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Rorna_Bendulic

Member Since
Feb. 24, 2024
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Colorado Avalanche
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Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 12 at 8:43 a.m.
Thread: cap circumvention
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>NMAvsFan</b></div><div>Is this some sort of joke? Do people ever get tired of whining about this? Apparently not. They played all of last season WITHOUT him on LTIR in case he did come back but now they're gaming the system? Also, get your facts straight: he isn't coming back any sooner than mid-May and it is extremely unlikely he comes back for these playoffs at all. Given the timetable for his recovery, it's practically guaranteed he isn't coming back before next season. He has a serious knee injury and highly risky cartilage replacement and hasn't played for two years. There is still the very real possibility he never plays a game of NHL hockey again but you think this is "cap circumvention." Give me break and get a life.</div></div>

They also had a chance to do this in 2021-22, when he had arthroscopic surgery before TDL, and they didn’t. Instead they traded locker-room favorite Tyson Jost to make room for their additions. Landeskog didn’t come back until game 1 of the playoffs, but they wanted to make sure they could get him in sooner if he was ready. And they still won.
Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 12 at 7:50 a.m.
Thread: cap circumvention
Two points:

1. https://www.nhl.com/news/colorado-avalanche-gabriel-landeskog-injury-status-update
‘“He's not going to come back too early -- it's just not going to happen,” Bednar said. “He has a timeline that says, 'You're not coming back before this date, doesn't matter how good you feel,' and we're sticking to that.”’

Surgery was on May 10, 2023. Timetable was 12-16 months, meaning the absolute earliest he’ll be back is mid-May. Dropping a player into the conference finals (if they get there) after he’s been out for two years is far from “intentional cap circumvention”.

If he does come back, he’ll be the first athlete to successfully return to a major-league level after having that surgery. Just getting back on the ice is a win. This has potential to be a Joni Pitkanen situation, to put it in familiar terms.

2. If the LTIR business is allowed under the CBA and other playoff teams are using it to their advantage, why wouldn’t a competitive GM use every available advantage to make his team better?
Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 6 at 6:42 p.m.
Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 6 at 9:35 a.m.
Thread: THE REAL OFF BOARD AVS DEADLINE DEAL
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>eltica3</b></div><div>lol the suspensions only happened cuz the pics ended up on social media. As for the effort issues I think those are overblown by the media. Just an excuse for them to blame kuzy for the fact that the caps have been a declining team. I doubt he stays in the ahl for more than a week or two unless he plays like **** for the bears. Wouldn't suprise me if all he needs is a change of scenery</div></div>

Caps had a chance to put him in the AHL for a short-term conditioning stint coming back from player assistance without waiving him, and they chose to waive him anyway. I would be surprised if this was a short term decision. Hershey doesn’t play until Friday night, so it doesn’t matter for this TDL anyway.

I also don’t think any GM wants to wear the badge of “highest salary in the AHL” just to make one guy a scapegoat. Their winning % this year is slightly better without him in the lineup (.559) than with him (.535), and their power play is much better without him (28% v 15%).

I hope he figures it out. He’s a fun player to watch when he’s right. But in my opinion the risk is way too great right now for Colorado, or any other team, to take that chance. And the series of events so far says the same.
Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 6 at 8:25 a.m.
Thread: THE REAL OFF BOARD AVS DEADLINE DEAL
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>eltica3</b></div><div>lol u mean cuz he does coke? avs clearly dont care or they would have dumped guys like nichuskin and girard if off ice substance abuse issues were a turn off</div></div>

Not exclusively. Articles have cited effort and attitude issues, which is what I would be most concerned about. The alleged drug problem has been well documented dating back to 2019 after their cup win. He’s been suspended by both the Capitals and the IIHF, which I think points to the severity of the issues; something that hasn’t happened to Nichushkin or Girard.

The numbers tell you everything - Washington is eating $6.65M buried salary next year OR buying him out at $3.8M &amp; $2M respectively each of the next two seasons, to NOT be on their NHL roster. Full retention would be less of a cap hit than the buried salary, and almost equal to the buyout figure next year (before the additional $2M penalty in 25-26). Kuznetsov has been asking for a trade for the last two seasons. If there were teams interested, it would have happened by now.
Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 3 at 7:50 p.m.