Question on injuries.

[Captain Ron]

This isn't really addressed well in the CBA FAQ. Hopefully some of you can come up with the right answer.

The CBA FAQ portion states that a players salary can be replaced only if an injury is long term (10 games or 24 days). So will injuries automatically be classified as long term / short term as they occur or will all injuries be automatically classified as short term until the alloted amount of time has passed.

I am curious for a few reasons.

1st. Elias has stated he will be out an extended period of time to start the season. Is his injury already considered long term or will his salary count until the after the first 10 games.

2nd. It may be more difficult for a team against the cap to use a replacement player if a team has to wait 10 games before they can call them up.

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[kdb209]

This isn't really addressed well in the CBA FAQ. Hopefully some of you can come up with the right answer.

The CBA FAQ portion states that a players salary can be replaced only if an injury is long term (10 games or 24 days). So will injuries automatically be classified as long term / short term as they occur or will all injuries be automatically classified as short term until the alloted amount of time has passed.

I am curious for a few reasons.

1st. Elias has stated he will be out an extended period of time to start the season. Is his injury already considered long term or will his salary count until the after the first 10 games.

2nd. It may be more difficult for a team against the cap to use a replacement player if a team has to wait 10 games before they can call them up.

Rather than having to have a team wait for 10 games (which doesn't really make sense), my guess is that the CBA creates a classification of Injured Reserve (IR). An injured player may be put on IR and cannot be re-activated untill after 10 games and 24 days, but a replacement can be called up immediately. I'm sure the league will have a review process and access to team medical records to verify that an IR injury is bona fide, rather than just salary cap sleight of hand.

 

[Captain Ron]

Thanks kdb209.

Here is an interesting question for you. I have been conteplating this for a while.

It involves the Elias situation in New Jersey.

Some people are saying his contract will not count at the beginning of the season. That his contract will only count towards the cap when he returns. I think this may not be entirely true. The CBA FAQ states the the "replacement players" salary would not count against the cap. It does not say that the injured players salary would be exempt until he plays. So if Elias signs for $4 million and Mogilny ($3.5M) is considered his replacement? Wouldn't the cap hit still be Elias's $4 million?

 

[SJeasy]

Thanks kdb209.

Here is an interesting question for you. I have been conteplating this for a while.

It involves the Elias situation in New Jersey.

Some people are saying his contract will not count at the beginning of the season. That his contract will only count towards the cap when he returns. I think this may not be entirely true. The CBA FAQ states the the "replacement players" salary would not count against the cap. It does not say that the injured players salary would be exempt until he plays. So if Elias signs for $4 million and Mogilny ($3.5M) is considered his replacement? Wouldn't the cap hit still be Elias's $4 million?

The go around may very well be that Elias doesn't sign until just before the deadline.

 

[Captain Ron]

The go around may very well be that Elias doesn't sign until just before the deadline.

Ah touche!

 

[kdb209]

Thanks kdb209.

Here is an interesting question for you. I have been conteplating this for a while.

It involves the Elias situation in New Jersey.

Some people are saying his contract will not count at the beginning of the season. That his contract will only count towards the cap when he returns. I think this may not be entirely true. The CBA FAQ states the the "replacement players" salary would not count against the cap. It does not say that the injured players salary would be exempt until he plays. So if Elias signs for $4 million and Mogilny ($3.5M) is considered his replacement? Wouldn't the cap hit still be Elias's $4 million?

Since Elias is an unsigned RFA, he will not count against the cap until he signs, so the Devils could just defer his signing until he is healthy, and he will not count against the cap before then.

If Elias were to sign before the season started (or in the case of an offseason injury to a player under contract), then Elias' salary would count against the cap, but replacement player salaries would be exempt untill Elias' return.

The Brooks CBA 101 blurb specifically stated that QOs for RFAs counted in the offseason (before Oct 1), but that during the season, only players on the roster do.

 

[Captain Ron]

Here is another question....


How many "minor" injuries would you expect the average team to have in a typical season?

There seem to be a few of GM's in the league who feel they will not be affected by minor injuries. They are getting close to the cap without having a full roster so they are claiming they will start the season with only 21 or 22 player rosters. Is this a realistic approach to the cap? Is it reasonable to think that any team in the league will be able to go through an entire season without having to call up players to replace guys with minor injuries?

I would say no but fans of these teams seem to think that their GM's know something that the rest of us do not.