Report: Half of the NHL's teams are actively and consciously playing to lose; how is that good for business?
Normally players like P.K. Subban, Sonny Milano, Evan Rodrigues, Tyler Motte and Daniel Sprong would all have new contracts and be preparing to head into training camp by now. Unfortunately, with 12 teams over the cap and many with less room available than a league minimum deal would eat up, finding contracts has become difficult for teams and players alike. Not because only half of the teams in the league have any cap space, but because teams with cap space don't want to use it on a free agent. They want to weaponize their cap space and use it as a trade chip. Look at how many trades were completed this off-season with one team receiving "future considerations". Everyone knows the future considerations is just cap relief and 95% of he time doesn't amount to much else.
In speaking with ESPN, one player agent said;
Hence why you have established players like Subban who are likely going to sign for league minimum even though he's only 33 years-old. Sure his play has declined over the past few seasons, but he is still good enough to sign a multi-year deal.
Another player agent, Jerry Buckley, has been telling his players, "Don't get greedy. Find a place to play at a good number and get going. Because these musical chairs can get taken really quick," as we saw yesterday with a handful of players signing PTOs within a couple of hours.
Salary cap space has become more valuable than first round picks in recent years and until there is a massive jump in the cap (expected for 2024) we will continue to see teams try to lose and acquire bad contracts for future assets like first round picks and prospects to accelerate a rebuild.
