Around The League 40: As we barrel towards 40 teams

[Svechhammer]

Teams like Ottawa, NJ and the Sabres are following the current formula well. Draft, identify the priorities and sign them early for long term. It’s high but the world is changing that way and I’d there’s a young dman worth it it’s maybe him.

And talking about ourselves for a second, I think we should already be considering what it would take to get Nikishin signed long term here, and try to get that done before his value explodes, assuming he continues to develop at the rate many are expecting.

And get Jarvis extended for 8 years when his ELC is done.

 

[MinJaBen]

Not gonna lie, those are some pretty sweet rings...

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

And talking about ourselves for a second, I think we should already be considering what it would take to get Nikishin signed long term here, and try to get that done before his value explodes, assuming he continues to develop at the rate many are expecting.

And get Jarvis extended for 8 years when his ELC is done.

The Canes are constructed in such a way in which there shouldn't be an issue getting any of Necas, Jarvis, or Nikishin (very likely) locked in for 8 years. They're not afraid of letting UFAs get overpaid elsewhere if they don't sign contracts at what the Canes think that they're worth. The new salary environment is far more problematic for the old guard and teams who consistently mismanage their young talent than it is for the Hurricanes.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Jeff Skinner skating with the Stanley Cup while being chased by an actual wild buffalo is some serious fever-dream material.

 

[Chrispy]

Jeff Skinner skating with the Stanley Cup while being chased by an actual wild buffalo is some serious fever-dream material.

Now I'm imagining Beck Bennett's dialogue as a buffalo tries to chase Skinner on ice.

 

[Svechhammer]

You want a fun afternoon activity? Call out Toronto for the pretty obviously cap circumvention in the main forum thread. They're in full Iraqi Minister of Defense mode right now, and its enjoyable to watch

 

[SlavinAway]

You want a fun afternoon activity? Call out Toronto for the pretty obviously cap circumvention in the main forum thread. They're in full Iraqi Minister of Defense mode right now, and its enjoyable to watch

They're definitely taking full advantage of that loop hole but it's no where near as bad as what Tampa did so I don't really care. It is funny that they're trying to spin it that they're not even using the loop hole though.

 

[Svechhammer]

They're definitely taking full advantage of that loop hole but it's no where near as bad as what Tampa did so I don't really care. It is funny that they're trying to spin it that they're not even using the loop hole though.

Oh 100% and we kind of did the same with Williams when he sat out the 2019-20 season right up until the trade deadline when he came back. If we were in a similar position, I would hope we would game the shit out of it as well.

But if you're going to do it, at least own it. Pretending like they're not circumventing right now is hilarious

 

[cptjeff]

Oh 100% and we kind of did the same with Williams when he sat out the 2019-20 season right up until the trade deadline when he came back. If we were in a similar position, I would hope we would game the shit out of it as well.

But if you're going to do it, at least own it. Pretending like they're not circumventing right now is hilarious

Seriously. Why not get the surgery earlier, why the day the rosters are finalized?

Reasons.

I haven't actually gone into the main board thread to see how they're justifying it, gonna have to set aside some time and make some popcorn first.

 

[Svechhammer]

Seriously. Why not get the surgery earlier, why the day the rosters are finalized?

Reasons.

I haven't actually gone into the main board thread to see how they're justifying it, gonna have to set aside some time and make some popcorn first.

Its also funny how they all just somehow knew that Murray would end up on LTIR on July 1, but delayed the surgery to now because "he wanted to enjoy his summer"

If this was any other contending team that pulled this, the hockey community would be blowing up about a cap circumvention scandal right now

 

[cptjeff]

Its also funny how they all just somehow knew that Murray would end up on LTIR on July 1, but delayed the surgery to now because "he wanted to enjoy his summer"

If this was any other contending team that pulled this, the hockey community would be blowing up about a cap circumvention scandal right now

I mean, on a human level I get why somebody might want that- but this is a highly competitve sport with highly driven and highly compensated athletes who want to be be playing ASAP. There's no way that this was not very deliberately planned by the Leafs, just as there is zero chance the timing of Hossa's retirement was on the level.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

I mean, on a human level I get why somebody might want that- but this is a highly competitve sport with highly driven and highly compensated athletes who want to be be playing ASAP. There's no way that this was not very deliberately planned by the Leafs, just as there is zero chance the timing of Hossa's retirement was on the level.

And if any of you believe that Kucherov actually was injured all season in 2021 and was only ready just to play in time for the post-season, I've got several bridges to sell you.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Here's the thing: I get why Winnipeg wants to give Scheifele and Hellebuyck 7x$8.5M AAV pacts. They are always feeling like they need to break a narrative about players not wanting to stay in their city. What I don't understand is why those two would choose this rather than move to a top contender for at least a season or two. What I will say, though, is that Winnipeg almost certainly doesn't have the same degree of cost-of-living issues as the rest of Canada does. So much of the current Canadian housing bubble is related to Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver.

