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Maple Leafs Mike Babcock Disagrees with Salary Cap

By Rachel Halliwell |
Mar 5, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock and center William Nylander (39) look on from the bench against the Ottawa Senators at Air Canada Centre. The Senators beat the Maple Leafs 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock and center William Nylander (39) look on from the bench against the Ottawa Senators at Air Canada Centre. The Senators beat the Maple Leafs 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

As coach of the leagues richest team, Mike Babcock wants to see the restraints on spending lifted.

When asked if the NHL draft lottery format should be changed, Mike Babcock raised the possibility of eliminating the salary cap. On Tuesday and Wednesday he reiterated his feelings that the teams that have the most money should get to spend the most money.

In the 2004-05 lockout season, the NHL spent the whole season getting the players to consent to a salary cap. There’s been no serious talk about eliminating it since.

During an appearance on Sportsnet 590 The Fan’s The Andrew Walker Show, Babcock said that the “whole league is set up to help bottom feeders.” If that’s what Babcock thinks of the league, I’ll believe him.

“We have a salary cap, do we not? So, if there was no salary cap, the Toronto Maple Leafs could go out and spend as much money as they wanted, could they not? And as long as you made the money you could spend it.” – Mike Babcock

“We have a salary cap, do we not?” he said. “So, if there was no salary cap, the Toronto Maple Leafs could go out and spend as much money as they wanted, could they not? And as long as you made the money you could spend it.”

It is no surprise that the coach of the richest franchise would like to spend as much as they can. Especially since the team would earn it back in a heartbeat, having such a mass fan base. However, many other coaches are not so keen on this idea.

Gerrard Gallant of the Florida Panthers for example, bench boss of a solid team this year, but a struggling franchise. This team consistently sits in the basement of the league in average attendance. Teams that do not sell tickets very easily, partially do to the fact they’re not in huge hockey markets, will struggle to put money on the table to give to high-end players.

This format that Mike Babcock is suggesting, is basically how the MLB has been running for years. The teams that earn the most, have the highest payrolls. For example, the LA Dodgers lead the MLB at about a $253 million dollar payroll. Last place Milwaukee’s is just over $62 million. It is a very large difference, but the MLB is still very competitive.

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“Now, I like that. That’s my political background.” Babcock said, “That’s what I believe in in life, but that’s not the way the league is run. So let’s fix that first and then we can get into the draft.”

Now, this is incredibly favourable for the Toronto Maple Leafs. They would turn out hundreds of millions of dollars, likely having the highest payroll in the NHL. They could likely sign whoever they wanted to. Stamkos. Tavares. Kane. McDavid. The list is really endless.

The team would still need a solid management team that would make sure the Leafs would still be good. The last thing fans would want, would to be like the Red Sox, have the 3rd highest payroll, then finish at the bottom of your division. The amount of money a team like that would bring in would allow them to at least be competitive for a long time.

This would also substantially increase Toronto’s chances at a Stanley Cup victory. And come on, that’s what we all want anyways. I’m with you, Babs.

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