Can anybody explain to me the logic behind the Chris Pronger trade?
- Thread starter Regnes
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Epsilon
#basta
Crosbyfan
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BraveCanadian
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Rorschach
Who the f*** is Trevor Moore?
You would be incorrect. The league can't force a player to retire. Do you understand the kind of battle they'd get into with the PA regarding their rights trying to pull something like that off? The HHOF has nothing to do with the NHL in terms of what they use to determine an induction. Did people just forget that an injury is forcing him not to play anymore? On what grounds do you punish the player and not allow him to collect what is due to him? On what grounds do you punish the team for an injury costing them a highly important player? Think about these things.
EdmFlyersfan
Registered User
Pronger is the biggest troll in NHL history, even after not playing for 4 years he is getting everyone's "jimmies in a rustle"...lol. And then gets elected into the Hall of Fame. 
I love it.
I love it.
Furious George
Ville the Villain
Is it really a punishment to wait the obligatory number of years after retiring to be eligible for induction?
mja
Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt
SillyRabbit
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The NHL is so biased and selective in what they choose to enforce when it comes to cap circumvention.
The NHL is desperately trying to make Arizona a viable NHL team so of course they wouldn't think of punishing them.
The NHL is desperately trying to make Arizona a viable NHL team so of course they wouldn't think of punishing them.
mja
Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt
Punish them for what, exactly? Acquiring a contract that helps them reach the cap floor? That's well within the rules.
SillyRabbit
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mja
Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt
Incorrect. The floor exists so that every team in the league has a minimum amount it has to spend on contracts, which is a concession to the players for them accepting to have a cap that limits what teams can spend on contracts, and has nothing to do whatsoever with the competitiveness of a team.
Pronger's contract is a valid contract like every other player's contract. Complaints about it being traded misunderstand the CBA.
That's up to the HHOF which isn't under the NHL umbrella. What they do for their rules for induction is their business and not the NHL's.
1865
Alpha Couturier
But they didn't break any rules. They traded for an NHL contract. If the league didn't want it, they ought to ban it. They didn't.
Micklebot
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Did the devils break rules when the signed Kovalchuk to a front loaded contract for far too many years knowing he'd never play them out?
The problem is that the CBA needs some sort of mechanism to close out contracts for players that are forced into retirement due to injury. Guys like Pronger and Savard should not be forced to hold off their retirement just so that the can collect the money owed to them.
You don't punish a player for getting injured; that's why Pronger and Savard still earn their contracts, but when we all know that they will never play again, there is no benefit to their cap hit counting. It doesn't help implrove parity, it doesn't make the league more profitable, it's a policy gap that LTIR has been used as a workaround to solve. Now, we have teams trading for the contracts to artificially reach the cap floor; this is a problem, because just like before, it doesn't improve parity and it doesn't make the league more money (though Arz specifically might be
While it may not be against the rules, it is certainly against the intent, and imo the definition of cap (floor) circumvention.
1865
Alpha Couturier
The league took action against the Devils because there was a very real possibility that that kind of obviously weighted contract would become the norm on July 1 and we'd see dozens of them doing the rounds.
The Pronger trade isn't going to be close to being common, it's something of a rarity and isn't done cynically. It's Arizona using the CBA to benefit them, nobody complains when a contract like this is added to fit under the cap after all...
Curufinwe
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Boston just did the same thing with Savard's contract, so why bring up only Snider and not Jacobs?
Shedding crappy players like Martin Erat and replacing them with top 50 prospects like Max Domi will make them better. With a lot of cheap ELC players and few UFAs worth big dollars, you need to acquire Pronger in order to avoid trading for crappy, overpaid players.
The Coyotes did just that, and will easily hit the floor, even without the Pronger contract. It's insurance and provides flexibility.
Curufinwe
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Should the NHL also have forced Savard to retire? That would have imposed large cap recapture penalties on the Bruins.
The HHoF sets its own rules. They are not owned by the NHL.
Micklebot
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Uhm, the Bruins just did it with Savards contract... so yeah, it's getting done. Obviously there is a limited number of semi retired players that will never be medically cleared around, so it's not going to become the new norm.
Aside from that, how common a clear attempt to circumvent the cap is or is expected to become shouldn't change the way it is treated.
Don't get me wrong, imo they should have fixed the real issue, that Pronger's stuck in limbo if he wants to collect his money, and Philly is stuck in cap hell because of a freak accident ending a career. Had the league properly addressed that, we wouldn't have teams aquiring contracts so they can be less competitive now.
The league shouldn't punish Arz simply because it's their fault it's even a posibility. That said, it is what it is; a very obvious attempt to circumvent the cap. Call a spade a spade. There may not be rules against it, but it's more likely because they didn't anticipate the situation, not that they thought this would be fine and in the best interest of all parties concerned.
Yeah we're gonna be above the floor without Prongers Cap hit. The deal was about taking the contract from the Flyers + Grossman and unloading Gagner. Taking Pronger allowed the Coyotes to keep their higher picks as it was reported that the Flyers wanted a better return in the deal if the Coyotes would not take Pronger.
The Coyotes are already at 46ish million in cap hit without Pronger. Add in one more UFA(reportedly) and all the RFA signings and we'll be above the floor without Pronger. Making all the gnashing of teeth over this deal laughable.
http://www.spotrac.com/nhl/arizona-coyotes/cap/
Brewsky
King Of The Ice Mugs
The Coyotes still have several players to pay and add, including Mikkel Boedker, who will command 4-5 million on his own. They'll be above the floor in terms of raw salary, barring some kind of radical move with Doan or Smith, with their own players. Pronger doesn't even factor in. It was just protection in the event that the Coyotes completely struck out with UFAs, or if they want to make some trades.
In other words, it's good management. No need to be upset.
