Darryl Sutter takes a jab at Vegas and their salary cap circumvention
Said perfectly, said only like Sutter himself could say it.
HockeyFeed
The Vegas Golden Knights aren't exactly the most popular team around the NHL. And that may be putting things llightly.
Agree with the way they do business or not, it's clear that Vegas has their own way of doing things. They're constantly moving forward and they don't have the time or the wherewithal to stay loyal. Fan favourites like Marc Andre Fleury, Nate Schmidt and others have essentially been dumped by the team when newer, shinier options have emerged. Just in the past few seasons we've seen Vegas go after star players like Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Robin Lehner, Max Pacioretty and Alex Pietrangelo all at the expense of other players already in their lineup.
Again, that's how they do business in Vegas. They acquire star players and then figure out how to make things work. Except... well now things may be finally catching up to them.
Since acquiring Eichel and his $10 million salary from the Buffalo Sabres, the team has had to jump through serious hoops to get under the salary cap and even went so far as to try trading away an ineligible player (Evgeny Dadonov) to stay within the rules. It's clear that Vegas is struggling to put together a cohesive lineup that adheres to the NHL's salary cap rules and Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter pointed that out in true "Sutter fashion" when asked about the team just yesterday.
Check out Sutter's 'tongue in cheek' comments:
“When they have the full squad, they’re the favourites to win the Stanley Cup. Other than the team that has the Stanley Cup, they’re the favourites. They have a $100-million payroll, so they have to figure out how to keep 20 out.”
- Darryl Sutter
They have a $100 million payroll... priceless...
The NHL, of course, has a $81.5 million salary cap and Sutter's not far off when poking fun at Vegas' payroll. The team's projected cap hit is actually $92.5 million when everyone is healthy and accounted for. This means that the team has to get $11 million off the books just to get in compliance with league rules... no easy tasks and, frankly, just fuel for haters to go off on when this team does business they way they do.
