you start the season with only 20 players and send down 3 guys that make 2.75 mil that can pass thru waivers.

There are a lot of things that are jokes in the NHL. The contracts that fall into the cap recapture were a joke. I mean, years of $1M at the end of your contract in your late 30s/40s? Everyone knew that was a joke along with other contracts.

The NHL gave teams the option of a special buy out those contracts. So I am ok with the penalty still being possible.

I do agree, it does seem absurd that Hossa would want to go out that way. People do absurd things though at times, even people that we don't think would do them.
- carcus

Carcus, don't take this personally, but having been a reader here for pushing 10 years now -- I know how much you comment here -- you sound a lot more than a cynic. You aren't fooling us by acting like the devil's advocate. I don't mean offense or ill will, but you comment here enough that I just wanted you to know how I see your comments. Thanks.

Appears per nhlnumbers.com, which has an otherwise accurate GVK roster, Marcus Kruger and TVR are no longer Blackhawks.
- John Jaeckel

Yeah this was in one of their recent tweets:

NHL has to evaluate whether it wants to Richard over a franchise again for making a move that was actually legal when it was made.

This hard salary cap (as opposed to a soft cap) is destroying the league. That and garbage officiating in the playoffs.
- ObeseOprah

That '13 CBA blew. What a crock. Same poop for Duncs down the road, perhaps.

Officiating? Follow the rulebook! Go back to the way calls were made '05-'06. You're right. PO officiating sucks.

I believe that all players on your roster on opening day count every year. They are on LTIR in the offseason, keeping them from being bought out/etc, but have to be re-placed on LTIR on day one of each season.
- carcus

While it is true that teams cannot be over the cap on day 1, the CBA has a bunch of examples of players who get injured in training camp and put on LTIR. Specifically, Illustration 4 on page 292, in which a team comes in over the cap because of LTIR.

I'm sure there is another rule somewhere else that over-rules this...

Yes.
- John Jaeckel

No team in the NHL decides that it's 3rd line can be totally non-scoring. What is the expectations for the 4th line then? That it will score into its own net?

Pierre LeBrun‏Verified account @PierreVLeBrun now43 seconds ago

Just a reminder, the Hawks can't put Hossa on LTI until Day 2 of the regular season, have to carry him on the cap opening day (con't)...
- hawkshossa81

And how long (deadline date) can they be that X% over the cap? Guess it's time to read Cap Friendly's LTIR section.....again.

So you're just playing the cynic...fine.

But to think that the great Marian Hossa... and he is great...an honorable man with pride would want to end his career by announcing that he has an awful skin condition...

...strikes me as absurd.

As a personal aside...

I hate the hard cap, and have been hoping for some sort of luxury tax added to the CBA. But the rules are the rules and the Hawks are doing nothing wrong.

I also think the cap recapture penalty imposed by the new CBA is a joke. If the long term deals were approved they shouldn't be penalizing teams after the fact.
- ArlingtonRob

rob you are on a roll...when i made my comments earlier...much info i was not aware of..and you have made some great points about hossa...this situation really does not help the hawks at all...

Carcus, don't take this personally, but having been a reader here for pushing 10 years now -- I know how much you comment here -- you sound a lot more than a cynic. You aren't fooling us by acting like the devil's advocate. I don't mean offense or ill will, but you comment here enough that I just wanted you to know how I see your comments. Thanks.
- stp1978

I try not to take stuff personally. When I find myself starting to, I go away at least for a while.

I actually am taking the devil's advocate route often. Including when it comes to the Blues on our threads. I enjoy conversations and seeing things from more than one angle. Plenty of Blues fans (like the 6 we have here on hockeybuzz ) kill me because of me posting opposing views.

Rob,

The evaluation is standard practice. The Hawks submit a request to put Hossa on LTIR. The league evaluates the request. If the league denies the request, it goes to a third party "neutral party" doctor. The league isn't going to stop this.

CBA Rule 50.10.d - page 290
- Tanuki

I know...just venting.

The loss of Hossa is rather huge for the hawks roster, and to hear the garbage being thrown around concerning "cap relief" just pisses me off more.

So you're just playing the cynic...fine.

But to think that the great Marian Hossa... and he is great...an honorable man with pride would want to end his career by announcing that he has an awful skin condition...

...strikes me as absurd.

As a personal aside...

I hate the hard cap, and have been hoping for some sort of luxury tax added to the CBA. But the rules are the rules and the Hawks are doing nothing wrong.

I also think the cap recapture penalty imposed by the new CBA is a joke. If the long term deals were approved they shouldn't be penalizing teams after the fact.
- ArlingtonRob

Do revenue sharing and a luxury tax, no cap like baseball.

Big market teams like the Cubs pay on the order of a third of their baseball revenue.

Then add in, unlike baseball, teams on the take must put the money into the big league roster, minors, scouting....

This whole attempt to get everyone a trophy by screwing teams who perform at a high level consistently is so far overblown, it makes the gap between the big three and hockey even larger.

And how long (deadline date) can they be that X% over the cap? Guess it's time to read Cap Friendly's LTIR section.....again.
- blackhawk24

Look at the "Training-Camp Formula Example". According to this, LTIR can be invoked before day 1.

rob you are on a roll...when i made my comments earlier...much info i was not aware of..and you have made some great points about hossa...this situation really does not help the hawks at all...
- bogiedoc

And another point that seems to be getting lost in all this...and correct me if I'm wrong...

