Tidbits: Around the League: NHL News - 2022-23

[AKL]

You know it's been common even long before the cap existed, that NHL players who have been injured, do anything and everything to come back for the playoffs right?

That's one of the reasons the NHL got the rep for having tough players.

Shanahan broke his ankle 3 weeks before the playoffs, he didn't miss game 1, despite not being able to walk when out of his skates

Would you have said the same if Ek played today? He sure as hell tried...

Ek didn't miss the last three months of the season and the Wild didn't use his LTIR space to get another player at the deadline.

This has happened enough now with Chicago and Tampa before them that it's very clear these teams are taking advantage of these situations and then shutting their players down until game 1 of the playoffs regardless of if they can go earlier or not in an obvious attempt to circumvent the cap rules.

 

[TaLoN]

While I don't disagree with your overall point, I think think it's becoming more and more egregious. It's not like Stone was out for 3 weeks, he's been out since mid January.

Also, isn't this the 2nd year in a row? Where he's been injured for multiple months and seemingly healed just in time for the playoffs?

He's got back problems. Have you known anyone who has had that? Very debilitating.
Parise missed half a season with that injury... yet while he struggled to walk when he wasn’t playing, managed to play in the playoffs.

I mean come on, he had back surgery Jan 31st

 

[AKL]

He's got back problems. Have you known anyone who has had that? Very debilitating.
Parise missed half a season with that injury... yet while he struggled to walk when he wasn’t playing, managed to play in the playoffs.

It seems you're suggesting that doctors are medically clearing guys to play that should not be medically cleared to play, which might be a much bigger issue in terms of ethics/medical malpractice. Especially if you would suggest that the teams are coercing the doctors to do this.

 

[TaLoN]

It seems you're suggesting that doctors are medically clearing guys to play that should not be medically cleared to play.

He's been rehabbing since his surgery.

 

[AKL]

He's been rehabbing since his surgery.

And it just so happens that he's ready to go at the exact time of game 1 of the playoffs? No sooner, no later? And not only that, but these types of situations happen almost yearly at this point? Medicine has come a long way, but that's borderline miraculous to have a surgery in January such that you'll be rehabbed just enough to be cleared by April 17th. And to know that when you go under the knife.

That's bordering on Nostradamus territory.

 

[TaLoN]

And it just so happens that he's ready to go at the exact time of game 1 of the playoffs? No sooner, no later? And not only that, but these types of situations happen almost yearly at this point? Medicine has come a long way, but that's borderline miraculous to have a surgery in January such that you'll be rehabbed just enough to be cleared by April 17th. And to know that when you go under the knife.

That's bordering on Nostradamus territory.

Cleared to play for the playoffs isn't the same as cleared to play in the regular season.
Typically cleared to play means no risk of further injury. That is generally good enough for a player to be willing to go in the post season even if they are only 75-80%.

In the regular season a player will generally choose to sit out longer so they can hopefully be in even better shape by the post season.

 

[Minnewildsota]

Should just cross check him in the back then.

Assuming you want to play dirty and potentially injure a player.

 

[MuckOG]

Maybe the NHL should adopt a new rule that states players have to play a certain number of regular season games to be eligible for the playoffs. That would prevent teams like Tampa Bay from putting a player like Kucherov on LTIR for an entire season and then miraculously he is healthy to play in the post season

 

[Wild11MN]

Cleared to play for the playoffs isn't the same as cleared to play in the regular season.
Typically cleared to play means no risk of further injury. That is generally good enough for a player to be willing to go in the post season even if they are only 75-80%.

In the regular season a player will generally choose to sit out longer so they can hopefully be in even better shape by the post season.

Doesn't that just lead back to exactly this point from earlier?

It seems you're suggesting that doctors are medically clearing guys to play that should not be medically cleared to play, which might be a much bigger issue in terms of ethics/medical malpractice. Especially if you would suggest that the teams are coercing the doctors to do this.

 

[TaLoN]

Doesn't that just lead back to exactly this point from earlier?

No, because cleared to play isn't a fine line. It's a grey area.
It's not like a player coming back a day early is any worse than the day they were cleared. Health isn't binary.

 

[AKL]

Maybe the NHL should adopt a new rule that states players have to play a certain number of regular season games to be eligible for the playoffs.

That wouldn't solve this issue. Stone played 43 games to start the season before going down. And you wouldn't be able to have situations like Faber playing despite being on the reserve list, same with Makar a few years ago.

A better solution for this type of thing might be that guys have to be activated and play in the last game of the regular season. Or maybe play in two of the last three games. Something like that. Because Vegas couldn't have activated Stone even if they wanted to. They needed him on LTIR to fit under the cap.

 

[MuckOG]

That wouldn't solve this issue. Stone played 43 games to start the season before going down. And you wouldn't be able to have situations like Faber playing despite being on the reserve list, same with Makar a few years ago.

