Ok, a deal . . . what next? Some details, it is from Strachen though

[Jaded-Fan]

Some points from the Article:

* After the announcement, a 17-24 day moratorium on all transactions to ratify the agreement, get everyone up to speed on a very very complex CBA, and to allow the agents, the players and the teams the time needed to determine their respective strategies

* Players still pressing for honoring last years contracts

* Buyouts will definately not allow the player to return to the team that bought him out - Al does not much like this idea

*The Draft - Bettman Decides
The moratorium also gives the GMs time to find out what kind of draft system commissioner Gary Bettman intends to impose upon the league. At their own meeting, the GMs almost came to blows over this contentious issue and finally left it to the commissioner to decide.

Common sense would dictate that Bettman would craft a system that is heavily weighted in favour of the teams that missed the 2004 playoffs.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/Sports/2005/07/03/1115113-sun.html

Click to read more...

 

[Jaded-Fan]

*The Draft - Betman Decides
The moratorium also gives the GMs time to find out what kind of draft system commissioner Gary Bettman intends to impose upon the league. At their own meeting, the GMs almost came to blows over this contentious issue and finally left it to the commissioner to decide.

Common sense would dictate that Bettman would craft a system that is heavily weighted in favour of the teams that missed the 2004 playoffs.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/Sports/2005/07/03/1115113-sun.html

With the caveat that this is Al . . . hardly a credible source I know . . . the fact that Bettman is left the sole decision maker over the draft is big news, and something that I have not heard before from any other source. The other competing sources have said the opposite, that the decision had been made, and not by Bettman . . . and was either 1-30 or weighted.

And that Al, face it hardly one who cared much for smaller markets, has ventured the opinion that the draft will be not just weighted, but heavilly so, in favor of those who missed the playoffs in 2004 is pretty significant also.

 

[danaluvsthekings]

Of course Al doesn't like the idea that teams can't resign the players they buy out. How else are the Leafs going to keep their team and stay under the cap? He's really not going to like the idea that Larry Brooks presented today. Brooks said that the players don't want teams to be able to restructure contracts and have the restructured value count on the cap. Meaning if player X makes $5 mil next season and the team asks him to restructure, his cap value is $5 mil even if he only takes home $3 mil after restructuring.

http://www.nypost.com/sports/49272.htm

 

[CaptainShark]

What Brooks said totally makes sense because otherwise the rule of not being able to resign cut players would be a non-factor as teams would just ask the players to take paycuts...

 

[Mess]

Brooks said that the players don't want teams to be able to restructure contracts and have the restructured value count on the cap. Meaning if player X makes $5 mil next season and the team asks him to restructure, his cap value is $5 mil even if he only takes home $3 mil after restructuring.

[url="http://www.nypost.com/sports/49272.htm"]http://www.nypost.com/sports/49272.htm[/url]

I like that rule .. Makes sense ..

Owners would use it as a weapon against players.... "Restructure or we will buy you out".

The NHLPA/player I am guessing under those conditons would just take the buyout $$$ and find work elsewhere ..

It also prevents Cap monkey business that would allow a team to restructure a few contracts and load up for an ALL-Star cup run ..

 

[Slapshot17]

I have a feeling big teams like the Avs and Wings will want an even weighted draft lottery to throw them a bone for sitting out the season. You never know though.

 

[RangerBoy]

From Larry Brooks

To repeat: as we reported on June 19, 2004-05 contract obligations have been eliminated in their entirety. Any suggestion otherwise is fraudulent

 

[leafaholix*]

I have a feeling big teams like the Avs and Wings will want an even weighted draft lottery to throw them a bone for sitting out the season. You never know though.

I agree.

Anything else would be a tragedy.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

And that Al, face it hardly one who cared much for smaller markets, has ventured the opinion that the draft will be not just weighted, but heavilly so, in favor of those who missed the playoffs in 2004 is pretty significant also.

Significant how?

 

[RangerBoy]

Weighted lottery based on not only the 2003-04 standings.That is stupid.Ken Campbell of the Toronto Star from May 18

Multiple sources say the league's board of governors has in place the framework of a system that will allow each of the NHL's 30 teams a chance at the first overall pick in the next draft and the opportunity to select Crosby, who will be at the Memorial Cup with his Rimouski Oceanic in London starting Saturday.

The proposed system would skew the lottery in favour of teams that have finished out of the playoffs in the past four seasons and not had the first overall selection in any of the past four entry drafts.



http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...970081593064&DPL=IvsNDS/7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes

Every team gets a chance but the teams which missed the playoffs and have never won the lottery have a better opportunity

 

[Steve L*]

Well since may 18th, just about everyone has reported it will be an unweighted draft.

If its just up to Bettman then noone apar from him knows what system he will come up with.

 

[Morbo]

From Larry Brooks

To repeat: as we reported on June 19, 2004-05 contract obligations have been eliminated in their entirety. Any suggestion otherwise is fraudulent

Does that mean one of Brooks or Strachan has to be right on something?

 

[p.l.f.]

when does unrestricted free agency begin
or has it already started ?

 

[norrisnick]

What Brooks said totally makes sense because otherwise the rule of not being able to resign cut players would be a non-factor as teams would just ask the players to take paycuts...