...but assuming Hossa is done, and he'll be LTIR'd for the duration of his deal, the Hawks are still hamstrung. LTIR status begins on opening day, but ends when the season ends, so each off season until the deal expires Hossa's cap is back on the books.

Not exactly a perfect scenario for making roster decisions the next 4 years.

And how long (deadline date) can they be that X% over the cap? Guess it's time to read Cap Friendly's LTIR section.....again.
- blackhawk24

Amazing that some of these guys have no idea what they're talking about, but just tweet it out anyhow.

And how long (deadline date) can they be that X% over the cap? Guess it's time to read Cap Friendly's LTIR section.....again.
- blackhawk24

No it isn't - you'll Beverly understand it - just wait until the league makes a decision that some how screws the Hawks (which is NOT in the league's best interest), and then come back here and become part of the 1,000-response blog complaining about how stupid the league is.

Did anyone read Mark Kelley's Q&A with Chris Kuc in the Tribune today?

What was particularly interesting was when Chris asked him about DeBrincat and Knott and when they'll be ready, and he thinks that DeBrincat "could be in the mix, for sure" whereas for Knott he basically gave it away when he said "for Graham a good start in the AHL would really help him"

So essentially, what I'm taking away from this is that he thinks Knott starts in Rockford - won't make the team out of camp unless he absolutely lights it up - and that Debrincat (especially with Hossa out) has a pretty good shot to stick with the big club from the get-go. Interesting timing of this interview too considering the circumstances.

No team in the NHL decides that it's 3rd line can be totally non-scoring. What is the expectations for the 4th line then? That it will score into its own net?
- Z3Hawk

The Predators just did this in the playoffs. In fact, they technically had two lines they didn't use for offense at all - both Fisher and Jarnkrok were used as shutdown centers, Fisher even more so. In the regular season, Fisher was used as a 2C in offensive situations, but that change completely in the playoffs. He didn't record a single point in the playoffs until Johansen got injured and the centers were asked to change their role, and then only had 4 points.

In the regular season, Jarnkrok was most a defensive center, though not deployed the same in the DZ as Kruger, finished with 11 more points compared to the 20 Kruger was projected for (difference which is negligible when you think about their usage). In the playoffs, like with Fisher, he produced very little until they lost Johansen - finished with 7, only 2 were pre-Johansen injury.

So you think the previous Kruger/TVR. rumor's were wrong? Who do you think they take then?
- walleyeb1

I'm not sayimng anything is wrong but my thought was Bowman may want to keep TVR at his cap hit I think he is a good value.

Safe to assume, they save the Vegas picks for the last 60 seconds of the show?? Also, love the Bettman burn

And another point that seems to be getting lost in all this...and correct me if I'm wrong...

...but assuming Hossa is done, and he'll be LTIR'd for the duration of his deal, the Hawks are still hamstrung. LTIR status begins on opening day, but ends when the season ends, so each off season until the deal expires Hossa's cap is back on the books.

Not exactly a perfect scenario for making roster decisions the next 4 years.
- ArlingtonRob

his contract ends up in vegas or florida or az...where bad and dead contracts get burried

Well that is terrible news ,not just for the HAWKS but for Hossa on a personal note . He is such a great player ,and I truly hope he can return . But if the worse happens and he is not able to return .I think this will accelerate the youth movement Maybe even one of the big boy's dealt for prospects and picks and of course cap space . It really is a sad day for HAWKS fans and hockey fans in general ..

Totally unexpected news. Crap now what? I knew Hoss was close to retirement,but I figured we had at least two more years.

What if this happens, the Blackhawks sign a player to a contract that starts the 2nd day of the season? Hossa goes on LTIR, and then the player signed to the contract becomes an active player.

Whatever.

I am not
- carcus[b]implying anything[/b]. It looks fishy because of the timing. I mean, there was no indication of anything about a skin condition that he was dealing with before this. I don't remember JJ or anyone stating that he was receiving treatments.

I get it, you don't like a Blues fan or a fan of any other team asking questions. Hossa stated just two months ago when the season ended for the Hawks that he was looking forward to training hard and getting ready for next year in his exit interviews. And now this, he can't play at all next year.

I will stop though, not worth getting into fights for stating an opinion that the situation and timing look questionable.

I think you need to think this thru, and when you do you'll rejoice...

...because the Hawks are a worse team without Marian Hossa, even at 38.

There is simply no chance that Hossa would want his career to end in this way, and there's no way the Hawks organization would/or could "force" Hossa to end his career this way. In addition, the supposed cap savings doesn't really allow the Hawks to do much this summer since Hossa can't go on LTIR until the season starts, so how exactly would the Hawks replace a player of Hossa's pedigree assuming that timeline?

Perhaps I'm simply unaware of some of the details, but as I see it the Hawks are less of club today as a result of this announcement.
- ArlingtonRob

They are in such a rush to impugn the team they envy so much they fail to see the silver lining (for them). Hossa is an inspiration to the players around him. He leads by example. Not to mention his talent and point totals.