Why the Draft Is More Important Than Ever in the NHL

September 10th, 2013 by Steve Silverman Leave a reply »

You cannot afford to miss in the draft.

Building a roster through the draft has always been important in the NHL, but it has taken on even greater importance now in this era of the reduced salary cap. 

That's one of the consequences of last season's lockout. When the NHL and the NHL Players Association finally put an end to its painful lockout last January, the two sides agreed that the salary cap would be reduced from $70.2 million to $64.3 million.

That reduction meant that NHL teams would have to change the way they were built. Superstar players are still highly valued commodities who are going to get rewarded by their original teams or through free agency.

Young players who have signed entry-level contracts or are not yet eligible for free agency are also highly valued. Those players don't make as much money as they will in the future, yet they may be key contributors on the ice. They provide value for the teams that are paying them.

The players who are hurt the most under the new constraints are the non-superstar, veteran players. As their years in the league increase and they remain ...

Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
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