Good teams are built with good players, and good players are expensive. To keep them, player agents demand long-term contracts that protect the player’s best interests.

All players age, and their performance declines each year after their prime. Contracts that extend beyond a player’s prime carry risks that degrade a team’s ability to compete. However, to keep or attract the very best players, general managers must offer such contracts. This means that many long-term contracts age badly, paying players more than their abilities warrant, which eventually prevents teams from remaining competitive.

The Chicago Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups from 2010 to 2015. Since then, they have made the playoffs only three times and been eliminated in the first round each time. They are now in a massive rebuild.

The Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014. Since then, they have made the playoffs only three times and also experienced three first-round losses.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017. They have won only one playoff series since then as their aging roster is hamstrung with salaries that undermine roster flexibility. This means that if they do not win this year, a major rebuild is imminent.

The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021. They took advantage of a loophole that allowed them to exceed the salary cap by nearly $18 million in 2021; teams have no salary caps during the playoffs. The Chicago Blackhawks took advantage of the same loophole during their successful pursuit of the Stanley Cup in 2015.

Personally I think the problem in today's NHL is the slowly increasing cap.

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