Although training camps will begin in the next few weeks and teams are in the final preparations before the season starts, there are still a lot of players waiting for a contract in the NHL. This trend is on the rise and it's quite concerning. According to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN, an agent mentioned to him that the salary cap would be the main cause. <q>« There are 16 or 17 teams that want to lose. The salary cap has caused teams to lose: Hey, if I'm going to miss the playoffs, I better sell the space I have on my payroll. »</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/wyshynski/status/1564975901695217665?t=R4aPkV0F8ahKgnnSQFDJ5w&s=19'> </a></blockquote></div> The players demand bigger salaries, which is normal, but the mass increases very little. Losing teams offer to take bad contracts in return for prospects, which inflates their payroll and gives space to the best teams, and the wheel turns. That's what explains the Max Pacioretty and Sean Monahan trades, to name a few.