A better solution for this type of thing might be that guys have to be activated and play in the last game of the regular season. Or maybe play in two of the last three games. Something like that. Because Vegas couldn't have activated Stone even if they wanted to. They needed him on LTIR to fit under the cap.

It would resolve issues like Kucherov missing an entire sesson and then playing in the post season

Or maybe if a player goes on LTIR, their season is over. Period.

 

[Wild11MN]

That wouldn't solve this issue. Stone played 43 games to start the season before going down. And you wouldn't be able to have situations like Faber playing despite being on the reserve list, same with Makar a few years ago.

A better solution for this type of thing might be that guys have to be activated and play in the last game of the regular season. Or maybe play in two of the last three games. Something like that. Because Vegas couldn't have activated Stone even if they wanted to. They needed him on LTIR to fit under the cap.

Or simply enforce some aspect of the salary cap during the playoffs.

 

[TaLoN]

It would resolve issues like Kucherov missing an entire sesson and then playing in the post season

The NHL isn't going to put rules in place to prevent its best players from playing. The fans want to see Kucherov in the post season. He's one of the league's most exciting players.

 

[AKL]

It would resolve issues like Kucherov missing an entire sesson and then playing in the post season

Guys missing large chunks of the season and then playing in the playoffs isn't necessarily the problem though. The problem is the blatant cap circumvention. I have no doubt that these guys are genuinely injured at points. The goal isn't to keep players who have ever been injured from playing in the playoffs. The goal is to end the cap circumvention that often comes with it.

Another solution might be that you can only go over the cap from players who were in your organization at the start of the year, and there is no LTIR. So Stone goes down, his cap hit stays, but Vegas can go over the cap by calling guys up from the AHL, but they can't acquire guys via trade unless they already had the cap space for it.

 

[Wild11MN]

The NHL isn't going to put rules in place to prevent its best players from playing. The fans want to see Kucherov in the post season. He's one of the league's most exciting players.

Which would mean they are actively preventing fans from seeing him earlier in the regular season, based on the rules.

 

[MuckOG]

The NHL isn't going to put rules in place to prevent its best players from playing. The fans want to see Kucherov in the post season. He's one of the league's most exciting players.

Then maybe dont allow teams to get any cap relief for a player on LTIR.

 

[TaLoN]

Guys missing large chunks of the season and then playing in the playoffs isn't necessarily the problem though. The problem is the blatant cap circumvention. I have no doubt that these guys are genuinely injured at points. The goal isn't to keep players who have ever been injured from playing in the playoffs. The goal is to end the cap circumvention that often comes with it.

Another solution might be that you can only go over the cap from players who were in your organization at the start of the year, and there is no LTIR. So Stone goes down, his cap hit stays, but Vegas can go over the cap by calling guys up from the AHL, but they can't acquire guys via trade unless they already had the cap space for it.

That would kill the trade deadline. The league wants contenders to have the option to trade to replace injured players, so losing important players doesn't automatically kill a team.

Hell, that's why the cap works the way it does in the first place... so you can have space accrue all season long, so you can afford to trade for a much more expensive player late in the season that you couldn't come close to affording in Nov.

 

[TaLoN]

Which would mean they are actively preventing fans from seeing him earlier in the regular season, based on the rules.

If a player is injured, he's injured. Who are you going to blame? The surgeon?

 

[Wild11MN]

If a player is injured, he's injured. Who are you going to blame? The surgeon?

You seriously don't believe some of these guys were healthy enough to play with 3 games left in the regular season?

I feel like we argue this every year, and we're never going to agree on it.

 

[TaLoN]

Then maybe dont allow teams to get any cap relief for a player on LTIR.

LTIR was put in place for a reason. The owners are what the cap is protecting. The owners don't see the rule as circumvention. They have said on multiple occasions, the rules ares working as planned.

 

[Sweetnut]

Should just cross check him in the back then.

Assuming you want to play dirty and potentially injure a player.

The league has already established that it is ok to crosscheck and injure guys as long as they are lying down on the ice in the opponents crease, like Letang who didn´t even get a penalty after X-check x3 on Sunny.

 

[TaLoN]

You seriously don't believe some of these guys were healthy enough to play with 3 games left in the regular season?

If the season was on the line? I'm sure they would've tried to play if they could. They had no reason to and I have no problem with them choosing not to.

Everyone assumed the same from Stone last year too... yet they missed the playoffs and he was in no shape to play had they made it anyway. This year he's trying to play after having back surgery in January.

 

[Wild11MN]

If the season was on the line? I'm sure they would've tried to play if they could. They had no reason to and I have no problem with them choosing not to.

So the doctors would have magically agreed they were healthy enough to play, only if the season was on the line.

 

[MuckOG]

LTIR was put in place for a reason. The owners are what the cap is protecting. The owners don't see the rule as circumvention. They have said on multiple occasions, the rules ares working as planned.

Tough. Owners should know the risk when they dole out these contracts. If a high priced player gets hurt, the team should still have to account for the injured player's cap hit when they ice their team