Something that people may have missed on Trade Deadline Day was that the Hockey Hall of Fame released their list of eligible candidates for the 2015 Induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The list can be seen
here, but some of the high profile names first year eligible players are Niklas Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov, Chris Pronger, while also having the likes of Mark Recchi, Alexander Mogilny, Dave Andreychuk, Eric Lindros, as well as a few others who are still waiting for their call.
Ordinarily, the list itself is nothing newsworthy. These are just the players who haven’t played a game in three years or more. In this year’s case there will be two eligible candidates that go against the norm of other year. Both Chris Pronger and Sergei Fedorov would have been deemed not eligible in any previous year.
Chris Pronger’s end to his career is one that most people should recall as it is brought up every time the Philadelphia Flyer’s cap situation is brought up. In October of 2011, Pronger was hit by Mikael Grabovksi’s (then of the Maple Leafs) high stick that resulted in a concussion that essentially ended the great defenseman’s career. However, as part of the post 2005 lockout, part of the CBA indicates that if a player signed his contract at the age of 35 or older, than his contract will count against the cap regardless of if he retires or not. Due to this, Pronger still has not officially retired from the game and has been placed on the long term injury reserve in order for the Flyers to be able to use the cap space that is his contract. Thus, he is an active NHL player.
This aspect has brought up controversies first as a cap circumvention, but also along Pronger’s new job as part of the Players Safety Division since he is still being paid by the Flyers. However, back in November, the question was raised by Pierre Lebrun of ESPN/TSN to the President and CEO of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Jeff Denomme, about the eligibility of Pronger because even though he has not officially retired, he hasn’t played a game in 3 years. Mr. Denomme stated a recent policy change that makes it so players aren’t discriminated against due to salary cap issues.
The old three year eligibility rule stated that:
a candidate for election in the player category must have concluded his or her career as an active player for a minimum of three playing seasons before his or her election.
This would have eliminated Pronger or anyone else who falls under the same circumstances that does not allow them to retire due to salary cap problems.
The new rule states that:
…a person is not eligible for election in the player category if he or she has played in a professional or international hockey game (which terms shall not be considered to include games played only or primarily for charitable or recreational purposes, or for any other limited purpose that the Chair of the Board of Directors determines, in his or her discretion, should not disqualify for nomination a person otherwise eligible) during any of the three (3) playing seasons immediately prior to his or her election.
This new by-law allows Chris Pronger to be eligible this year, however it created a new problem in regards to Sergei Fedorov. The new by-law specifically says “a person is not eligible for election in the player category if he or she has played in a professional or international game”. There are exceptions to this rule which are that the game can be recreational and/or charitable and it is subject to judgement of the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Chris Pronger and Sergei Fedorov are favourites to be enshrined at the Hockey Hall of Fame
In December of 2013, Sergei Fedorov played in two Spengler Cup games for CSKA Moscow. In theory this would break the new by-law. This is not the first time that this type of situation has happened for the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1999, Joe Mullen played in the World Championship Qualification Tournament for the United States, coming out of retirement to do so. At that time, the eligibility was determined by when a player’s “active playing career” was over. It was determined by the Hockey Hall of Fame that this tournament was not part of his active playing career.
In Fedorov’s case, the key part of the new by-law is that it is considered to be a “limited purpose that the Chair of the Board of Directors determines, in his or her discretion, should not disqualify a person otherwise eligible.” I emailed Kelly Masse, Director of Corporate and Media Relations for the Hockey Hall of Fame, specifically about Fedorov’s eligibility. She told me that Fedorov is eligible based on this new by-law, which means that Interim Chair of the Board of Directors, Jim Gregory, has approved of Fedorov’s eligibility.
This whole situation is based on the fact that as the years go by since the institution of the salary cap, almost every aspect of Hockey and its fandom has had to change. The minor league system, waivers, no-trade clauses, all the way to induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame has been effected. It is an interesting progression to watch.
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