Speculation: Season starts January 13th, 2021

[Fogelhund]

Insider Trading: All-Canadian division could be in jeopardy

Insider Trading: All-Canadian division could be in jeopardy. TSN

 

[Coachcorner]

Insider Trading: All-Canadian division could be in jeopardy

Insider Trading: All-Canadian division could be in jeopardy. TSN

Yes sire. That will just only push the start of the season onwards for like 1 week. We'll be starting like the 20th then, or a couple of days later sire. No worries here, they might even get the head start just like they planned on the 13th. It's not in jeopardy really, bettman etc have the money to roll. So that's fun sire.

 

[Buds17]

Today's news shouldn't be that problematic unless it proves to be one step closer to no season at all.

 

[Fogelhund]

paraphrase —>. Throughout this Covid Crisis, Health Canada has been excellent. If they feel that it is unsafe for Hockey to be played in Canada and it forces them to go to the USA, that has been a disaster, how can you have a season?

. Brian Burke.

..and he’s right.

on Tim and Sid, it’s been suggested that teams and now players learned about this today. Players having to leave their homes and families, with no ability to go home, for some time, if at all during the season. They have to vote to approve this season. It’s been suggested that Canadian team players will not support this.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Canadian owners , wouldn’t like it either, any trace of money they had coming in, is now gone, and their expenses increased significantly.

 

[Stigma]

Elliotte Friedman mentioned a possibility of the Canadian teams playing in Florida (Orlando and Jacksonville) until they get the go-ahead to return to play in Canada. Winnipeg and Toronto have their ECHL teams in Jacksonville and Orlando, respectively.

 

[Fogelhund]

Elliotte Friedman mentioned a possibility of the Canadian teams playing in Florida (Orlando and Jacksonville) until they get the go-ahead to return to play in Canada. Winnipeg and Toronto have their ECHL teams in Jacksonville and Orlando, respectively.

Toronto does not have their ECHL team in Orlando. Orlando is the Tampa ECHL affiliate. Newfoundland, who is not playing this year, is their affiliate.

The Marlies did assign/loan out, four of their players to Wichita, given we don't have an ECHL team operating this year.

 

[HoweHullOrr]

I know the players don't want the bubble scenario, but can't see a relocation to the U.S. as being better.

They had the qualification round and playoffs in the bubble format with zero infections.

Players don't like the bubble, but if this is the last resort, would they prefer the season gets cancelled if that's what it boiled down to?

Maybe if they start the season later (Feb.1), they might be able to play some of the games later in the season not in a bubble i.e., the vaccination program has progressed by then?

 

[JT AM da real deal]

I know I won't be a FAV after saying this but we should use a couple hundred doses on da players here and solve this issue really fast. Hockey is a religion here for a lot of us in Canada. Quite frankly I rather see da players inoculated then our politicians if it came down to it.

 

[Golden_Jet]

I know I won't be a FAV after saying this but we should use a couple hundred doses on da players here and solve this issue really fast. Hockey is a religion here for a lot of us in Canada. Quite frankly I rather see da players inoculated then our politicians if it came down to it.

my guess is half the players wouldn't take it

 

[JT AM da real deal]

my guess is half the players wouldn't take it

Yeah I would bet that too. I know one guy who had COVID in league whose dad I know pretty well. He said he would have played da same night he got tested with very mild symptoms which lasted 2 days. These guys are not scared of this virus in slightest and when they say something publicly it is for PR reasons only. They joke about it while playing their all night internet video games.

 

[Throw More Waffles]

. Brian Burke.

..and he’s right.

on Tim and Sid, it’s been suggested that teams and now players learned about this today. Players having to leave their homes and families, with no ability to go home, for some time, if at all during the season. They have to vote to approve this season. It’s been suggested that Canadian team players will not support this.

I’m so sick of this idea that these spoiled millionaires are “above” the real problems being faced by real people.

So many people lost everything. So many people lost their jobs, savings, and are piling up debt. The vast majority of those people have a ton of family that they’ve only been able to see via zoom for the past 8 freaking months.

God forbid these MILLIONAIRES have to make some regular people sacrifices....

I know you’re just the messenger here... but such stances just piss me off.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

I would imagine the taxi squad would be similar to having an AHL squad in your NHL city, where you can easily do paper transactions to "send them down" and "recall them", but the player doesn't physically change location.

Cap savings would be standard ~$1m cap savings by assigning them to the taxi squad.

How do you stop the Leafs from assigning Auston Matthews to the taxi squad to get $1m cap savings instead of assigning Robertson and getting only $826k in cap savings?

Option A: Waivers. Either standard waivers, or the league will determine that it's not fair to handcuff team depth w/ waiver eligibility and put in place some exception, with likely some caveat that a player that is otherwise standard waiver-elibile can't lose actual salary by being assigned to the taxi squad. That way you can't assign a waiver-eligible player without passing them through waivers first.

Option B: Use emergency recall structure. No player that makes more than $800k goes on the taxi squad -- seems too restrictive to me. I doubt it looks like this, unless perhaps they raise that bar to $1m to allow AHL depth and ELCs/most young developing players to be carried on the taxi squad.

If player is on taxi squad and earning AHL salary, there is no escrow, and it does not come from HRR pool, similar to AHL/NHL salary differences. Players travelling on the taxi squad get NHL per-diem and perks that go along with travelling w/ the club. Though they probably have to have a roommate, etc..

Years are service for purposes of UFA / ELC contract slide are interesting, though don't those mostly revolve around NHL games played? Which ones are based on days on roster? I would suspect if you're on the taxi squad, you aren't counting towards UFA.

looks like taxi squad will indeed look like an NHL-standby AHL structure:



also choosing option B in addition to the taxi squad, that’s interesting — maybe taxi squad covers compressed schedule, relaxed emergency recall rules cover higher games lost to injury (covid).

capfriendly also interested in the games played scenario:



I still suspect if they don’t play a game, they don’t count towards either UFA or expansion. We’ll see.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Basically confirms that the taxi squad is specifically for handling compressed schedule. It can’t be abused for injury standby. That also addresses the issue with keeping someone on taxi squad without ever playing games toward UFA.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Haven't seen it confirmed but supposedly Toronto has Edmonton and Montreal 10 times

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Haven't seen it confirmed but supposedly Toronto has Edmonton and Montreal 10 times

I know each team in north division plays each other 9-10 times, so that sounds right.

 

[Mickey Marner]

I don't really care if the NHL cuts the vaccine line infront of me. Just not infront of the elderly, frontline workers and those with comorbidities.

 

[nsleaf]

I know I won't be a FAV after saying this but we should use a couple hundred doses on da players here and solve this issue really fast. Hockey is a religion here for a lot of us in Canada. Quite frankly I rather see da players inoculated then our politicians if it came down to it.

You are correct about da FAV thing.

 

[stickty111]

 

[Golden_Jet]

I put this in updated lineup thread, maybe better here.
Over 100 pages of bedtime reading
2020-21 transition rules and medical protocols

 

[Mickey Marner]

If the Leafs carry 500k in cap space each day until the trade deadline, they'll be able to afford a player with up to a ~3.95 AAV cap hit.