The Boston Bruins vs. the Salary Cap

The Boston Bruins vs. the Salary Cap

Earlier on in the season, a scant six months ago or the day Henrik Lundqvist got his ass paid, I wrote about the potential struggle the New York Rangers management may face in the off season with pending free agents that need re-signing, and space becoming limited as a small amount of players would take over half the cap space. Then, a few days later, Rogers Communications made their monster $5bn deal for exclusive English language NHL game broadcasts in Canada to be shown on their SportsNet network. Making my whole New York Rangers vs. the Salary Cap post utterly and completely irrelevant. Thanks, Rogers. Thanks, Bettman.

Now, with all the big TV deals set in place for many a year, I can write another (insert team with expensive players and/or financial sanctions) vs. the Salary Cap post.

The Boston Bruins went all out to win the Stanley Cup this season. Like all big market, successful franchises the Bruins spent as close to the leagues limit as they wanted to, allowing small space for potential player bonuses. This includes Jarome Iginla's, bargain on the surface, $1.8m contract. Dig deeper and you'll see that Iggy earned $4.2m in bonuses over the course of the season, bumping up his end of season cap hit to $6m. Wow. That is a huge jump. Another move they made in their pursuit for a 2nd Stanley Cup in four seasons was to trade for Andrej Meszaros, sending a 3rd round draft pick to the Philadelphia Flyers. Adding an extra $4m cap hit to the team total.

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