The cap is increasing because player salaries are tied to league revenue. It just means that the league is making more money, so the players do too.
The cap increased only because the canadian dollar had a huge raise this year and all Canadian team made a lot of money because of this. These are the facts: Canadian teams had an overall increase of ~25% of their revenue while American team had ~6.5% average. source (french): Jean-François Bégin : Sundin, sur les ailes du huard | Chroniqueurs | Cyberpresse
So the fun begin's. I can't believe that the kings dealt their top defenseman Vishnovsky for two average forwards in Edmonton. Bertuzzi cleared waivers was another strange occurance.
How about tampa bay this year? They are looking like one hell of a team at the moment. Rolston, V. Lecavalier and st louis as a top line. Steven Stamkos, Ryan Malone, Jeff Halpern and Jussi Jokinen. I don't think they will be the laughing stock of the league this year. If only they had a decent keeper.
Bertuzzi clearing waivers shouldn't be a surprise at all. Anaheim was going to buy out his contract. Why would a team grab him for $4 million when they can probably get him for less?
Stoll was still recovering from a concussion last year so he wasn't performing as well as he had in the past when he had 2 straight + seasons. Vishnovsky was also -18 last season.
Stoll was great in the cirlcle, good at PK and also had a spot on the PP with his shot from the point.
Vishnovsky may be good offensivly but many question his play in his own end. His only real gift will be on the PP but we also have Souray for that. He's also small for a defenseman at only 5-11 and 190 pounds. Oh, and his point total has been dropping like bricks over the past couple years. He went from 67 in 06-07 to 41 in 07-08. Looks pretty similar to what Stoll has done the past couple years. He doesn't have as good of an excuse like Stoll since he was concussed and that can take a long time to recover from.
Vishnovsky is also getting paid 5.6 million a year for the next 5 years. That money could have been better spent on Wade Redden since he's a more solid defenseman and typically he knows how to play his own end since he's only had a single - season his whole NHL career.
Wouldn't they only have to pay half of it while Anaheim would have to pick up the other half? I actually laughed when I saw him on waivers and thought that Edmonton should pick him up so he can do what Burke wanted him to do.
I don't know how much you've seen of Visnovsky, but he is easily one of the most underrated defensemen in the NHL. This last season was rough for him, but there is nothing wrong with his defensive game. He's an excellent skater and he can move the puck very well. His positioning is usually very solid, and he has a good stick. He is far from a one-dimensional player. His size is certainly a disadvantage, but he makes up for it with his skating ability.
No, that's only on re-entry waivers. You pay full price for a player being sent down on waivers.
I haven't seen a lot of him but I have seen some of him. I don't expect him to do well against Calgary or Minnesota since they're both physical teams and Edmonton will be playing them each 8 times this year.
im pretty sure free agency starts at noon and not midnight