Since CapGeek went offline in January, analysts, agents, media types and, yes, fans have been craving a suitable replacement source for NHL salary information.
While a few websites such as NHLNumbers.com offer up player salary and cap management statistics, no site has been able to focus solely on comprehensive, up-to-date, searchable contract data on the league’s teams and players. Which is to say, properly carry the CapGeek torch.
May the Fourth, however, brought a new hope.
General Fanager launched Tuesday and gained more than 9,000 Twitter followers in roughly 48 hours.
Created in honour of CapGeek founder Matthew Wuest, the 35-year-old pioneer who died of colon cancer in March, General Fanager describes itself as “an independent compiler of the latest news and contract information for the National Hockey League” that bases its numbers on reports from “all credible major outlets, reporters and hockey sites in the industry, citing and crediting those resources on every occasion.”
Though far from perfect upon launch — the site even crashed for a while due to an early traffic surge — GF has been working with fans and journalists to ensure its data is correct. (When contacted for comment, GF tweeted that the team is placing a priority on site functionality over publicity at this time.)
The site offers a draft tracker, and plans to roll out advanced tools for salary cap analysis and team management, including the ability to customize rosters to determine cap compliance.
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Concerned about going public with players’ salary info, commissioner Gary Bettman took flak this season for telling reporters he didn’t think there was significant fan interest in a salary management engine and that the league did not intend to launch its own CapGeek replacement.
Perhaps the coolest thing about Fan Manager is that it pays homage to the originator.
“As avid users of CapGeek, we have missed the valuable information and tools it provided, and are aiming to bring that back as much as possible to the hockey community,” reads a message on the site.
“CapGeek will always be the leader, but we hope to help in carrying on its legacy as much as possible. If you enjoy using General Fanager or previously frequented CapGeek, please consider donating to Colon Cancer Canada, the Terry Fox Foundation or the Canadian Cancer Society.”
