Once again, the new NHL CBA sets a hard cap for all teams, this year at $50 million.
The midpoint for the cap is $42 million. In actuality, $42 million times 30 teams will equal about 54 percent of total league revenues. Hence, the midpoint is actually the cap. It is where we are all supposed to be for spending on player personnel. The midpoint is only $8 million from the ceiling. Please stop whining about salary levels in the new NHL. 
Pre-lockout, there was no ceiling. We had teams spending $25 million and teams spending $95 million. That is when you should have been very concerned about player payroll expenditures. There was no cap, no floor and less competitiveness than today. Today, the range between the lowest spending teams and the highest spending teams is only $16 million. By positioning the Capitals at the true cap – at the midpoint – we are showing we are making a big investment in our team as our team is not at the midpoint in revenues or attendance. We were able to add to our team in the off season and we did exactly as we said we would do. We have dollars to keep our players in the fold as well. Fans will always want a team to add more skill, more players and more payroll but there is a cap now. There are analytics to what we can spend and when to add to payroll and to whom. I believe we have done a very good job in managing our expenditures and the cap to date. I know message boards are invented to let fans vent but talking about salaries and spending in the new NHL and complaining about what we spend – while fair game – is probably off the point now. End of my rant back at ya.
Ted- Im totally with you on everything except when you vent about being midpoint on salaries but NOT midpoint on attendance (meaning, the fans arent supporting Caps enough.)
Please keep in mind that even with the new players, and the excitement(Nylander! Still cant believe it)the Caps are a team that has finished last for the past three(3) years. No, nobody was expecting a Stanley Cup but it HAS been discouraging to a lot of folks. (Though I agree there is altogether too much whining on the message boards.)Lets go Caps!! see you sat night!!
It was certainly fair to complain about the Caps payroll level the previous two years. But not this season.
Understand Ted, and behind you all the way. Now just announce the big extension for Ovie on Sat night and I will be ready for the next decade of Caps hockey
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I have full faith and trust in the way you are running your hockey business, Ted.
Hence I am not “whining”.
However, if you do not sign THE one player that had been the main reason to go to Cap games for the past two seasons, THEN you will hear me (and every body else) “WHINING”.
Sign him before the end of the season, or you (we) will likely overpay once others can make offers.
Other clubs are locking up thier stars…why not us?
ok Ted – that’s good news there is a much lower spread b/w the high end team payrolls and the lower tier payrolls. That’s understood.
The only complaint I have is how the owners raised the issue that player salaries were spiralling out of control, and needed to get it back to normal. Yet – we have Heatly/Vanek/Briere/Gomez/Drury and loads of others making huge $$$…which tells the common man that something doesn’t still add up.