If we can't sign Kaprizov, I'm all in on the tank. Might as well get Shane Wright out of all this suffering...

I’d rather tank for Wright than trade a ton of assets for Eichel any day!

"If a player who is signed to an entry-level contract and is 18 or 19 years of age (as of September 15 of the signing year), does not play in a minimum of 10 NHL games (including both regular season and playoffs; AHL games do not count), their contract is considered to ‘slide’, or extend, by one year. For example, if a player signed an ELC for three seasons from 2015-16 to 2017-2018, and their contract slides, their contract is now effective from 2016-17 to 2018-19. An exception to this rule is that if the player is 19 on September 15 of the first year of their contract, and turns 20 between September 16 and December 31, their contract does not slide."

The part that’s relevant here is that second bolded section. And Rossi already slid a year due to Covid, so technically he’ll fall into that second category where he’ll be 19 on the 15th of September but turns 20 roughly a week later on the 23rd. So falls into that September 16th to December 31st exception.

Ergo, his contract doesn’t slide. He may very well be 19 right now, but he's going to be 20 as soon as next week. He already slid once due to Covid, and as shown above he's ineligible to have his contract slide again even if he’s playing down in Iowa.

Or are you still fuzzy on the reasons as to why Boldy "burned" a year of his ELC last year by playing in Iowa as well?

He was 18 on September 15th of the first year of his contract. He turned 19 eight days later.

You sure?

That contract was slid because of Covid. He still has the full three years of ELC contract left. If he plays this year, and is now fully recovered and healthy... which he is, then technically this is the first year of his three year contract. Not last year. Which would mean he falls under the exception.

It's a definite grey area, but it's a very important distinction. One that shouldn't be overlooked. I'm not saying I think you're wrong, because you very well could be right. Nor am I saying I am either, I'm just saying that it begs the question. Rossi's case is anything but the regular status quo, and isn't such a clear and cut and dry scenario as we would all like it to be.

Again, normally these situations are handled by the official first year of a prospects contract. If we go by that, his official start and first year would happen to be this year, not last year. Again, if that's the case. Then Rossi would fall under the exception, and would more or less be more akin to those players coming into the league as a college player, such as Boldy, and burn the first year of his ELC.

It was still the first year of his contract. The slide is something that happens in hindsight, so if you say it wasn't the first year of his contract because it slid, it's a self defeating mechanism. I think the part that's going to be relevant is that, if he plays in the AHL this season it won't slide, because he's fulfilling the contract. And if he's not in the NHL, he'll probably be in the AHL. If he went back to Switzerland for this season though, it would still be slide eligible. So maybe that's what you meant and I misunderstood.

Yeah, that's what I meant. And is more or less my point.

He'll be fulfilling the terms of his contract as a 19/20 year old, not as a 18/19 year old. That's an important distinction. Whether he plays in the NHL or AHL is immaterial, his contract won't slide anymore because of his age. Not unless he plays in the Swiss League again this year, as you correctly pointed out.

Who knows, I could be wrong about everything here and will be needing to eat some healthy crow later on if I am. But I can live with that. I guess we'll see. 🤷‍♂️

Cap Friendly has Rossi as an ELC slide candidate this year. That is what I'm going off of.

He is a slide candidate this year, but your contract doesn't slide if you, you know, play under your contract.

10 NHL games played are all that matters for a slide year. Playing AHL or on loan to another league doesn't make a difference. Teams loan slide players the the CHL (because they have to) and the Euro leagues as a way to open up spots on their 50 man roster instead of playing them in the AHL and eating up a one of the 50 spots.

TBH I didn't think Rossi was slide eligible this year until I saw it on here. I was guessing he would spend some time in the AHL to start the season, get a callup, and stick with the team. But that was for a team that had Kaprizov and were going for the Playoffs.

If the team is in the tank by x-mas, then I say if his contract will slide, then let it slide so the cap has more flexibility in year 4 of the buyouts. With $14m in dead cap any way to nickel and dime the cap is almost a must.

Rossi signed that contract with the intention to play in Minnesota.
At this point, if he is not on Minnesota's roster, he will be in Iowa.
They are not going to send him to Switzerland or god forbid the CHL just to slide his contract one more year.
If he plays in Iowa his contract will not slide because he will be playing for his contract with the Wild organization.

His contract will not slide by sticking him in the AHL the entire season.
If he goes to Switzerland or the CHL, he will not be playing under his ELC, and that is why the ELC slides.
If he is in Iowa he will be playing under his ELC, and it will not slide.

Your original post proposed the idea of him playing in the AHL an entire year so that his ELC slides, that is incorrect, it does not work that way. If it did, what would he be playing for? How much money would he be making? What would the terms of his employment be?

The AHL slides the same as every other league not the NHL. Look at Alex Nylander if you want an example.

Rossi's pay would be:
-$92k signing bonus (already paid)
-$80k minors salary (roughly $450 per day)
-Roughly $4500/day for any days spent on the NHL roster as added pay.

Plainly put, Rossi is on a standard ELC signed shortly after he was drafted in his draft year: If a player who is signed to an entry-level contract and is 18 or 19 years of age (as of September 15 of the signing year), does not play in a minimum of 10 NHL games (including both regular season and playoffs; AHL games do not count), their contract is considered to ‘slide’, or extend, by one year.

On Sept 15 2020, Rossi was 18 years old; this is the important age/date pertaining to his first contract year.

If MN had waited until 2021 to sign Rossi then he wouldn't be a slide candidate (like Lundell this year). Per this exemption: An exception to this rule is that if the player is 19 on September 15 of the first year of their contract, and turns 20 between September 16 and December 31, their contract does not slide.

Except he's playing out the first year of his contract as a 19/20 year old, not as a 18/19 year old. That matters.

His contract already slid once due to Covid, so this year counts as the first year of his contract, not the second. Given Rossi's current age at the start of this, the first year out of a 3 year ELC, he would be put squarely into that exemption category. His contract won't slide again because he'll be 19/20 during that first year of his ELC.

Last year was the first year of his contract. It's the age (18 yo on Sept 15 of last year for Rossi) when the contract was signed, nothing else. It doesn't matter if he missed a year to COVID, a torn ACL, playing in any league not the NHL, etc. it counts as a slide year. He got paid his $92k signing bonus last season, it's why his NHL cap hit would be $884k and not $925k this year.