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UPDATE: 5:56pm The Canadiens will buy Gomez out now |
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UPDATE, 5:56pm:
Got a new take on things based on a conversation I just had with a very strong-minded hockey friend.
Obviously, the decision to allow accelerated buyouts was negotiated between the PA and the NHL, and the Rangers and Canadiens were heavily involved.
Let's face it, this allowance came about because of the specific situations of both Gomez and Redden. There would be no point in putting it in place if neither team would comply with it.
Why would the Rangers and Canadiens comply? Because they'll still have the same benefits as they would, were they to move ahead with what they had previously planned.
Because both players have to be subjected to waivers before they're bought out, the savings are the same as they would be if the either team waived then parked them for the season before buying them out this summer.
Meaning, the Canadiens will still get $900K in cap relief, and they will open up a roster spot by immediately buying Gomez out.
Another factor: You have to assume the fear of a grievance being accepted on behalf of either player was a contributing factor to both teams complying with the accelerated buyout.
Teams have the right to decide who plays and who doesn't, but either player would have grounds to file a grievance that stipulates they can't be told not to practice. Even if the Rangers or Canadiens sent them to the minors, they'd still argue they have the right to practice. And if their grievance were accepted, and they did start practicing and got hurt, well that would surely put their eventual buyout in jeopardy.
It might be a different story if either player were being sent home because they were deemed to be a major disruption to the team, or they were suspended on those grounds, but with Bergevin telling the press and the public that this was purely a financial decision (in Gomez's case), Gomez could argue that being sent home is a non-financial breach of contract.
Long story short, the Canadiens will subject Gomez to waivers before Thursday, and buy him out before Saturday. Even if that means he gets a contract with a rival.
Had the Habs or the Rangers not received the same benefit for buying their players out immediately as they would for sending them home then eventually buying them out, then what I wrote below would stand as a logical breakdown of the situation.
FROM EARLIER:
According to various reports, after much discussion between Scott Gomez, Wade Redden, the NHLPA and the NHL, the NHL has permitted teams to exercise their right to use one of the two compliance buyouts they have between now and 2014.
If the Canadiens choose to buy out Gomez before Saturday, 100% of his salary remains on the cap for this shortened season, and the rest of it vanishes for the coming seasons. In addition to having no cap benefit, the Canadiens will have to pay his full actual salary this year-- and not 2/3rds of it.
The speculation as to where these two players may land this year is already flying, and it's based on the idea that both the Rangers and the Canadiens are more than happy to part ways right now, rather than in the summer.
Here's the catch:
Just focusing on the Canadiens:
If the Habs waive Gomez, and then park him for the season, they free up a roster spot in Montreal and save 900K on the cap.
Whether they buy out Gomez now or in the summer, they're still on the hook for his full actual salary this season.
So, how do you see this?
Are the Canadiens and Marc Bergevin jerks for not allowing Gomez to move on with his career, considering their intention is to buy him out regardless?
Or...
Are the Canadiens foolish to not only pay him his full salary, but take his enormous cap-hit and allow him to suit up for a competitor this season?
You could say it puts Bergevin in a bit of a pickle, but if his job is to do what's best for the team, it seems rather obvious that going ahead as planned makes the most sense.
Waive him. Park him. Save the roster spot and 900K on the cap.
We'll know by Saturday what the future holds for Gomez.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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