So What's This Salary Cap Thing we Keep Hearing About?

Training camp physicals begin today and optimism abounds in Oil Country. A young, fast, offensively explosive team, dotted with a few vets here and there, and a possible emerging superstar in young Sam Gagner.

Sam's got two years remaining on the entry level contract and is one of the young guns on the team that seems likely to outperform the contract figure this season and next. Is it out of the realm of possibility to see Gagner put up somewhere in the neighborhood of 65 points this season and 80 in the next? I don't think so. The Kid's smart and skilled and he's primed to play big minutes against the other teams 2nd and 3rd lines and on the PP. Wouldn't those numbers be great? They would for Sam that's for sure - because Jason Pomminville just hit the jackpot with 2nd and third season point totals of 68 and 80. Pomminville just signed a 5 year, $26.5million dollar contract to do what Gagner does.

So, what does this mean for Gagner? Well, factor in inflation. At 5% per year, $26.5 million becomes $29.2 million. So it's conceivable that after his rookie contract has expired, Gagner could be in a position to command a 5 year, $30 million contract....jesus...he'll be 21 years old. I remember when I was 21, doing laundry in my dorm on a Friday afternoon in hopes of finding a $10 bill in my jeans in order to jack up the weekend spending money. Would 5 years at say $22.5million at that point be considered a hometown discount?

Tough to say where this league is going salary cap wise, but say one stagnant year in League revenues, maybe in 2010, that keeps the cap from rising, would be a hard pill to swallow for a team like the Oilers - committed to spending to the cap and all. I'd suggest leaving some wiggle room for Gagner....and oh yeah - when's Cogliano's contract up again? There has to be a way to increase league revenue, at least superficially, to keep that cap going up.