 

[cptjeff]

And if any of you believe that Kucherov actually was injured all season in 2021 and was only ready just to play in time for the post-season, I've got several bridges to sell you.

Ready for Game 1, but not for Game 82? My, what a remarkable stroke of luck!

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Here's the thing: I get why Winnipeg wants to give Scheifele and Hellebuyck 7x$8.5M AAV pacts. They are always feeling like they need to break a narrative about players not wanting to stay in their city. What I don't understand is why those two would choose this rather than move to a top contender for at least a season or two.

Not a single contender would touch those contracts. The good thing is Helley isn’t going to NJ

 

[Svechhammer]

Not a single contender would touch those contracts. The good thing is Helley isn’t going to NJ

lol yup

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Not a single contender would touch those contracts. The good thing is Helley isn’t going to NJ

I didn't say that they would. I'm saying that I'm wondering why either Scheifele or Hellebuyck didn't try to hook on with a contender for something like 1-3 seasons, like what some players did this offseason, particularly Bertuzzi and Orlov.

 

[SlavinAway]

I didn't say that they would. I'm saying that I'm wondering they didn't try to hook on with a contender for something like 1-3 seasons, like what some players did this offseason, particularly Bertuzzi and Orlov.

I can think of about 59.5 million reasons.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

I didn't say that they would. I'm saying that I'm wondering they didn't try to hook on with a contender for something like 1-3 seasons, like what some players did this offseason, particularly Bertuzzi and Orlov.

The point being that they may have gotten 1-3 years at those AAV from a contender but would lose at least 10 million in money trying to sign a deal after the 1-3 year deal.

Winnipeg will have a nice time at 8-10 in the west annually.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

It's presumptuous of us as fans to think we know what's important to each player and to think that they should take a discount and/or make a tradeoff (ie..shorter term) to go to a contender. I made the same mistake with Skinner thinking no way he'd waive to go to Buffalo vs. going to a contender. Why did Eric Staal sign such a long term deal to stay in Carolina in 2008 when we weren't a contender? There are countless examples.

Money, Family, Familiarity, Loyalty, etc.. are all considerations.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

It's presumptuous of us as fans to think we know what's important to each player and to think that they should take a discount and/or make a tradeoff (ie..shorter term) to go to a contender. I made the same mistake with Skinner thinking no way he'd waive to go to Buffalo vs. going to a contender. Why did Eric Staal sign such a long term deal to stay in Carolina in 2008 when we weren't a contender? There are countless examples.

Money, Family, Familiarity, Loyalty, etc.. are all considerations.

That's true. Players are individuals and have their own goals in mind. As I also mentioned, as far as Canadian spots go, Winnipeg isn't all that bad of an option compared to what it used to be. The cost of living has to be significantly better there, relatively-speaking, compared to the real estate hellholes in Toronto and Vancouver. The insanely-cold weather has an (IMO, underrated) advantage of keeping the riff-raff away.

 

[WreckingCrew]

New Toronto excuse: "It's not like we're stashing a star player to bring back for the playoffs"

...no, but just as bad you're using it to stash an expensive negative value asset that allows you to NOT have to spend assets to shed cap or trade away a valuable piece for free to stay cap-compliant

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

@DaveG @cptjeff

DIBS ON GDT

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

New Toronto excuse: "It's not like we're stashing a star player to bring back for the playoffs"

...no, but just as bad you're using it to stash an expensive negative value asset that allows you to NOT have to spend assets to shed cap or trade away a valuable piece for free to stay cap-compliant

To be fair we did the same thing with Gardiner. Murray has legit injuries that required serious surgery. The timing is a bit of shenanigans but I really don't have a big issue with it in this case. The Kucherov thing (and knights/Stone last year) is a way bigger issue to me as they clearly rigged the system to play in the playoffs with a roster well over the cap. Easy solution is to have the cap apply to playoffs or just make it so any player on LTIR is ineligible for playoffs.

 

[WreckingCrew]

To be fair we did the same thing with Gardiner. Murray has legit injuries that required serious surgery. The timing is a bit of shenanigans but I really don't have a big issue with it in this case. The Kucherov thing (and knights/Stone last year) is a way bigger issue to me as they clearly rigged the system to play in the playoffs with a roster well over the cap. Easy solution is to have the cap apply to playoffs or just make it so any player on LTIR is ineligible for playoffs.

Except Gardiner LTIRetired, he didn't play again, we didn't gain cap compliance out of convenience... completely different use, timing, and duration. It's definitely not as bad and blatant as Kucherov, but still pretty obvious