I like to see team loyalty as much as the next guy, but I also believe that a cap is the answer. This is especially true in a sport where most of the pro leagues started in Canada and the Canadians can no longer afford to support their teams due to the "bidding up" of free agents by teams that will pay anything for another chance at the cup (In baseball, see George Steinbrenner as well.). And the players will take what they can get as well. They are businessmen and some are as sharp at it as the owners.
I remember a rough quote from an NFL quarterback who got a huge contract. They asked him if he was worth the millions in his contract. He said that he wasn't, but his dad was because his dad was a teacher. But, he added that his dad didn't raise a fool. He was more than willing to take what was offered to him.
Wayne Gretzy and Mario Lemieux are team owners as well. They seem to side with the cap idea. Heck, Mario still plays on his team once in a while (I wonder who pays his salary, LOL).
I didn't see the Red Wings owner in the poor house and it is kind of nice to see some money invested in the baseball team instead of treating them like the "red-headed stepchild". That said, I want to see NHL level hockey again. I have watched some OHL games (Saginaw has an OHL team now and they don't play bad hockey although they continually seem to ride at the bottom of the OHL.) and AHL and keep thinking that in the NHL, many of these plays would result in breakaways instead of fights or missed shots.
Unfortunately, it may be a couple of years. Many of the players knew that this was coming and had the foresight to not collect the huge mortgages and car payments. They could actually live on the interest of what they have put away already or the investments that they have made like restraunts and clothing outlets. The owners have watched baseball and have no interest in getting into bidding wars for free agents in a mature market.
