2021-2022 Regular Season Discussion Thread

[Troy McClure]

Colorado have scored 62 more goals than Dallas and Makar doubles Heiskanen in PP TOI

Yes. A team with Makar on it is going to score more goals. That's what makes him awesome.

 

[MBTendy]

Is Dobby injured or has he just been a healthy scratch for the last couple weeks now?

 

[Captain Awesome]

Is Dobby injured or has he just been a healthy scratch for the last couple weeks now?

Injured, unsure if this is a Comeau injury or a real one.

Honestly, if Comeau refused to report I'm amazed they don’t terminate his contract.

 

[Elysian]

He's injured.

 

[BG44]

With no proof whatsoever, I definitely believe Dallas was one of the teams based on Friedman's report they considered a coaching change.

32 Thoughts: Taking a look around the NHL trade market - Sportsnet.ca

 

[Troy McClure]

Injured, unsure if this is a Comeau injury or a real one.

Honestly, if Comeau refused to report I'm amazed they don’t terminate his contract.

It looks like this was part of the agreement in the offseason. Sign the deal to fill out the expansion list and then if it doesn't work out, go to LTIR island to get paid to do nothing.

 

[Captain Awesome]

It looks like this was part of the agreement in the offseason. Sign the deal to fill out the expansion list and then if it doesn't work out, go to LTIR island to get paid to do nothing.

That's not a crazy assumption, I could buy that as being a thing. It doesn't really hurt anyone, but if it's true I think the NHL needs to do more to actively check on LTIR players. Granted, I bet every NHL player Comeau's age could find a reason to go on LTIR if they wanted to.

 

[BG44]

That's not a crazy assumption, I could buy that as being a thing. It doesn't really hurt anyone, but if it's true I think the NHL needs to do more to actively check on LTIR players. Granted, I bet every NHL player Comeau's age could find a reason to go on LTIR if they wanted to.

He's not on LTIR or even IR. It's not the same situation.

 

[Captain Awesome]

He's not on LTIR or even IR. It's not the same situation.

That's even stranger, I thought at least they were pretending he was injured, but I guess since they sent him down he couldn't be put on either. Capfriendly just lists him as 'non roster'.

 

[BG44]

Nill was with Detroit when this happened, and I've thought about it before .... I just can't ever remember the name with certainty which is why I never brought it up. It was probably Dan Cleary though.

Essentially, Holland semi-admitted that they made a handshake promise with Cleary on one contract that if he took less money, they'd sign him to another contract later. Holland kept up his end of the bargain. I'm almost positive though they essentially immediately waived him that year and never forced him to report to the AHL. I think it was very similar to this Comeau situation.

I agree with Troy though in this case, it wasn't some handshake agreement that may have been cap circumvention, it was probably part expansion and part they did like the guy/leader and all thinking he might still be able to contribute. When they realized he wasn't going to be useful though, rather than force him to play in the AHL, they're letting him quietly get paid and retired. In this case, there's no cap circumvention whatsoever. They're not collecting LTIR. He was waived and unclaimed. It's all on the up and up.

 

[BG44]

That's even stranger, I thought at least they were pretending he was injured, but I guess since they sent him down he couldn't be put on either. Capfriendly just lists him as 'non roster'.

That is what they are saying to the media that ask .. they're saying he's injured. When fans ask the media ... they feed us that line. If he was injured, he'd be on IR or LTIR. He's not though.

It's not common, but it's also not some new precedent. They're just protecting a veteran and not forcing him to play. It's highly doubtful that the same situation is happening with Khudobin FWIW. He's legitimately injured. The injury seems to have happened in the AHL though.

Dallas already has Bishop on LTIR, and they've run into 2 situations earlier this year they couldn't call up the guy they wanted because of cap space. There's zero chance that Comeau is hurt because his $900K would have prevented those situations from happening. They know they don't have a case to legitimately put him on LTIR for whatever reason.

 

[Satan]

That was Dan Cleary

Turned down a big contract with the Flyers to stay with the Wings iirc

 

[LT]

Can't wait to bring Cleary out of retirement as our big deadline acquistion

 

[Captain Awesome]

Nill was with Detroit when this happened, and I've thought about it before .... I just can't ever remember the name with certainty which is why I never brought it up. It was probably Dan Cleary though.

Essentially, Holland semi-admitted that they made a handshake promise with Cleary on one contract that if he took less money, they'd sign him to another contract later. Holland kept up his end of the bargain. I'm almost positive though they essentially immediately waived him that year and never forced him to report to the AHL. I think it was very similar to this Comeau situation.

I agree with Troy though in this case, it wasn't some handshake agreement that may have been cap circumvention, it was probably part expansion and part they did like the guy/leader and all thinking he might still be able to contribute. When they realized he wasn't going to be useful though, rather than force him to play in the AHL, they're letting him quietly get paid and retired. In this case, there's no cap circumvention whatsoever. They're not collecting LTIR. He was waived and unclaimed. It's all on the up and up.

Not really thinking it's cap circumvention, because you can bury the entire salary regardless of whether or not he's injured, I just find it generally distasteful that he's paid to do nothing.

 

[BG44]

Not really thinking it's cap circumvention, because you can bury the entire salary regardless of whether or not he's injured, I just find it generally distasteful that he's paid to do nothing.

It's cap circumvention because of the handshake agreement. You're not allowed to do a wink and a nudge like Holland did saying hey sign less for us and I'll promise you one more contract after your career is over.

