If Ken Holland were still Red Wings GM I'm not convinced that Danny Cleary wouldn't be on the taxi squad.


- gergeswillems

The first time I saw that scene, I was really young. 6 or 7. I didn’t sleep for a week

The first time I saw that scene, I was really young. 6 or 7. I didn’t sleep for a week
- Jeremy Laura

I had the same reaction when Holland kept re-signing Cleary.

Like the line set up, G. Very wise.

Here's what I see: Cholo & Svech stick around until Seider & Veleno are done with their seasons. If neither Cholo nor Svech turn up; C Ya! Way past time for them to earn their pay... Svech is too often injured, Cholo's head-space is jacked. At some point in time, you have to step up, or step off. If a guy knows his head isn't right, HE has to fix it by asking for the help he needs. Hand-holding doesn't happen in real life. They need to figure it out, FAST.

I think the end of this season will show what we have in the wings (pun intended...); Who's worth it, and who needs to go away. Trade off those who are too far gone and stock up on draft choices in later rounds, get something for the layout and give the kids a change in scenery.

And YES, G.....I'm cheesed that Kenny by-passed Aho too.

The first time I saw that scene, I was really young. 6 or 7. I didn’t sleep for a week
- Jeremy Laura

Kinda like Tiger Williams, there....just come blasting out of nowhere and wreck your body & mind. What a talent!!!!

I had the same reaction when Holland kept re-signing Cleary.
- gergeswillems

Do you think Kenny had it out for you, G?? I personally think he kept DC around juuust to tick you off and make you search for, or create, great anti-Holland memes. Not sure about you, but if that's the case.....I LIKE IT 😎😁

Like the line set up, G. Very wise.

Here's what I see: Cholo & Svech stick around until Seider & Veleno are done with their seasons. If neither Cholo nor Svech turn up; C Ya! Way past time for them to earn their pay... Svech is too often injured, Cholo's head-space is jacked. At some point in time, you have to step up, or step off. If a guy knows his head isn't right, HE has to fix it by asking for the help he needs. Hand-holding doesn't happen in real life. They need to figure it out, FAST.

I think the end of this season will show what we have in the wings (pun intended...); Who's worth it, and who needs to go away. Trade off those who are too far gone and stock up on draft choices in later rounds, get something for the layout and give the kids a change in scenery.

And YES, G.....I'm cheesed that Kenny by-passed Aho too.
- mcmastermike1968

I have been trying to trade Cholo away in most of my trade projections!


I still can't believe he was a 1st round pick! He seems to be another Brendan Smith with his decisions, but lacking Smith's edginess. Ha ha
I am getting nervous about how teams can circumvent the cap with this Taxi-squad deal....It may be that Detroit will not get such a good deal for taking on a bad contract.

Do you think Kenny had it out for you, G?? I personally think he kept DC around juuust to tick you off and make you search for, or create, great anti-Holland memes. Not sure about you, but if that's the case.....I LIKE IT 😎😁
- mcmastermike1968

I've often wondered this. How else do you explain Holland drafting Zadina over Quinn Hughes? I begged Holland to draft Hughes 2 months before that draft happened even though according to HSJ and Khan Holland was targeting Evan Bouchard.

Zadina falls to Detroit at #6 and Holland drafts him. Guess who went at #7? Benning isn't a dummy. Don't get me wrong. I do like Zadina. He's a little too injury prone for my liking. But he'll still be a good player for us. But seriously MM. Quinn Hughes!

I have been trying to trade Cholo away in most of my trade projections!


I still can't believe he was a 1st round pick! He seems to be another Brendan Smith with his decisions, but lacking Smith's edginess. Ha ha
I am getting nervous about how teams can circumvent the cap with this Taxi-squad deal....It may be that Detroit will not get such a good deal for taking on a bad contract.
- HenryHockey

You know I lambasted Holland hard for taking Draper's advice in drafting Cholowski. "High hockey IQ." He passed on Chychrun. But Holland did get Hronek with that extra pick so I forgive him for that one.

