Quoting: rebecca
So very true. The Richards tax is almost this unique add-on you have to factor in for the Kings. They’ll have a party next decade when they’re done paying that off.
It’s mystifying when, given the implications for teams why *any* player with term left on his contract would retire instead of getting “injured” and being forced into LTIR. Not to say that many of the issues for why players experience career ending injuries are legit, but everyone knows (and everyone cheats) that most are not legit.
The reality is that these guys, having played professional hockey for 15/20 years are going to have some issue that some doctor somewhere could say would be worsened by playing hockey. Well, no ****, any doctor who cared about their patients would probably insist they avoid high-speed full contact sport like hockey. So given this fact, it was shocking that Luongo, with multiple years left on his contract actually RETIRED, capital R. I’m sure his groin, or back or something could be signed off on by a doctor but he chose to retire and in so doing DECREASE the cap hit of his old team (especially as they’re not likely going to be dipping into LTIR anyways). The fact Vancouver gets screwed in this case well, they don’t have much say.
I wonder if Vancouver could insist on Luongo undergoing a physical with their team doctor. I bet their team doctor would find issues that could mean they could unretire him and put his money on LTIR. Now that would be interesting.
Players can retire at anytime for any reason not related to injury... You can't force a player to finish his contract on LTIR... Paul Kariya I remember trying to play in NHL was blocked by them saying his concussion history was too much of a risk...If anything these shady crooked doctors will claim somebody is injured to avoid any possible legal issues or since teams have millions... Bothers me since if ever try getting SSD will see how they screw over steal money deny claims... Yet guys can get millions of dollars, then even while disabled take jobs paying them 6 or 7 figures when they are perfectly fine... I"d say about 90% of those trying to get LTIR would be rejected if they were trying to get SSD or real disability... Somebody like Stars player who nearly died on ice, he would have a hard time ever getting cleared... Otherwise Clarkson, Lupul, Pronger, I remember Lupul tried to say he could play only for them to vanish him fast...
Problem is the Canucks deserved the recapture penalty for giving him a contract to circumvent the salary cap in first place... Richards/Carter/Shea Weber were all signed by Flyers, offer sheet puts Nashville on the hook if he ever retires... Carter if the Kings traded him or did something he didn't like could retire... Crosby or Malkin I think both of them would hit Penguins hard if they ever retire since their contracts were setup to stay lower to the cap... So all these 10-20 year deals teams were doing got shafted when they had that lockout... Yet for some reason Kings were stuck with contracts they didn't give on recapture bonus...
I think if player is on LTIR for more than 2-3 years he should have to retire basically... IN general the way LTIR is its just abusing system/players while mocking those really handicapped or unable to work... I"m a lot more disabled than anybody on LTIR in the NHL without any of the benefits. I just don't get how Toronto or other teams seem to give contract to Clarkson then are not on hook for any of the cap issues... Yet Kings, Knights, teams like that are in cap hell or getting shafted badly in many cases for situations they didn't create in first place... Vegas though did stupid things, instead of moving Clarkson they kept him only to suffer for it... They paid guys millions of dollars more than what they were worth then had to shed people who had value for trash...
I don't like the cap system its got too much dead money or ways to abuse it. All these players need to get on LTIR is a doctor to say they can't play for 10 games or 24 days... Power of healing or Mind Body Connection things like that... They have a well known author who Howard Stern touted many times... In a nut shell you can find structure damage in people who have no problems caused by it... While others have nothing they can find wrong but are disabled unable to move or do much... So most NHL players probably got some sorta herniated disc or disc damage they can claim makes them disabled... Though these days its easier to get mental health claim or obesity over actually being disabled or having a real chronic condition. Would be funny to see NHL player go on LTIR for being obese
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Its weird too since I remember ILya retired for Devils with that huge cap circumventing contract... Then within last few years some other player voided his contract... I think he went to play in europe, he had a heft contract but walked away from it... HE had abandoned the team or was missing its really weird can't think of his name... Vinny Lecavlier or so was traded to Kings but agreed to retire so they wouldn't be on hook for his final year... He still had gas left in the tank, did well for them in playoffs playing center/PP/3rd line mostly... Flyers had him struggling on wing, so I think recapture might only apply to those 35+ or contract that were greater than 8 years. I"m not a 100% sure on that, even buyouts are weird, if time them can pay a lot less, maybe 1/3rd but most buyouts are 2/3rds. Many deals depend on real money or if team had insurance on the player... So they might ship the LTIR to same paying real money like I think the CBJ player Vegas got... I don't think they had insurance on him or something... Horton or something is another guy floating around. Pronger was the worst abuser I seen w/ this LTIR BS going on though
. Teams seem to manage the cap badly in general, I think way cap works only hurts the NHL. Mediocre teams don't really sell tickets or create excitement... Its like Just OK is not OK from AT&T only they got the most mediocre LEslie Jones or some trash as their voice? Its like talk about below OK is alright if its AT&T she isn't Wanda Sykes level
. I miss watching hockey when teams had 6 D-men who belonged in the NHL along w/ 12 forwards personally
. NOw its like which scrub team will have enough ELC or young players producing beyond their cap hit to even have a chance at a cup
. Last few teams to win have made the 2012 Kings look like a Run & Gun explosive exciting team... Granted their 2014 team was probably the most entertaining team to win Cup last decade hahaa
. That was enough excitement for the rest of my life personally to have to endure 21 games on way to easy SCF
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