The NHL owners envisioned their league becoming more competitive when the salary cap was finally created after a season-killing lockout in 2004-05.
They were right.
Eight years into the salary cap era, seven different champions have been crowned and all 30 teams have made a postseason berth.
But is this era of extraordinary parity in the NHL coming to an end?
Definitions of parity vary, but consider this: The 2013 playoffs resulted in a final four of the Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins. These four clubs represented the last four Stanley Cup champions, the first time this scenario happened at the semifinal stage of the postseason since 1945.
The salary cap system has been in place for a while now, and because of that, general managers have begun to figure out how to establish cores of talented, franchise-cornerstone players under the new financial structure and remain competitive for a long time.
The four conference finalists from last season are the best examples.
Put simply, several clubs, specifically the ones listed ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Nicholas Goss
Is Parity in the NHL Coming to an End?
September 6th, 2013 by Nicholas Goss Leave a reply »
Advertisement