The NHL now a more prestigious league?

[Yeti]

I heard people saying that the NHL lost some glow and prestrige with the new salary structures because some europeans will stay home instead of coming to NA. Maybe.

I think this is more than fully compensated by

1) the minimum salary going up to $450 000 under a cap system.

I think this is the end of the Dave Morrissettes of this world and all the NHL goons who have the skills of semi-pro and garage league players. The composition of fourth lines in the NHL will change in my opinion. More skills and with players who can play every game.

2) Going from 9 rounds to 7 rounds in the draft

9 and + new prospects every year in a team was just too many. Those chosen will get more special attention and support from the team that drafted them. The NHL makes it a bit more difficult for young players to become pros. Teams without a good scouting department have less probabilities of getting lucky with a late draft pick becoming a star.

All in all, I think the NHL is now a more "prestigious" league than before. The superstars will still choose the NHL because the salaries for them are still interesting; for those at the bottom it will be more difficult to get in.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

yeti said:

I heard people saying that the NHL lost some glow and prestrige with the new salary structures because some europeans will stay home instead of coming to NA. Maybe.

This, IMO, will likely be the case—in the short term—until the NHL reasserts itself as the premier hockey league in the world.

I think this is more than fully compensated by

1) the minimum salary going up to $450 000 under a cap system.

I think this is the end of the Dave Morrissettes of this world and all the NHL goons who have the skills of semi-pro and garage league players. The composition of fourth lines in the NHL will change in my opinion. More skills and with players who can play every game.

Make it so (again)! I remember the 6-team NHL—3 lines, and every man a hockey player.

2) Going from 9 rounds to 7 rounds in the draft

9 and + new prospects every year in a team was just too many. Those chosen will get more special attention and support from the team that drafted them. The NHL makes it a bit more difficult for young players to become pros. Teams without a good scouting department have less probabilities of getting lucky with a late draft pick becoming a star.

The key here is that now drafted Europeans must be signed within the same time frame as drafted North Americans—no more holding rights in perpetuity—so, sign them within two years or kiss them goodbye.

All in all, I think the NHL is now a more "prestigious" league than before. The superstars will still choose the NHL because the salaries for them are still interesting; for those at the bottom it will be more difficult to get in.

Yes, the probability of a more skills-oriented NHL has presented itself. Let us see whether this opportunity is seized and developed.