from Nicholas J, Cotsonika of Yahoo,

The Pittsburgh Penguins are not supposed to be able to add Jarome Iginla, not when they had already added Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray. Not when they already had last year’s Hart Trophy winner and this year’s presumptive MVP. Not when they already had a supporting cast that included other top scorers and character players and a Norris Trophy candidate and a Stanley Cup-winning goalie. Not when they were already on a double-digit winning streak.

Thanks to the hard salary cap, there aren’t supposed to be teams like the Detroit Red Wings of the early 2000s, who blew out their budget and stockpiled future Hall of Famers. There aren’t supposed to be teams like the New York Yankees of legend or the Miami Heat of “The Decision.”

Thanks to the hard salary cap, there isn’t supposed to be room on the payroll or the roster. The talent is spread evenly throughout the league. The standings are tight, if not from top to bottom, then close to it. The idea is that if you make the playoffs, you can win the Cup, like the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Kings did last season.

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