for free agency but here they are.

1. I would be in favor of a luxury tax for teams that go over the cap. Something like 5-10% above the cap with a 100% tax. If the cap is $80m, a team can go over that cap by $4m-$8m but they would also have to pay an addition $4m-$8m tax. I know I'll hear the "you only want this because it benefits your team" to which I'll just respond with "you only don't want this because it doesn't benefit your team". I don't think it would be like the MLB. Their cap is already ridiculously high and there are teams that literally employ individual players that make as much as entire teams which is not close to what would be the case in the NHL so saying that you don't want a "Yankees of the NHL" wouldn't be a legit concern.

2. Add "option" years to contracts. It doesn't have to be every contract but teams and players should be able to have option years in their contracts if it's agreed upon and written into the contract. This would stop teams from having to worry about locking up young players that might not pan out. It would stop players from signing long term deals and then dogging it. it would also allow young players to sign long term deals without worrying about outplaying the contract if they have the option to opt out and either become a FA or sign a new contract. If a team signs an older player to a 3 year deal, they can add an additional 2 years as a team option if he doesn't decline.

 

[Kevin4762]

The Rangers don't need it. Every year we hear about how bad the cap is gonna get us and every year we ice a better team than the one we had. It's not about the Rangers. We don't need help, we've succeeded with the cap.

I think it makes the league better. We don't have any truly great teams anymore. A .500 team can easily win the Stanley Cup.

lmao. what a joke.

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

These ideas would promote higher paid players at a rapid pace. i'd estimate at least have the leagues team cant afford to compete if you remove RFAs.

 

[Chardo]

Raise the damn salary cap, it's absurdly low.

Said the fan of the team with unlimited funds

When has free spending ever benefited the Rangers? I just wanna keep Derek Stepan without it banning us from free agency for 8 years.

Rangers free spending may not have benefited them (whose fault is that?), but it hurts the rest of the league by raising the comp salaries for all players. Sign a Wade Redden, he sucks, no problem we can afford to bury him. Now the agents of other defensemen say look what Redden got, my guy is much better, pay me. All teams are forced to overpay for mediocre players because big money teams had the money and cap room to do just that.

Rangers shouldn't even have to overpay their players. Great city, great fan base, huge endorsement potential, Sather shouldn't have to overpay to keep Stepan. If Snow can get his players to sign favorable deals, Sather should be able to do so with all the perks the Rangers have to offer.