Taylor Hall Signing and the Impact of the Flat Salary Cap

Sunday evening the Buffalo Sabers did the unthinkable: they were finally able to have some sense of optimism going into an NHL season.  Taylor Hall, the former Hart Trophy winner as the MVP in 2018, shocked the hockey world when he signed a one year 8.5 million dollar contract with the Sabers. After claiming that winning was his top priority, Hall chose a team that has been allergic to prosperity in recent years. However, in some ways, this relationship could make perfect sense. While the Sabers have failed to attract free agents and have playoff success in the past twenty years, the team does have many talented young players. Hall, allowing himself the opportunity to play with Jack Eichel, the unsung league MVP of last season, will be able to boost his point totals on a very young team. As long as he is individually able to have success on a line with Eichel, Hall will be able to enhance his value and secure a long term contract next offseason. Even if the salary cap remains the same next year, if Hall can prove he is an elite player in this league, some team will pay him big dollars next summer. If the Sabers are successful with Hall on the squad, they can attempt to lure him into signing long term. However, although they offered Hall the most money, if they struggle to maintain relevance, Hall can always be traded at the deadline to a contending team. Buffalo is in a win-win situation where if they trade Hall, they can allow him to play with elite offensive players on another team. In return, Buffalo can recoup adequate assets while not sacrificing their franchise long term. 

With the salary cap being flat for at least the next two years, all free agents, including Taylor Hall failed to maximize their full value. Under normal circumstances, one can infer that Taylor most likely would’ve been able to sign a long term contract with at least 8.5 million dollars a year. However, this off-season forced many teams and general managers to be cautious with their money. In some ways, especially with the drastic movement of players in the past few days, the monetary issues have been positive for the parody of the league. The contending teams have been forced to lay off valuable assets to ensure that their team is under the cap next season. Mass spreading the talent of the league, teams like the Golden Knights, Canucks, Stars, and eventually the Tampa Bay Lightning will all have to give up bonafide NHL players to other teams. This off-season, cap space has become somewhat of a weapon as we’ve seen bottom barrel teams like the New Jersey Devils, and Ottawa Senators take advantage of their cap space to add valuable roster players. Additionally, these struggling teams with ample cap space have given up very minimal value for these players. For example, the New Jersey Devils and Tom Fitzgerald, wisely aware of the Maple Leafs’s inevitable cap problems, were able to acquire a good NHL player in Andreas Johnsson. Johnsson, making 3.4 million a year, was traded for an NHL fourth liner at best in Joey Anderson. Additionally, although the Canucks struggled to retain many of their important players this offseason, they were successfully able to regain some of their assets by acquiring a very quality top-four defensemen in Nate Schmidt, merely for a third-round pick. As we are almost a full week into free agency, there have been many more short-term deals this fall. Players have been willing to bet on themselves hoping that the salary cap will rise in two years. While the flat salary cap might remain static for more than two years, general managers have taken advantage of these two years' deals without protecting them from the Seattle expansion draft next summer. Fascinatingly, many offensive players still remain on the free agency market. Unhappy with their offers so far, these players’ once in a lifetime opportunity to get rewarded has come at the wrong time. Very quality  NHL players remain on the free agency and trade market: including Mike Hoffman, Patrik Laine, and Anthony Duclair. Eventually, these players will most likely be forced with a team with cap space on a lesser value, short term deal. Unfortunately, the league's future is extremely uncertain and there is no guarantee that the flat salary cap will change anytime soon. The NHL might be financially handcuffed for more than two seasons. The value of the next few years’ free agents is in jeopardy. Hopefully, these players will be able to maximize their value after these deals. While some of these players unapologetically remain patient in this stagnant market, these free agents need to face the reality of our world today. Luckily,  as fans, these low-risk signings and salary cap trades will certainly cause for a very competitive 2020-21 season.