 

[LT]

Not really thinking it's cap circumvention, because you can bury the entire salary regardless of whether or not he's injured, I just find it generally distasteful that he's paid to do nothing.

Sounds preferable to actually having him play.

Considering we've had a young player or two rotating in and out of the line-up, Comeau was a fine back-up choice in case none of them panned out. Could be that he was told he could be waived and still be a potential 13th forward, and he may have preferred to just not play anymore. In that case, what's happening is easier for everyone than Comeau officially retiring. He still gets paid and the team doesn't have to worry about his cap hit.

 

[BG44]

I could never remember the other team so thank you Satan for saying Philly.

Cleary has 'change of heart,' signs with Red Wings

That story is funnier than I remember. I forgot that Cleary got so far down the path with Philly that he had a handshake agreement with the Flyers on a 3-year deal, and he'd already signed a PTO with them. He didn't report for the PTO, and instead, he signed the contract with Detroit.

 

[BG44]

So Cleary actually did have to play some AHL games that year. It is a little different than the Comeau situation, but I think they're still at least in the same universe.

Cleary walked away from $8.25 million from the Flyers, and he only ever ended up receiving $5.2 million from the Wings ($1.5 million was a performance bonus ... not sure if he earned it).

 

[Satan]

Of course I know these details about the Newfoundland legend

 

[Troy McClure]

That's not a crazy assumption, I could buy that as being a thing. It doesn't really hurt anyone, but if it's true I think the NHL needs to do more to actively check on LTIR players. Granted, I bet every NHL player Comeau's age could find a reason to go on LTIR if they wanted to.

The thing here is it's hard to find anyone who wants to actively enforce these rules. Cap circumvention is only beneficial to players because it means more salary dollars being paid to players as a whole. The PA loves this stuff.

And yeah, Comeau doesn't care. He got an extra million dollars to throw on his retirement fund all for a couple of months of work. When the paychecks stop in April, he can officially retire.

He's not on LTIR or even IR. It's not the same situation.

It's the same. He's not on LTIR when it comes to where the dollars are allocated, but it's the exact same effect: Comeau is getting paid to sit at home and not play. Nill chose the demotion with a fake injury path because it helps the cap situation slightly more than using LTIR to get to the same place.

 

[BG44]

The thing here is it's hard to find anyone who wants to actively enforce these rules. Cap circumvention is only beneficial to players because it means more salary dollars being paid to players as a whole. The PA loves this stuff.

And yeah, Comeau doesn't care. He got an extra million dollars to throw on his retirement fund all for a couple of months of work. When the paychecks stop in April, he can officially retire.


It's the same. He's not on LTIR when it comes to where the dollars are allocated, but it's the exact same effect: Comeau is getting paid to sit at home and not play. Nill chose the demotion with a fake injury path because it helps the cap situation slightly more than using LTIR to get to the same place.

You're playing around with semantics. One results in a cap advantage in terms of cap space for the team. They're not the same. Players get demoted from the NHL on a daily basis. Choosing to not require him to report may be unique, but it's in no way equivalent to LTIR.

It's not cap circumvention. It's the exact same cap situation as if he was currently playing in Austin right now. If they truly lied to get him on LTIR ... that would be cap circumvention. They're gaining no cap benefit whatsoever that is out of the ordinary. It's a non-issue.

 

[Troy McClure]

You're playing around with semantics. One results in a cap advantage in terms of cap space for the team. They're not the same. Players get demoted from the NHL on a daily basis. Choosing to not require him to report may be unique, but it's in no way equivalent to LTIR.

It's not cap circumvention. It's the exact same cap situation as if he was currently playing in Austin right now. If they truly lied to get him on LTIR ... that would be cap circumvention. They're gaining no cap benefit whatsoever that is out of the ordinary. It's a non-issue.

The Stars got a cap advantage out of this because they were able to put an NHL contract on the roster for the expansion draft and have now made it disappear. That's a million dollars gone from their cap all because they're playing the fake injury game to hide a contract. This is the exact same discussion some teams have about using LTIR.

If he was playing in Cedar Park, it wouldn't be cap circumvention. But this fake injury that will just happen to last until April is what makes it cap circumvention. They're paying a guy NHL money to not play hockey.

 

[M88K]

The Stars got a cap advantage out of this because they were able to put an NHL contract on the roster for the expansion draft and have now made it disappear. That's a million dollars gone from their cap all because they're playing the fake injury game to hide a contract. This is the exact same discussion some teams have about using LTIR.

If he was playing in Cedar Park, it wouldn't be cap circumvention. But this fake injury that will just happen to last until April is what makes it cap circumvention. They're paying a guy NHL money to not play hockey.

That logic doesn't follow. His salary doesn't count against the cap if he's in the AHL. Playing, Injured, scratched... Doesn't matter

 

[Troy McClure]

That logic doesn't follow. His salary doesn't count against the cap if he's in the AHL. Playing, Injured, scratched... Doesn't matter

But he's not in the AHL. He didn't have surgery. He's not rehabbing. He's not skating with the team in Cedar Park.

Nill made cap money disappear without having to actually send Comeau down.

 

[M88K]

But he's not in the AHL. He didn't have surgery. He's not rehabbing. He's not skating with the team in Cedar Park.

Nill made cap money disappear without having to actually send Comeau down.

He did send him down though
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