Quote:Originally posted by Wally@Jan 4 2017, 03:25 PM
Just playing devils advocate... but why can't GMs, like myself, try and replicate their success? If they can do what they have done, why can't every other team?  Why do I need to change the rules to create that same model in Portland but with less rainbows and unicorns everywhere. I just think I need to work harder at closing the gap internally, than look for the league to bring New England back to the playing field.

If it were that easy, a team like BUF wouldn't be stuck sucking for so long.

A solid salary cap system doesn't prevent teams from jumping out and being stand outs as a rule... it just makes it harder to do so. Look at the NFL, one of the best leagues regarding salary cap structure, there's still a number of dominant teams that have persisted... but at least the bad teams have a chance to make a ripple- every year there's a team that goes from worst in their division to the best.

Let's take this away from just NEW. Let's look at the conference finals over the past few years:

West:
S31: Blizzard vs. Riot
S30: Blizzard vs. Dragons
S29: Blizzard vs. Dragons
S28: Blizzard vs. Jets

East:
S31: Northstars vs. Wolfpack
S30: Platoon vs. Wolfpack
S29: Northstars vs. Steelhawks
S28: Platoon vs. Steelhawks

Ok, so out of a total of 16 possible slots over those 4 years in both conf finals, we've got merely 8 teams repeated in a 14 team league. Ya know what'd be better and more exciting? Seeing that number at 10, or 12.

Who were the bottom 2 teams in those years?

S31: Jets, Steelhawks
S30: Admirals, Steelhawks
S29: Panthers, Stampede
S28: Admirals, Stampede

8 possible spots, 4 teams combining to be the worst year in, year out. The Stampede never finished higher than 12th in the league overall. The Admirals were never better than 11th.

Obviously it's not as simple as "just try to do what they did" to replicate what NEW and EDM have done... for the players on those 6 teams who haven't been past the 1st round of the playoffs in over 4 years, it's pretty beat- and especially to play for lowly Buffalo or Portland. As a player, why would you ever leave your successful team to go to one of those teams? With a good salary cap system- GMs will be forced to cut players loose, and players will filter down to those lower tier teams. A better cap system brings NEW and EDM back to the pack, and catches BUF and POR back up to it, and creates a more fun, more challenging environment for players and GMs alike.

PS - this made me really appreciate the Blizzard's run. Damn.