Ismellofhockey said:
Imagine that, a small market that's actually happy about this CBA... that's unpossible!
To all the doom and gloom posters saying this CBA is a big market win, it's a win for everybody, everybody gets an equal opportunity.
its only equal in theory on the assumption that eveyone can spend $39 mil, but if some teams spend $25 mil then its no longer equal. its closer to equal and the difference between the haves and have nots is much less, but its still there.
and even if the $$ is the same when you factor in cost of living, taxes, etc $2 mil in nyc isn't the same as $2 mil in dallas which isn't the same as $2 mil in edmonton...
and then lastly there is the factor that some teams are simply better than others...the notion that all teams are starting from scratch is bs cause teams will keep most of their rfas and for the most part most teams will look awfully similar to before atleast in the short term...
so the gap is a lot less but the idea that all 30 teams have the same shot at any free agent isn't true. those small market teams won't get blown out of the water but i hope no one is holding their breath for scott niedermayer to leave nj for carolina or nashville.
but you'll never have a perfect system so its definitely better than it was before...
probably the biggest benefit for small market teams isn't that they can compete for the top tier guys but rather the fact that the big market teams won't be able to sign guys 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 on their wishlist. those teams will now sign the #1 guy and then look toward 6, 7, 8 due to cap restraints...so the small market teams might not get the 1a elite talent, but have a better shot at the 1b guys which is better than before.