NHL closing the \"Niedermayer\" loophole?

[WhatThePuck?]

I see this as a way for the NHL to step in and close a salary cap loophole exploited by Burke.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=2353...=headlines_nhl

Burke used Niedermayer\'s \"retirement\" to circumvent the salary cap. By suspending Niedermayer (who was still under contract) for not showing up for camp the Ducks could use his his cap money to sign additional players & address the salary cap later on in the season.

By fining Niedermayer instead of the the team the NHL has effectively closed the \"retirement\" loophole by placing the focus on the players. What player under contract is going to \"retire\" & then \"unretire\" later on in the season to help his team when he is going to get hit with a fine that is tied to his salary.

Teams will now have to decide on whether to keep the player under contract & count against the cap (not suspended where the contract doesn\'t count against the cap) or suspend him thus getting the cap relief but opening up the player for league fines if he returns.

I think it is just a small step to prevent half-season players (mostly older vets who only want to play in the playoffs) from making a mockery of the regular season. The regular season should mean something but to some guys it doesn\'t mean anything.

Don\'t believe me. Check out this story:
http://www.pe.com/sports/hockey/brea...6.4395339.html

The Ducks, of course, don\'t concern themselves with such foolishness. They have playoffs to prepare for, and that only underscores the idea that Niedermayer and Selanne may be the two smartest guys in the NHL.

They realized, well before the fact, that nothing good could come out of an 11-hour flight to London to play hockey. Criticize them for being fashionably late if you must, but also recognize that the wear and tear they avoided in the early months will now serve them well.

\"I\'m talking to guys who have ice packs and all kinds of things, my old teammates and buddies on other teams, and they\'re saying, \'It\'s been a tough time,\' \" Selanne said with a laugh Saturday afternoon. \"And I say, \'Well, I feel great.\' I highly recommend that we play only 25 games before the real season starts and go from there.

\"I\'ve never felt this good. Obviously, the break was really good for me, mentally and physically, and hopefully I can take advantage of that.\"

And if Anaheim is to repeat its magical run of last spring, beginning with its opening round series with Dallas, the Smartest Guys In Hockey will have a lot to do with it.

Of course, Selanne maintains General Manager Brian Burke qualifies for that category, too.

\"If he\'d given us a deadline, for sure I wouldn\'t be here,\" Selanne said.

Thoughts???

[FlyersJoe]

Another post preceded this one, but I\'ll add my 2 cents. As a paying fan, I would want my star players dressed from the start; not taking off 3 quarters of the season. As for the players, I do think the season is too long. Shortening the season to 40 games would not only help the players, but it would increase the attractiveness to the game; every game would much more riding on it, bringing it closer to the NFL\'s winning template of success. But if players want to sit during an 82 game season, then they should still count against the cap from the start of the season, the GM can let them have off if he feels \"they deserved it\" or there should be a cap penalty for any late signings. The cap is supposed to level the playing field. These types of maneuvers should be penalized.

[Shao]

Well, Anaheim is out. Essentially the same team, but they got outplayed and played stupidly by taking so many penalties.

I\'m just saying, it wasn\'t as brilliant a move as most thought because there are no cup guarantees.


Also, this is a good idea, but I really didn\'t see the situation happening a lot.

Most guys want to retire. When they are done, they are done. They get to spend the time they\'ve lost with family and don\'t want to change that halfway through.

This could have been a problem, but I really wouldn\'t forsee some really classy guys pulling this off: Sakic, Sundin.

Those guys are all about the team and leadership. Not saying the other two ain\'t, but I think this type of situation would have been rare.

[repenttokyo]

I would say anaheim was quite a different team: no corey perry for most of the series, no mcdonald to play with selanne, and suddenly bertuzzi is replacing dustin penner.

[Crazynuck]

Bettman finally did something right for once.

[WhatThePuck?]

IcyGrail.com wrote:

Another post preceded this one

I know. There was nothing posted when I started writing my post. It took me some time to find the Selanne story. I really wanted to add that story & how the writer thought that what they did was a great idea, like some awe-inspiring strategic move in the Duck\'s almighty plan to win the Stanley Cup.

Sure what the Ducks did may have been within the rules but it goes against the spirit of the game. The CBA may limit what the league can do to prevent these incidents but it is nice to see the league, instead of the GMs, (hello Burke & Lamoriello) show some creative for a change in trying to keep the game\'s integrity intact. (at least that is what I am hoping they are trying to do) It doesn\'t prevent UFA situations like Selanne & Forsberg (although Forsberg was injured) but at least it is a step in the right direction to keep the importance of the regular season intact.

[Torture]

I dunno, I don\'t really see it as closing the loophole.

Next year if Burke wanted to do it again he just does it like this:

Give Niedermayer permission to miss training camp. After training camp is over, suspend him so he doesn\'t have to pay the salary.
Niedermayer only has to pay this fine for missing training camp, but teams can give a player permission to miss training camp.

[Shao]

repenttokyo wrote:

I would say anaheim was quite a different team: no corey perry for most of the series, no mcdonald to play with selanne, and suddenly bertuzzi is replacing dustin penner.

Ah, you love to argue with me. Good. I like that.

Selanne
Getzlaf
Pronger
Neidermayer
Beauchemin
Giguere
Perry for 3 games

I would say one could say they mostly had the same team. Those players are the cogs of ANA.

Conversely, Penner and Mcdonald did not take the \"heart of the ducks\" with them when they left.

They are not quite a different team. They are almost the same team and you could say, slightly different, but not quite different.

[repenttokyo]

I just feel that Mcdonald was a key part of selanne\'s success and the lack of a centre who could skate with him was a real problem. doug weight was not the answer.

[Shao]

Agreed.