Leafs set to spend more on D than anybody this year.

by Robot Godzilla on Aug 28, 2009 4:22 AM EDT

Today's infographic is a little bit more serious than yesterday's Public Service Announcement, but it makes me feel just as warm and fuzzy. The first is a rundown of each team's 09/10 salary cap hit as spent on each position. Is it a perfect representation of a team's direction? Of course not. There will always be mitigating factors like your discount players on Detroit, or players that play below their pay-grade, some of whom may or may not play for Ottawa this Fall, or other players that are putting up decent numbers on rookie contracts, but overall I think these numbers tell an interesting tale of teams that invest in defence, and teams that don't.

Click images to enlarge. Or just squint, whatever.

via i30.tinypic.com

Salary is measured by 09/10 cap hit, with numbers provided by nhlnumbers.com. I didn't include buyouts. (Screw you, Tucker.)

A closer look at the EAST.

via i29.tinypic.com

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nothing i like better than stats and charts. well done.

by daoust on Aug 28, 2009 1:49 PM EDT reply actions

Thank you, sir.

Currently tracking outbreaks of Hogtown Flu, specifically the LS02 strain.

by Robot Godzilla on Aug 28, 2009 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions

It's crazy

how much Nashville gets on the dollar for their defensive spend. 2nd cheapest in the league and yet they have Weber, Suter and Hamhuis on the back end. CRAZY.

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

- Sir Winston Churchill

I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.

by Steve Burtch on Aug 28, 2009 2:41 PM EDT reply actions

They are all still fairly young, correct? Have any of them hit RFA status yet, and how long before they hit UFA status? I assume that’s why Nashville is able to have that kind of talent on D for relatively little $.

Being a Leaf fan here requires one to be sufficiently lubricated... and truculent!

by stucky on Aug 28, 2009 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Hamhuis is 26, and is signed for one more year (2.5M salary, 2.0M cap hit). He will be a UFA next summer.
Suter is 24, and is signed for 3 more years at 3.5M. He won’t be a UFA until the summer of 2012.
Weber is 23, and is signed for 2 more years at 4.5M. He’ll be an RFA in the summer of 2011.

Resident Capologist

by clrkaitken on Aug 28, 2009 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Check out their prospects, too

Jonathan Blum, Ryan Ellis, and Cody Franson amongst others. Nashville is the team of defensemen.

Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell

by bkblades on Aug 28, 2009 6:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Well done

Do the numbers for offense/defense/goaltending include buyouts?

A Nation of Masochists I can't believe "Stay Truculent!!!1" replaced goodbye.

by furcifer on Aug 28, 2009 3:57 PM EDT reply actions

I didn’t include buyouts

I’m an idiot. I meant bonuses.

A Nation of Masochists I can't believe "Stay Truculent!!!1" replaced goodbye.

by furcifer on Aug 28, 2009 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks,

and I’m pretty sure bonus aren’t included.

For the record does any know how bonuses count against the cap? Do teams have to leave a ‘just-in-case’ buffer if everyone gets bonuses?

Currently tracking outbreaks of Hogtown Flu, specifically the LS02 strain.

by Robot Godzilla on Aug 28, 2009 4:28 PM EDT reply actions

i believe

bonuses are only included as part of the players cap hit in the final year of the CBA.

i know it was an issue before the NHLPA voted to continue with the current CBA, then the bonus issue seemed to go by the way side…

"Sanity is not statistical." - George Orwell, a Leafs fan...
Stalk me here...

by blurr1974 on Aug 28, 2009 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions

You sir, are Correct

Also, if bonuses have to be paid out and you end up exceeding the salary cap for that year, the remainder of the bonus money hits the cap for the following year.

You can verify this with clrkaitken

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

Albert Einstein

by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Aug 28, 2009 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions

It looks like the bonus cushion has been eliminated, with the exception of bonuses for entry-level players.

NHLSCAP doesn’t track bonuses, but nhlnumbers does. It shows a bonus cushion of $3.04M for the Leafs, comprised of potential bonuses this season for Kulemin, Schenn & Gustavsson.

So it seems that bonuses are included in the calculation of the cap hit, and are deducted for entry-level players only. That’s all I got right now.

Resident Capologist

by clrkaitken on Aug 28, 2009 6:02 PM EDT up reply actions