My Little Adventure with the Devils’ Numbers
So, the other day, I got it into my head to really dig into this whole New Jersey Devils cap space thing. And man, let me tell you, it was something. Not exactly a fun walk in the park, more like trying to untangle a massive ball of Christmas lights when you’re already late for the party.
I figured, how hard can it be, right? You just look at the numbers. So I pulled up their roster and started poking around. You see the big names right away, the guys making the big bucks. Your Hughes, your Hischier, Hamilton on defense – yeah, they take up a good slice of the pie, and you expect that. But then you start looking past them, at all the other guys, and that’s where my brain started to hurt.
It’s like, okay, you’ve got these young guys who are gonna need new deals soon. Then you’ve got a couple of older guys, maybe their contracts are ending. Who do you keep? Who do you let walk? I was sitting there, trying to shuffle imaginary money around. “If we give this fella X amount, what’s left for that hole on the wing?” It’s a proper headache.
- First, I’d look at a player and their current hit.
- Then I’d try to guess what their next contract might be.
- Then I’d see how that messed everything else up. Rinse and repeat.
And it’s not just about who gets paid what. There’s all this other stuff. Like, what if someone gets injured long-term? That LTIR stuff, it sounds like it helps, but then it’s got its own rules that make things even more of a maze. It felt like every time I thought I had a handle on it, another little detail would pop up and throw me off.
I remember just staring at the screen, thinking, “How do actual GMs do this without pulling all their hair out?” You’ve got buyout penalties from players who aren’t even on the team anymore, sometimes. Or maybe you kept some of another guy’s salary when you traded him. All these little bits and pieces that add up.
Why’d I even bother, you ask? Well, I was chatting with a friend, a die-hard Devils supporter, and he was going on and on about how they’re always stuck, can’t make moves. So I thought, “Alright, Mr. Expert, I’ll take a look myself and see what’s what.” Pure curiosity, really. And a bit of wanting to see if I could make sense of his complaining.
So, after a good couple of hours clicking around, moving numbers, and generally confusing myself, I can’t say I came up with any genius solutions for them. Not my job, thankfully. But I definitely walked away with a bit more sympathy for the folks who actually have to manage this stuff for real. It’s a real tightrope walk, and one slip can cost you big time. My head was pretty much fried after that whole exercise, not gonna lie.