I still haven't forgiven Brendan Smith for that 2013 playoff series vs Chicago. Boy was he ever brutal! I always loved his toughness though. 👍

It's almost as if Bettman told teams "You don't get free buyouts to get your team's out of cap jail. But we'll allow you to violate the Salary Cap by having 20 man rosters and bigger taxi squads."

You know I lambasted Holland hard for taking Draper's advice in drafting Cholowski. "High hockey IQ." He passed on Chychrun. But Holland did get Hronek with that extra pick so I forgive him for that one.

I still haven't forgiven Brendan Smith for that 2013 playoff series vs Chicago. Boy was he ever brutal! I always loved his toughness though. 👍

It's almost as if Bettman told teams "You don't get free buyouts to get your team's out of cap jail. But we'll allow you to violate the Salary Cap by having 20 man rosters and bigger taxi squads."
- gergeswillems

Yeah, Draper. Now he has his son in the system, too.

I see Freidman is still pumping the tires on a Zetterberg's contract for Tyler Johnson trade. There better be a little more added to TJ and maybe some salary retention too!
TJ (retain $1.5M) + Barré-Boulet for Z's $6,083,333 LTIR, Z is only owed $1M in salary,

I see Freidman is still pumping the tires on a Zetterberg's contract for Tyler Johnson trade. There better be a little more added to TJ and maybe some salary retention too!
TJ (retain $1.5M) + Barré-Boulet for Z's $6,083,333 LTIR, Z is only owed $1M in salary,
- HenryHockey

I don't see how Z's LTIR helps Tampa though. LTIR was designed to help a team by not being screwed if a player gets injured. Like the Red Wings with Franzen. His salary counted but we could go 4 mil over the Cap. I'll admit it. I still don't really understand how LTIR works. I don't suppose I ever will.

But you're right. Stevie better be getting a first round pick plus a really good prospect like Barre-Boulet or Alnefelt to take TJ's 4 years.

Yotes just signed Drake Caggiula, the dominoes are starting to fall!!!

Yotes just signed Drake Caggiula, the dominoes are starting to fall!!!
- HenryHockey

I don't see how Z's LTIR helps Tampa though. LTIR was designed to help a team by not being screwed if a player gets injured. Like the Red Wings with Franzen. His salary counted but we could go 4 mil over the Cap. I'll admit it. I still don't really understand how LTIR works. I don't suppose I ever will.

But you're right. Stevie better be getting a first round pick plus a really good prospect like Barre-Boulet or Alnefelt to take TJ's 4 years.
- gergeswillems

I guess a 1st would be better than $1.5M salary retained.......but would it???? Tampa's 1st might be the 31st pick.

I guess a 1st would be better than $1.5M salary retained.......but would it???? Tampa's 1st might be the 31st pick.
- HenryHockey

That's why we need the stud prospect added.

Kucherov will be on LTIR to start the season.....so JBB has time to sort it out

Kucherov will be on LTIR to start the season.....so JBB has time to sort it out
- HenryHockey

He'll pull a Patty Kane and magically be healthy for game 1 of the playoffs. Andrew Vermette anyone?

Yeah, Draper. Now he has his son in the system, too.
- HenryHockey

I’ll give this to Draper, he pushed for Tyler Bertuzzi. He’s done really well helping us scout some different types of players. Cholo was a consolation for dumping Pav’s deal. I’m not sure how else to look at it.

As far as Draper’s kid, he’s actually an impressive player. The kid is super strong (like dad) and as a super late round pick, could end up being a depth player. It looks bad, for sure, but the kid is intense. Draper is insanely fit, he runs gauntlets like they’re nothing and that’s how he stayed in the league. A hard worker and depth guy. We’ll see how it all pans out

I see you have 9+ players on the Taxi Squad. I thought teams could only carry 5 players + 1 goalie? Did I read that wrong?

