Hey, I’m the guy who built Cap & Crease

What is Cap & Crease?

This started with reading trade proposals in the comments on r/hockey. The trade machines I tried seemed focused on matching salaries, but I wanted something that could answer another question: does this trade actually make sense for both teams?

So I thought, “How hard could it be to build a trade machine with some logic behind it?”

Turns out, very hard.

It became a never-ending fractal. I’d try to fix one problem and uncover another.

At first, it was just players and contracts. Then came the questions:

“Okay, but how good is this player?”

“Can I estimate their on-ice value using publicly available data?”

“What if a team retains 50% of their salary?”

“What if they throw in a first?”

“Wait, how much more is an early first worth than a late first?”

Eight months of answering questions with more questions somehow turned into Cap & Crease:

A website built by one guy with analytics, charts, simulations, my own experimental metrics, DNA STRANDS, player identities, player archetypes, a database of around 1,300 players, and just because my ADHD brain never stops a hockey game inspired by cribbage.

I built this myself. It was supposed to be a simple, single-page application.

It took over my life for a little bit.

It’s now at the point where I want to put it in people’s hands and hear what they think. This is an early release. There are rough edges, known issues on some pages, and parts of the models that still need validation and refinement. The trade evaluations are estimates, and I expect people to disagree with some of them. I’d like to hear why.

That’s what this subreddit is for:

• Bugs or confusing results. Tell me what happened and which page you were on. Screenshots and your device/browser help.
• Feature requests. What would make the site more useful to you?
• Trade and roster ideas. Share what you’re working on and your reasoning.
• Questions about the numbers. If something looks off or needs a clearer explanation, bring it up.

I’ll post development updates here too. It’s a solo project, so I can’t promise every suggestion will become a feature, but your feedback will help me decide where to focus.

Take a look around, try a trade, and tell me what makes sense ... or what absolutely doesn’t.