I think adjusting the contract tiers is an absolute must. However, I do think there is reason to keep the idea of hometown discounts, albeit with some tweaks to ensure they aren't out of hand, perhaps including the amount of players a team is allowed to have on hometown discounts at a given time.

While I am for adjusting minimum contracts each season as players increase in TPE, I think what lil says has some merit. Perhaps make rookie contracts static while all future contracts adjust with TPE. I'm not totally sure if this is already the case but if this were done, rookie contracts should obviously be capped at three seasons.

I think the cap structure is one of the most broken aspects of the SHL. It discourages competition and allows for teams who, admittedly because of good GMing, to essentially establish dynasties while other teams become mired in mediocrity or worse. It is always better for a son league to have more parity and not create a situation where members feel like they must be on one of a few teams to have a chance at a cup.