BondraTime
Registered User
Teams decide on when they will go on runs 3 years prior to going on them, and they tank for high draft picks these years and then make their runs with these guys, which lasts for only a season, with these players. I know for a fact CHL teams will fight with everything they have to keep the guys under 20 not in the NHL in the CHL. Deciding to rebuild and doing bad for 3 years, and then in your run year you get 2/3 of your guys swiped into the AHL? Teams will be fighting that, and it’s a concession that is not likely to change.It's a system that would be designed to fill the gap between "prospect is drafted and goes straight to the NHL" vs "prospect is drafted, doesn't make the NHL and the only alternative is back to his team".
This might get into contract law territory because obviously there's an agreement in place for a draft to be held rather than teams jockeying to sign young prospects like free agents.
I'm assuming the idea currently is that if a player under a certain age can't play f/t in the NHL that it's monetarily beneficial to his junior team for him to come back as it gives them more financial incentive, via gate revenues, to continue developing players like him. So, just make it a cash transaction and let teams develop their assets according to their own development philosophy.
I don't know about every player necessarily falling under this category but it could be something that teams negotiate with the junior teams these players are drafted from. Maybe a top 3 pick is worth $500k in transfer fee but a third round pick is only worth $100k? Something like that.
But it is a weird grey zone where two teams technically own the rights to a player at the same time and both entities have financial incentives involved. If it's about money, let's make it about money and move on from the weird technicalities that keep certain players in junior because they're under a certain age.
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