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5 Major Changes That Would Save the NHL

The NHL could use some help. Luckily, Pucks and Pitchforks is here to give them a boost. We make a few major changes that could make the NHL much more entertaining and level the playing field.

By David Holliday

Jun 3, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman speaks at a press conference before game one of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 3, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman speaks at a press conference before game one of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports
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3. Fixing the Salary Cap

There are a million complaints about the salary cap every year, and while it was 100% needed and should obviously never be removed, it is possible to make it better. Players like good teams, a better climate, and more money for the most part, and while no one can make Winnipeg warm or have made the now-gone Arizona Coyotes a good team, they could make money go further. How would that be done, you say?

Taxes in each province/state are very different, and living in a place with low taxes is a massive advantage to some cities, especially if they get good; looking at you Florida. So let's change the salary cap to only impact take-home income.

If they did this, a $10 million contract would actually be worth $10 million dollars and not $7.5 million in city A, $7.2 million in city B, and $6.1 million in City C. This would even out the playing field even more and might give players more incentive to stay in places they want to and in places they are drafted in if money is not a big issue. Yes, it is more money than most of us will ever see, but it is still a hard choice if all things were equal to basically turn down millions of dollars for no reason, especially when it does not help your team and just goes to taxes.

This would be a very messy change to do but if you just moved each deal to their take home it would have a net positive on the sport immediately and moving forward. The only complaint from this would be some of the teams that don't want to spend would have to spend a bit more despite this probably making them more competitive but if a billionaire if unwilling to drop a few extra million to win your team is never going to win anyways.

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