How about that disallowed Bennet goal then 9 seconds later TB scored. If I was FL I’d be furious.

How about that disallowed Bennet goal then 9 seconds later TB scored. If I was FL I’d be furious.
- nyrangers9479

They can be as mad as they want. It was the right call.

How about that disallowed Bennet goal then 9 seconds later TB scored. If I was FL I’d be furious.
- nyrangers9479

Uh… it was the right call, you cant move the goalie out of the way to score.

Florida doesn't look like they have the capability of killing a single Tampa powerplay

I think last night was Florida's chance to make this a good series, this is gonna be over quick

I can't believe how good Kucherov looked in his first game
- jimbro83

And thats where Tampa’s ability to get in their heads comes into play. They got FLA into some bad penalties which put em on the PP. Stamkos on the left, Kuch on the right, Point in the middle… it should be unstoppable no matter who theyre playing. The way to beat them is stay out the box.

Ive been giving this Eichel trade a lot of thought and if its something the team insists on going through with then I feel the trade has to have conditions based on his health.

The main condition that Ive thought about is a minimum games played condition. Im thinking 100 games over 2 seasons is a fair number of games to be played. If the condition isnt met then Buffalo gives up [insert conditions here].

Can you imagine the Rangers playing Tampa in a series right now

Ive been giving this Eichel trade a lot of thought and if its something the team insists on going through with then I feel the trade has to have conditions based on his health.

The main condition that Ive thought about is a minimum games played condition. Im thinking 100 games over 2 seasons is a fair number of games to be played. If the condition isnt met then Buffalo gives up
- aecliptic[insert conditions here].

Either that or they need to carry a substantial amount of the Cap hit. The Rangers will have no problem paying the salary.

They can be as mad as they want. It was the right call.
- Tonybere

I must’ve missed that part, bc it looked like a regular scramble to me

Josh Norris isn't gonna be traded because team's dont trade young centers still on their ELCs after solid rookie seasons

they build around those guys

unless they can pair the Tkachuk brothers up, that's only way they'd do it
- jimbro83

Teams especially don't do that when they are in the process of rebuilding themselves. That Norris/Strome would be like if we traded Kakko for Bryan Rust, a mid range prospect and a first. We would be livid

Teams especially don't do that when they are in the process of rebuilding themselves. That Norris/Strome would be like if we traded Kakko for Bryan Rust, a mid range prospect and a first. We would be livid
- SkjeiStadium

and people are always saying Ottawa is poor, blah blah blah, why then wouldn't they want Josh Norris at 950K next season?

and people are always saying Ottawa is poor, blah blah blah, why then wouldn't they want Josh Norris at 950K next season?
- jimbro83

Agreed. Also, revisiting that Karlsson trade for a minute...

People tend to forget that almost everybody thought SJ won that trade in a landslide at the time. Everyone expected either Hertl or Meier to go back the other way, instead they got a list of prospects, and what looked to be a very late first as SJ was coming off a few playoff runs and just added a premier defenseman. Norris wasn't even that highly regarded at the time. He was a mid-late first pick that had a pretty average freshman season at Michigan that year.

Ottawa lucked out that he became the player he is and that the wheels fell off in SJ and that pick ended up becoming Stuetzle. SJ got unlucky and then crippled themselves giving Karlsson that contract.

Months
- rrentz

A way to curb this activity would be to allow a team entering the playoffs two options:

A: The player must play a certain amount of regular season games to be eligible for the playoffs if LTIR is used during the regular season and the cap savings are significant. (Rookies and college athletes could be exempt to join their team for a playoff run etc)

B: The team can opt to have the LTIR player's salary count towards the cap to keep them eligible for the playoffs if the minimum games threshold can't be met.

Are these good solutions? I'm not sure, but what Tampa did is absurd and has to be prevented in the future.

A way to curb this activity would be to allow a team entering the playoffs two options:

A: The player must play a certain amount of regular season games to be eligible for the playoffs if LTIR is used during the regular season and the cap savings are significant. (Rookies and college athletes could be exempt to join their team for a playoff run etc)

B: The team can opt to have the LTIR player's salary count towards the cap to keep them eligible for the playoffs if the minimum games threshold can't be met.

Are these good solutions? I'm not sure, but what Tampa did is absurd and has to be prevented in the future.
- JRR1285

its amazing that this league has been shut down a couple of times for the owners to get a salary cap that they themselves always try and figure out how to circumvent

A way to curb this activity would be to allow a team entering the playoffs two options:

A: The player must play a certain amount of regular season games to be eligible for the playoffs if LTIR is used during the regular season and the cap savings are significant. (Rookies and college athletes could be exempt to join their team for a playoff run etc)

B: The team can opt to have the LTIR player's salary count towards the cap to keep them eligible for the playoffs if the minimum games threshold can't be met.

Are these good solutions? I'm not sure, but what Tampa did is absurd and has to be prevented in the future.
- JRR1285

I agree to the absurdity of this whole situation, though I do think that this is unique and a byproduct of the crazy way that last year ended how this year was played. I do not see this actually being a big problem moving forward.

I just don't see these athletes being willing to waste years of their contracts on a normal basis to sit on LTIR. This was just a perfect storm and I don't really blame them.

