Death of the Quick Fix

This is the official death knell of the old NHL's winner's buy-all structure. In the past the Rangers would approach the trade deadline with their pants down and a pocket book at hand. For a player they were interested in, no contract was too stupid to pursue. Need a 3rd line centre? Sign Bobby Holik to a $9M a year contract - and after all, why not? He's the best available guy, and you have pockets so deep that $9M a year is chump change to what you COULD spend. Need a superstar? Trade for Jagr's $11M a year deal. Need a defenseman with grit? Kasparaitis is available if you pay through the nose. And so it went.

Now the chickens have come home to roost, and the Rangers face the new salary cap with Jagr geting over a fifth of their cap space, and players like Holik and Kasparaitis impossible to fit in.

And with this news sanity has returned to the NHL.

Paying Holik $9M a year was in my opinion the worst example of the rich get the quick fix, and the small market teams get screwed. Holik should have been a Devil for the rest of his career (he was originally a Whaler), but to be fair, he opted for the ridiculous money that the Rangers offered, and he could have accepted almost as ridiculous money from Philly or Toronto. The Devils were never in the hunt, as Lamouriello had a ceiling for Holik's contract as a second line centre and refused to budge.

Now a team like the Devils will be able to hold on to Holik and Holik will be able to hold on to them. Iginla need never wear a jersey other than Calgary's (and Dallas' which he put on at the draft). The Phoenix Coyotes will finally be able to develop an identity. The Tampa Bay Lightning will have a chance to make a run at a dynasty.

And the Rangers? They get to learn how the rest of the league's GM's do their jobs.