If you are a hardcore fan of hockey, you most likely used CapGeek.com. The site was an online hockey database that detailed player salaries, team spending, and allowed the user to see the effects a trade could have on teams' salary cap situations.
CapGeek was created by Matthew Wuest and ceased operations in January because of Wuest's health issues.
While there are other websites that track hockey salaries, none seem to be as accurate or as versatile as CapGeek was. Wuest's passion project changed the way fans talk about hockey. When a fan proposed a ridiculous trade on an online hockey forum, another fan could shoot the trade down by showing how it was not even possible.
One might think with no CapGeek, the NHL has the perfect opportunity to step up and provide salary cap information on its website. It does not seem like this will happen anytime soon. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said he does not believe hockey fans are interested in this kind of data and care more about what happens on the ice.
The idea that fans do not care about player salaries is absolutely ridiculous. A team's cap situation affects every move that team makes, including what players the team can sign and trade. This information is increasingly critical for fans looking to understand how the league works. This past trade deadline, the Clarkson/Horton trade, in which Toronto acquired a player who may never play again for a player they were desperate to get rid of, is impossible to understand without an understanding of the team's salary structures.
There is a major demand for a new CapGeek, and eventually someone will fill it. Maybe it will be the NHL, a major sports media outlet, or another outsider who is passionate about providing a service to other fans.
For many of us, it cannot come fast enough.
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