[quote name='Powerforward']I haven't really been paying attention lately, so is $150 for an authentic jersey with name and number of a real current player that good of a deal?
On the topic of the current lockout, not all of the owners and teams are losing millions of dollars. No one forced teams like the Rangers to overpay their players.[/quote]
No one forced Tom Hicks to pay Bill Guerin 9 million a year for 5 years, but he did it. But that does affect other teams by driving the salary structure up. Free agents with comparable stats will use those contracts to base their asking prices on. Agents will use them as examples in their arguments in salary arbitration (and that is what arbitration looks at, what other similar players make). Its sad that the owners need to be protected from themselves, but they do. The Rangers don't care because they're Cablevision. Tom Hicks didn't care because he was rich (he sure as hell cares now because he's pissed away a ton of his money). The Bruins care because they can't afford to match that rediculous offer to Guerin, and their next free agent foreward with similar stats (Murray) would ask for similar money. The Bruins have been profitable every year for a long time, they're a responsible team and they don't generally overpay for players, but what the other owners do with their money does affect them in a very big way.