Doesn't make any sense, because teams can ask all they want but players don't have to oblige. The buyout loophole is something the players would readily go for because with the buyout AND new contract odds are they aren't losing out on any money. Example you buy Lidstrom out at $5M and re-sign him for the balance of $2.6M (to get back to his initial $7.6M) and he isn't losing anything. However if Holland approaches him and asks him to take a cut to $5M to help the team the player does lose something.

If teams and players freely decide to renegotiate the contracts they have, there is no reason to deny it, unless there is a bonus or something tacked on in an attempt to get around the cap.

 

[Steve L*]

The buyout loophole makes a total farce of the cap, it cannot be there.

 

[Charge_Seven]

The buyout loophole makes a total farce of the cap, it cannot be there.

Does any other league say that a player can't return to a team if they're bought out by said team?

Also, would this buy out deal be forever, as in, if the Leafs bought out Stajan (not about to happen...), would that mean that if Stajan plays for twenty years he will never be allowed to return to the Leafs? How long is this ban from signing back with the team?

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Well since may 18th, just about everyone has reported it will be an unweighted draft.

If its just up to Bettman then noone apar from him knows what system he will come up with.

Actually that is absolutely wrong. One source reported that. On the radio. Never linked. Almost every other source reported that it would be a weighted draft. If you want to see the links regarding a weighted draft being the option chosen provided at the time wade through that thread on the subject that had to have hit 200 plus posts.

This Strachen article is a new twist as it claims opposite what everyone else had, that the BOG took the decision away from Bettman.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Significant how?

Significant, in my opinion, as big Al is a shill for Toronto. You would think that his opinion would, as it almost always done, skew toward something that would be beneificial to his home boys. The fact that he perhaps for the first time ever is skewing this opinion toward something that Toronto would not want seems to me interesting and perhaps says that he is hearing something.

 

[FrenchKheldar]

The proposed system would skew the lottery in favour of teams that have finished out of the playoffs in the past four seasons and not had the first overall selection in any of the past four entry drafts.

Can you say New York Rangers? Colombus and Atlanta both won the lottery once (Nash and Kovalchuk) during the past 4 seasons. Is there anybody else? The Panthers did won the lottery once or twice but never picked 1st if I recall correctly and they also haven't made the playoffs since 99... So Crosby to the Rangers, it's not rigging, it's good rules management...

 

[X0ssbar]

Can you say New York Rangers? Colombus and Atlanta both won the lottery once (Nash and Kovalchuk) during the past 4 seasons. Is there anybody else? The Panthers did won the lottery once or twice but never picked 1st if I recall correctly and they also haven't made the playoffs since 99... So Crosby to the Rangers, it's not rigging, it's good rules management...

FYI - Columbus has never won the lottery. They swapped picks with Florida in '02 to grab Nash.

 

[Spungo*]

The buyout loophole makes a total farce of the cap, it cannot be there.

It's one time only. It's only for this byear to allow teams to get under the cap. After this year, if you buy out a player, it counts towards your cap.

 

[RangerBoy]

What buyout loophole?It's a one time opportunity over a short period of time for teams to get the under the cap and make payroll adjustments.Since there is no grandfathering or transition period,teams have to some ability to change their rosters.The teams are still responsible for the buyout but it does count against the cap.What is the big deal?If you buyout the player,then you shouldn't be allowed to re-sign the same player because that would circumventing the cap which a no no

If a team buys out a player, it can't re-sign him for another year

http://ottsun.canoe.ca/Sports/Hockey/2005/07/03/1115008-sun.html

 

[Epsilon]

Doesn't make any sense, because teams can ask all they want but players don't have to oblige. The buyout loophole is something the players would readily go for because with the buyout AND new contract odds are they aren't losing out on any money. Example you buy Lidstrom out at $5M and re-sign him for the balance of $2.6M (to get back to his initial $7.6M) and he isn't losing anything. However if Holland approaches him and asks him to take a cut to $5M to help the team the player does lose something.

If teams and players freely decide to renegotiate the contracts they have, there is no reason to deny it, unless there is a bonus or something tacked on in an attempt to get around the cap.

And why exactly would a player like Lidstrom agree to do that when after getting bought out for 5 million, he can get 5 or 6 million a year from another team?

Fans seem to be under the illusion that any player who is bought out will happily sign with his original team for the balance of his contract. Why would a player do this when they can just bank the buyrate money and then go looking for a longterm, big-money deal elsewhere? It makes practically no sense.

 

[hockeydadx2*]

Does any other league say that a player can't return to a team if they're bought out by said team?



I don't recall the specifics, but in the NFL there are such circumstances. It has to do with restricted free agents, I think; they are guaranteed a certain percentage increased contract offer every year by the team that holds their rights (it's a qualifying offer, but I forget what the percentage is). If the team does not choose to make them this offer, they become unrestricted free agents, and the original team cannot sign them for a year. All of this has to occur before a certain date.

 

[Bruwinz37]

This lottery should have everyone get an even shot. Think about it, if last year's contracts are gone (which is what it looks like) then that is 300+ FAs at least. Couple that with guys who have retired over the last 4 years or went back to Europe it makes no sense to base THIS draft on past TEAM perfromance. A lottery where everyone gets an equal shot at Crosby would be great for fan interest and a great way to get back up and running.