DISCUSSION: DECREASE 2021-22 CAP CEILING?

[Mordecai]

Perhaps consider rolling back the 2021-22 salary cap to below 81.5 million, even below $78.0 million.

WHY?

With FNHL adding the Seattle Kraken for the 2021-22 season, the 32nd team will absorb lots of existing salary.

My understanding is the skater increases this year were to a) keep value current with actual NHL player contracts and b) create the necessary cap tension in this league to allow for a more robust Free Agency annually.

So I think it would be good for our league (FNHL) to reduce, not just maintain the salary cap ceiling if we want to create some proper player movement and incent owners toward making more transactions.

Full disclosure, my Habs are going to easily need WAY MORE cap space starting now through next year so this recommendation does NOT benefit my team at all - in fact it will negatively impact my Habs.

[PsychoticPondGoons]

Perhaps consider rolling back the 2021-22 salary cap to below 81.5 million, even below $78.0 million.

WHY?

With FNHL adding the Seattle Kraken for the 2021-22 season, the 32nd team will absorb lots of existing salary.

My understanding is the skater increases this year were to a) keep value current with actual NHL player contracts and b) create the necessary cap tension in this league to allow for a more robust Free Agency annually.

So I think it would be good for our league (FNHL) to reduce, not just maintain the salary cap ceiling if we want to create some proper player movement and incent owners toward making more transactions.

Full disclosure, my Habs are going to easily need WAY MORE cap space starting now through next year so this recommendation does NOT benefit my team at all - in fact it will negatively impact my Habs.

I've broken this out to a new thread.
Worth discussing as a league.

Lots of good points to decrease the cap as we head towards expansion again.

Let's hear it FNHL owners!

[blkhwkfn]

I’ll pass. Based on the way I manage my teams. Being a builder through the draft I feel this would punish so to say one who has success in drafting. Plus not real sure why player movement is an issue in this league. There are quite a lot of trades in the league year in and year out

[99WildThing]

I think what's being asked is a salary cap ceiling decrease and breaking from the FNHL tradition of following NHL announced cap floor and ceiling.

Well, I guess it all comes down to $$ amount of the decrease. If it's a significant decrease, it could hurt the majority of teams and goes against the "spirit of fun" in a fantasy league.

Also, consider how skater extension values have just been increased and how the expansion draft will cause teams to lose a valuable asset. Both actions impact teams negatively already and to throw in a cap drop seems like it could be excessive.

Mind you, given the pandemic, the NHL might be forced to reduce the cap ceiling anyways in 2021-22 so it could still happen naturally whether FNHL owners vote to introduce it artificially or not.

[EndGame]

I recall the Vegas expansion draft and how it created extra cap space for teams around the league. That resulted in a less than stellar crop of Free Agents that year and the rich remained rich while the poor struggled to build a contender.

I would actually vote to artificially reduce the 2021-22 cap ceiling to ensure we have continued natural player movement via trades and FA as teams would need to work their budgets to fit the cap.

My suggestion would be for a 5% rollback from the 2020-21 cap ceiling of $81.5M.

[mcrow]

My vote is to keep it aligned with the NHL salary cap like we do today ... keeps it simple and isn't really an issue that needs "fixed".

I think the increased salary bans will cause more free agency / player movement organically ... and we do already have quite a bit of trade activity.

My $0.02

[blkhwkfn]

My vote is to keep it aligned with the NHL salary cap like we do today ... keeps it simple and isn't really an issue that needs "fixed".

I think the increased salary bans will cause more free agency / player movement organically ... and we do already have quite a bit of trade activity.

My $0.02

[PigsRule]

I need to think about this one some more... I don’t like changing a fundamental rule like FNHL salary cap alignment with the NHL.  However, I do recall how the Vegas expansion draft gave teams extra cap space and that coupled with a higher cap lead to a poor FA crop.

Is it a big problem... let me sleep on it!

[AntMan]

I need to think about this one some more... I don’t like changing a fundamental rule like FNHL salary cap alignment with the NHL.  However, I do recall how the Vegas expansion draft gave teams extra cap space and that coupled with a higher cap lead to a poor FA crop.

Is it a big problem... let me sleep on it!

I’m the same; I’d need to sleep on this.

We have a significant bump in skater valuations already so void of forecasting total league player salary values I’d lean towards adjusting in a future season.

Always good to hear ideas and tangent variations of the ideas coming from the collective

[Burkes Boys]

I feel it could be too much too soon to implement that type of cap reduction change the same year we are introducing significant value adjustments to skater extensions.

If we do make that change, do so in 2022-23 the year after expansion and the skater extension increases.

5% does appear to be a reasonable rollback figure for 2022-23.