hockey news

[mike89]

https://www.fox9.com/sports/former-minnesota-duluth-hockey-player-dies-during-game-in-england

heard this on the news today, sad deal and a real accident... 

[Bobberineyes]

Dang, not good!! Could happen at any time on the ice.

[LPS]

That is terrible.  RIP

[tangle tooth]

    Not an expert but, I think that's the first time I've seen that in a player that wasn't a goalie.

[Steve-o]

I remember there was a short track speed skater in the olympics that got his leg sliced open in a crash.  Blood everywhere on the ice.  A couple millimeters the other way and it would have got the femoral artery and there wouldnt have been anything that could have been done for him.

[fishwidow]

When I was about 12, I got cut by a skate blade. I was a horribly untalented skater, and when I was laying on the ice ( which was more often than standing upright), a kid tried to skate over me, straddling my body. His skate blade caught me about an inch above my left eye. Head wounds really bleed, and the local store owner called my dad to come get me. Just took one bandaid, but I still have a half inch scar above my left eyebrow.

[Gunner55]

There was a pc on neck protection on the Duluth news this AM. https://www.northernnewsnow.com/2023/10/31/duluth-store-sees-uptick-neck-guard-sales-following-death-pro-hockey-player/

[Steve-o]

We don't talk much Wild hockey 'round here, but did you catch this one? 

Hartman of Wild suspended 10 games for roughing

NEW YORK -- Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman has been suspended for 10 games, without pay, for roughing Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle during NHL Game No. 828 in Ottawa on Saturday, Feb. 1, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

Hartman is considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, will forfeit $487,804.90. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

10 games is a pretty big deal - and a big chunk of change.   
That is really bad timing with the Wild trying to hold their playoff position with Kaprizov out.   

[Bobberineyes]

I say see ya! He's been proven to be dirty his whole career. Get rid of the cancer, many guys chomping at the bit to play in the bigs..

[Steve-o]

They would if they could, but now who would take him? 

[tangle tooth]

      I need some education, here.
      The coach could keep the guy on the bench, but some fans like the dirty players. Unhappy fans.
      Front office would argue that they're paying $X for a guy the coach won't play. Unhappy management.
      Disgruntled player won't give 100%. Unhappy player.
      How would the NFL, NBA or MLB handle the situation?

[Steve-o]

The problem is...  NHL vs NBA vs NFL vs MLB leagues all have different circumstances to deal with.

• NBA has a $#!T ton of money, and only 15 man rosters.  NBA players get guaranteed contracts and their careers have good longevity as long as the put in the effort.  League luxury tax discourages teams from limitless salaries, but there seems to be plenty of money to go around.
• MLB has lots of rich owners and REALLY rich owners who want to win at all costs.  There is no salary cap and players get guaranteed contracts.  Baring injury, players can have long careers.  Long seasons put lots of money in the owners pockets, but the REALLY rich owners get more money from local TV deals.
• NFL has huge national TV deals, but only 8 home games per season.  They have a strict salary cap and players - on average - have much shorter careers.  It is the exception that players get fully guaranteed contracts.  Further, contracts are usually structured such that after a couple of years, players can get cut without dramatically hurting the team's salary cap position, i.e. the guaranteed money is front loaded.
• NHL has lots of home games, a strict salary cap, lowest of the big-four sports in TV revenue, and that money has to be spread across a 32 man roster (not 12, like NBA).

Plus the strength of the players union and their collective bargaining agreements vary from sport to sport.

To answer the question...

• In the NFL, if they player was really good, they'd find a way to try to rehabilitate him or trade him - think Warren Sapp or Ndamukong Suh.  Otherwise, if he ain't good, he gets cut.
• In the NBA or MLB, where contracts are guaranteed, you can't cut him, so you have to try to rehabilitate him and/or trade him.
• The problem with the NHL is...  a lot of times, you can't trade him.  I think I heard around 60% of the players in the league have a "No Trade" clause.  NFL players don't like to move around.  So they're stuck with him.  The Wild is still paying of the Parise/Suter deal, the league-wide NHL salary cap hasn't gone up the past several years*, and so the Wild are hamstrung at the top of the salary cap to retain their current players and attract free agents.  Cutting Ryan Hartman makes that scenario even worse.

I heard a reporter speculate that GM Bill Guerin might have tried to get Ryan to waive his no trade clause and move him before the trading deadline, but the suspension pretty much destroys any plans Bill might have had now or in the future to move him.  It ain't a good situation.


*The Wild knew they were mortgaging their future when they signed Parise and Suter to 13 year contracts, but they hoped the financial damage would be mitigated by the league salary cap going up every year - so they could pay to retain their up-and-coming talent and keep their core together for years to come (even if it wasn't for the full duration of the 13 year Parise/Suter contract).  Problem is, the salary cap stayed level for most of those years and the Wild's financial plan fell apart.

With the Parise/Suter buyout in effect, after this season, the team will only carry about $1.67 million each year on the books for the next 4 years (a number which is manageable with sports franchise Monopoly money) and the NHL salary cap has finally started to go up again.  But still, the Wild won't have any additional wiggle room after they sign Kaprizov - if they can sign Kaprizov.  So unless Guerin can pull a rabbit out of his hat, the Wild might be stuck with Hartman.

[tangle tooth]

      Steve-o, that does help. Thanks.
      It has been mentioned in the past that professional athletes have a shorter career than others. I agree. But, in my working years, I came up a wee bit short of what most athletes make in a single season.
      It seems to me, the uneducated, that the only winners in a situation like this, is the athletes.
      What, exactly, is the Players Emergency Assistance Fund?

[Steve-o]

      What, exactly, is the Players Emergency Assistance Fund?

Funny you should ask.  I had to google it.  Did you see some speculation suggesting that Hartman did or should enter the program to control aggression and anger or something?   

What is the NHL player assistance program?

...a joint venture between the NHL and the players' union that's meant to help players when they're struggling with mental health, substance abuse and other issues.  ...  Players who enter the program, which is strictly voluntary, continue to get paid while receiving counseling, treatment and other services.
 ...  Since these are sensitive topics, the program and hotline allow players to get the help they need confidentially. The league and NHLPA never disclose why a player has entered the program.