I see you have 9+ players on the Taxi Squad. I thought teams could only carry 5 players + 1 goalie? Did I read that wrong?
- KillerBert44

As I understand it teams can carry a maximum of 29 players (23-man roster plus 6-man taxi squad).

I'm wondering how many owners / GMs are going to shamelessly abuse the system to nickel and dime two-way, waiver-exempt (EDIT: mistakenly wrote "waiver eligible" previously) players. If, for example, Detroit kept an "open" space on its taxi squad, nothing would be able to stop them from, say, sending Zadina to it every off day and recalling him every game day. That would essentially cut his salary in half.

I see you have 9+ players on the Taxi Squad. I thought teams could only carry 5 players + 1 goalie? Did I read that wrong?
- KillerBert44

For sure, you’re right. If players don’t make “the squad” they can probably be sent to Toledo (still trying to have a season). We definitely have a traffic jam of bottom 3 forwads. Not a great version of depth

As I understand it teams can carry a maximum of 29 players (23-man roster plus 6-man taxi squad).

I'm wondering how many owners / GMs are going to shamelessly abuse the system to nickel and dime two-way, waiver eligible players. If, for example, Detroit kept an "open" space on its taxi squad, nothing would be able to stop them from, say, sending Zadina to it every off day and recalling him every game day. That would essentially cut his salary in half.
- Sven22

Players get paid based on games played. If Zadina played 56 games for the Wings, he’d get the NHL salary. I’m assuming Taxi squad get paid AHL salary based on games they “sit out”. It’s a bit convoluted but does keep that from happening. The team would get temporary cap relief by the move, but not salary. With the squad limit, it would make it tough to do. I think they’re still doing the Max 1 million bury against the cap

I see you have 9+ players on the Taxi Squad. I thought teams could only carry 5 players + 1 goalie? Did I read that wrong?
- KillerBert44

When I put “taxi” in brackets, it only relates to the player whose name it’s next to. Others would be scratched as long as the team doesn’t exceed 25

Players get paid based on games played. If Zadina played 56 games for the Wings, he’d get the NHL salary. I’m assuming Taxi squad get paid AHL salary based on games they “sit out”. It’s a bit convoluted but does keep that from happening. The team would get temporary cap relief by the move, but not salary. With the squad limit, it would make it tough to do. I think they’re still doing the Max 1 million bury against the cap
- Jeremy Laura

That would be good news if true. Is that a change specific to this year?

My understanding has always been that NHL players on two-way contracts are paid based on "days on roster," NOT games played. See this recent thread from the much-smarter-than-me guys at Capfriendly: https://twitter.com/CapFr...tatus/1340685549863133185

In past years some players (even Zadina if I recall correctly) have been jerked around a bit with paper transactions during longer gaps between game days, but that came with a downside since the player would presumably not be able to practice / travel with the NHL squad during their "demotion." Taxi squads make such a distinction moot, so it seems like it would be much more open to "creative accounting" abuses at the players' expense.

EDIT / ADDITION: The key here to my point is "two-way contract." Sending, say, Filppula down to the taxi squad creates cap space but doesn't affect his salary. But the guys on two-way deals actually get paid much less if they are in the AHL. (Conversely, they also get their full "daily" NHL rate for every day they're called up to an NHL roster, even if they don't play any games.)

As I understand it teams can carry a maximum of 29 players (23-man roster plus 6-man taxi squad).

I'm wondering how many owners / GMs are going to shamelessly abuse the system to nickel and dime two-way, waiver eligible players. If, for example, Detroit kept an "open" space on its taxi squad, nothing would be able to stop them from, say, sending Zadina to it every off day and recalling him every game day. That would essentially cut his salary in half.
- Sven22

Only if they are on the 2-way deals...
GMs might certainly play games with accruing cap space by assigning high salaried players to taxi squads on off days, I can see that happening.