Heck NO! The top guys can get what the marketplace makes available because they are the draw. The problem with the salary structure now IS the middle guys. You may spend $20 mil on Roenick, Recchi and Dejardins, but the rest of the team is B to C level, and costs just as much.And doesn't produce near as much.
People pay to see Jagr, Sakic, Modano and Naslund. They don't pay to see Mike Knuble or Kris Draper. The GM's went nuts on these guys in the middle (except the Rangers who overpay everyone), and set a bad precendent. It's come back to haunt them.
I say give the Jagrs and the Modanos the $8 mil they want and the other guys can get by on $1.5-2 mil per, and make more with incentive clauses. Those A-list players will be the ones to bring the fans in and the TV cameras.
If a player chooses to play for less, then that's his business. The middle guys are in the position where the contracts are driven more by the agents and the pressure they bring on the owners than it does with getting value for your money. When the typical agent is getting 20% in fees, and he can artificially drive a player's value up, there is no incentive for the player to be honest about his talent or his worth. Add to the mix that most fo the player s are represented by the same 20-25 aents, and these guys are running a cartel. Once the first guy got overpaid, it naturally followed that they would ALL get overpaid.
But that's what MADE this situation in the first place. The problem with the salary structure is the top guys, they're the balloon that lifts the whole structure. There is no way to lower the wages of the middle guys and NOT lower the wages of the top guys, the entire salary structure is BUILT around the TOP guys.
People pay to see their team win. And hockey is the ultiumate team sport, you don't just win because of the top guys, if they ensured victory the Rangers would have won 6 straight Cups in recent. You need solid 3rd lines and roleplayers to win.
There's no way your second line guys are going to be happy playing for 1/8 of what the top dogs make. Your 4th liners will be OK with it sure, and that's what they already make. Your 3rd liners will be OK with 1/4 of what the top dogs make, which is again what they already make. But your 2nd line guys will want at least half. THe ONLY way to drop down the pay of those 8-12 guys you see the problem with is to drop the pay of the marquee players. Any other system will get sent to arbitration and be over turned in minutes.
I have to disagree about Draper. The Grind Line is EXTREMELY popular in the Detroit area, and sells the jerseys to prove it.
Nationwide, Draper isn't a big draw, but locally he is, similar to the enforcers of the 80's.