A way to curb this activity would be to allow a team entering the playoffs two options:

A: The player must play a certain amount of regular season games to be eligible for the playoffs if LTIR is used during the regular season and the cap savings are significant. (Rookies and college athletes could be exempt to join their team for a playoff run etc)

B: The team can opt to have the LTIR player's salary count towards the cap to keep them eligible for the playoffs if the minimum games threshold can't be met.

Are these good solutions? I'm not sure, but what Tampa did is absurd and has to be prevented in the future.
- JRR1285

I feel like there should also be a cap penalty that carries over to the following season in the same way that bonuses do for players.

its amazing that this league has been shut down a couple of times for the owners to get a salary cap that they themselves always try and figure out how to circumvent
- jimbro83

At the end of the day it still saves them money. Any salary cap is going to have to draw a hard line somewhere and it's up to the GM's to figure out the loopholes. Once changed those GMs will find another way to skirt the rules while technically being legal.

I don't blame Tampa one bit for what they are doing, but it's up to the league to address it and push that line back. That could either be by implementing a cap to LTIR where any salary in excess of that number doesn't get the same relief or by implementing a playoff salary cap. Eventually teams will find ways around those too but that's the next logical step to me.

its amazing that this league has been shut down a couple of times for the owners to get a salary cap that they themselves always try and figure out how to circumvent
- jimbro83

I am going to enjoy watching them try to figure out the cap going into next season

A way to curb this activity would be to allow a team entering the playoffs two options:

A: The player must play a certain amount of regular season games to be eligible for the playoffs if LTIR is used during the regular season and the cap savings are significant. (Rookies and college athletes could be exempt to join their team for a playoff run etc)

B: The team can opt to have the LTIR player's salary count towards the cap to keep them eligible for the playoffs if the minimum games threshold can't be met.

Are these good solutions? I'm not sure, but what Tampa did is absurd and has to be prevented in the future.
- JRR1285

It isn’t like he didn’t have major hip surgery tho. He wouldn’t have sat for an 82 game season imo. I don’t think it’s a big deal.

But I could def see them instituting something like you mentioned. Playing x amount of reg games to be eligible is a good one

Josh Norris isn't gonna be traded because team's dont trade young centers still on their ELCs after solid rookie seasons

they build around those guys

unless they can pair the Tkachuk brothers up, that's only way they'd do it
- jimbro83

Isn’t Dorian the same guy that traded Zib? And it’s not like we don’t have ELC guys to give them.

I get that he probably won’t get traded, but the impression I’m getting is we have nothing they’d want for him

Josh Norris isn’t mackinnon for crying out loud

At the end of the day it still saves them money. Any salary cap is going to have to draw a hard line somewhere and it's up to the GM's to figure out the loopholes. Once changed those GMs will find another way to skirt the rules while technically being legal.

I don't blame Tampa one bit for what they are doing, but it's up to the league to address it and push that line back. That could either be by implementing a cap to LTIR where any salary in excess of that number doesn't get the same relief or by implementing a playoff salary cap. Eventually teams will find ways around those too but that's the next logical step to me.
- SkjeiStadium

in general, I think they should raise the cap by 10 million but lower the salary floor by 10 million

if Tampa or Toronto want to spend 91 million a a year, instead of 81 million, let them

if Ottawa only wants to spend 50 million a year instead of 60 million which is the floor, let them

Isn’t Dorian the same guy that traded Zib? And it’s not like we don’t have ELC guys to give them.

I get that he probably won’t get traded, but the impression I’m getting is we have nothing they’d want for him

Josh Norris isn’t mackinnon for crying out loud
- Slimtj100

not yet

I must’ve missed that part, bc it looked like a regular scramble to me
- nyrangers9479

What I saw, and the ref who waved it off immediately, was Bennett (I think) clearly pushing forward on Vasilevsky's pad, moving it away from the post and goal line while the puck was behind the blade of his stick. That is clearly not an attempt to deposit the puck in the net. Then, the second Panther played pushed the puck through the newly created space and into the net.
I thought this was one of the more clear cut situations in a goal mouth scramble.

not yet
- jimbro83

That a bold statement brah

It isn’t like he didn’t have major hip surgery tho. He wouldn’t have sat for an 82 game season imo. I don’t think it’s a big deal.

But I could def see them instituting something like you mentioned. Playing x amount of reg games to be eligible is a good one
- Slimtj100

It's not that simple, TJ.
Kuch was clearly ready to be back in games well before the end of the season. He was practicing with the team 2 MONTHS AGO!!!
And, knowing Kuch could be playing, and with Stamkos's $8.5M in the IR as well, they went out at the deadline and traded for players that took away any and all flexibility they might have had to get them back in before the playoffs.
You're right that Kuch had a legitimate injury and no one can give 100% irrefutable proof that he could have played.
That is why they should just keep the existing salary cap rules to be complied with right through to the end of the playoffs. How can it be any more complicated than that?? They players already play them at their current salary. It's not like they can demand they should get extra compensation.

For arguments sake...if Dorian turned down Chytil Buch and one of our D prospects for Norris...he’s a cookoo bird. He gets a top 6 winger, a top 9 center and more than likely a top 4 dman...man we’d be crazy to do that actually now that I think about it