this has been my thought all along, a cap (hard or soft) should only be part of the solution not the whole solution. there is no doubt that salaries are crazy and something needs to get done but the idea that the league presents that a hard cap will fix all of the problems just simply isn't true...player salaries are part of the problem, but it isn't the whole problem.
a hard cap by itself won't get the pens a new arena, it won't increase revenue for teams that already have low payrolls, etc
wouldn't the pens benefit more from increased revenue sharing then limiting the rangers, flyers, wings, etc from spending only $35 mil instead of $45 mil?? to me creating a situation where the big spenders get hit with a luxury tax that generates $$ for the pens to put toward an arena helps the pens far more then a hard cap...
and if you address the reasons for lack of revenue whether it be an arena, tv deal or whatever it creates more of a long term solution. you could hand the penguins a $5 mil check to cover their loses so they break even, but that is just a bandaid and they will need that same $$ again next year. but if you get them a new arena then their revenue will increase to the point where they won't need help anymore. and shouldn't that be the objective?? to help teams get to a point where they no longer need help?