Constructing a Stanley Cup Champion in the Salary Cap Era

[Ho_Brah]

original article: How to Build a Stanley Cup Championship NHL Team

Since the lockout in 2004-05 the NHL has seen a lot of change. While attendance and television ratings have risen, the salary cap, which was introduced to control spending and balance opportunity, has also steadily increased each year. With the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) set to expire this fall we could be in for even more change that can impact the way organizations choose to structure their franchises.

This infographic examines how Stanley Cup winning teams have been constructed since the cap was introduced.
For each team, notice the progression/regression of their farm team affiliate leading up to and following their Championship year. There are some interesting trends. Perhaps most notable is that Carolina is the only team of the lot to not make the playoffs in the following season while simultaneously having to transition their farm team to a new city. Coincidence? Maybe. We’ll let you decide. The other 5 teams have maintained strong organizational depth from bottom to top and reap the benefits of repeated playoff appearances.

Only one team, Chicago, did not have their oldest players (on average per position) on defence. Detroit and Pittsburgh had the oldest defensive corps yet the Penguins had by far the youngest offence. Also of interest when it comes to the Pens is that each of their Centermen were products of their own drafting/farm system. Only the Red Wings had more overall players on their squad through drafting than the Penguins.

Most defensemen hit their prime at a later age, so it's not surprising to see that stat about Cup-winning defenses. The Kings are young at that position, after investing their highest draft pick in a defenseman (Drew Doughty, #2 overall). They also have a d-corps featuring Voynov (age 22) and Martinez (age 24). This is balanced by the experience offered by Willie Mitchell (35) and Rob Scuderi (33), the most seasoned players on the roster.

The Kings have also pulled Kyle Clifford, Andrei Loktionov, Dwight King, and Jordan Nolan from the farm team to join the big club over the last two seasons.

 

[BOSSMANPC]

Some interesting numbers there. Thanks for the post Hawaiian.

 

[evolver115]

The most significant point I take away from the above chart is each team who has won the cup since the lockout did it with a goal-tender who, by and large, either had a career regular season, and/or post-season.

- Ward
- Giggy
- Ozzy
- MAF
- Niemi
- Thomas

Common theme amongst them all is that they played their best, and it shows by the team whose names made it onto Lord Stanley. If you want that hardware, your goalie is vital to making it a reality.

Quick and Smith both have that same look about them. Going to be interesting to see which one gets to four wins the fastest over the next two weeks.

 

[higgyfan4]

original article: How to Build a Stanley Cup Championship NHL Team

Only the Red Wings had more overall players on their squad through drafting than the Penguins.

Interesting....

 

[pixburgher66]

What's going to be interesting is the way GMs approach their building as the cap continues to increase. It could very likely be around $66million this coming season (depending on how the CBA negotiations go), which is a staggering increase compared to the 04-05 numbers. There's going to be more teams that just can't afford to pay up to the cap, and more that struggle to reach the floor. We're only going to see more of those ridiculous contracts, and they really scare me.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

I think we're going to see a lot of one year and short term deals this offseason, with the way long contracts have burned teams and with the new CBA coming up.