Buff is grindy and I hate the Salary cap

I knew it was inevitable for us to have to get rid of people, and alot of people are up in arms about the trade we just made with Atlanta, sending Buff, Eager, and Sopel over there for a couple of picks and prospects and whatnot (i'm not even really sure, I was in the midst of a 2 hour rain delay at the Cell when I heard the news...). Not to mention today's trade of Colin Fraser, which did not cause as much of an uproar.
I don't really blame people for being angry about it, I mean, Buff was a key element to not only beating Vancouver, but San Jose as well. He had a great run in the playoffs and became an instant fan favorite, and then he was gone as soon as we won the championship...
...and ya know? it kinda reminds me of Aaron Rowand a bit now that I think about it. Big Buff could be the new grindiest man in the world at this rate. The reaction from the fans has been almost identical to that of Sox fans when we traded Rowand away. Only difference is, we got Jim Thome in return. that's actually a pretty good deal. This hockey one, not so much. But there's a reason for that.
And that reason is the salary cap. After that weird situation with Dale Tallon last year involving the players who would become free agents, we now find ourselves in a bit of a dilemma. We signed the core players, Captain, Kaner, and Keith, so we could be secure there. But it was inevitable that we would have to trade people away to make room for that money to resign the others, or just not resign them at all. I have always had mixed reviews about the salary cap in sports. Baseball is the one i think should have one the most, but it's the only one that doesn't. I like the idea of letting the little guy win once in a while, but i am not crazy about the cap in the NHL. I think it just might be a little too strict.
For example: Captain accomplishes something very awesome in winning the Conn Smythe trophy. He gets a bonus on his contract for winning said trophy. Now the team has even less money to work with because it goes towards the cap. So basically, for helping his team win the Stanley Cup, he's screwing his team over. Now where I come from that's just not right. I read in the Tribune that he wanted to differ the money, but the league said no dude. I would be interested to know how he feels about that, given what I know about him and his personality. Maybe i'll get a chance to meet him again and ask him ^_^ (although when I met him the first time I didn't know what to say and i'm sure I sounded dumb...kinda glad my friends weren't there to see that one lol).
Anyway, that's my issue here and that's really all I can say about it. I'll miss these boys, especially big Buff...hopefully he'll still get in Luongo's crease when the Thrashers play Vancouver...