2009 NHL off-season trades, rumours, draft thread

I think that's because their junior seasons are over, though.

I searched for it, and it looks like 20 is by and large the age restriction for kids coming out of juniors, but those in college and from Europe have to just be 18.

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=403429

 

Regarding the flyers, can't they buy some of their guys out? Or was that a one-time thing after the lockout?

 

Here's what an unofficial NHL Cap site says.

http://www.nhlscap.com/cap_faq.htm#buyouts

 

Good work, gb hack Can teams buy out a player anytime during the offseason, though? I seem to remember something about only within certain dates.

 

That was my point.

The other stuff is true but extraneous

 

I don't think so. I believe that's the way it works in the NFL, but in the NHL you do have to pay some kind of penalty for buying someone out.

 

I meant they can only do so July 1-15, to 15-31, or something like that. The "penalty" would be the remaining cap hit.

 

The NHL says that players must be 18 or older to be drafted and play in the NHL, and 20 years old to be in the AHL (as stated above). Junior leagues in Canada do not allow players to be older than 20, so that's where that age cutoff came from.

The NHL Draft is designed to be similar to the MLB Draft. It's about draft and follow, not immediate help, although the upper tier prospects certainly have a chance to do that. Sidney Crosby is an atypical draft pick. Jordan Staal is a bit closer to reality, including all of the picks in today's draft.

Staal was an early lottery pick by the Penguins, signed an entry level contract, and was given a chance to win a spot in training camp the year he was drafted. He impressed, and they gave him 10 games in the NHL. If he plays 10 games in the NHL, his junior team can't take him back. He played 10, impressed, scoring 29 goals his first year in the league.

The Pens did the opposite with goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. He was 19 at the time, I think, and they gave him starts here and there before ultimately sending him back to the QMJHL. They retained his rights and then brought him into the fold slowly from there.

College and European players are a bit different. College players can be drafted and continue to play in the NCAA as long as they do not have an agent and do not sign any professional or endorsement contracts. Since they usually come out of the less aggressive US youth leagues, they tend to stay in college until their junior or senior years, even if drafted as 18 year olds.

European players can come over at any point in time, although many will often play a year or two with their league until they feel they are ready and/or their European contract is up. Using two famous players, Ovechkin came over right away, while Malkin stayed an extra year. Of course, Malkin's Russian team tried to force him into a new contract and he had to escape via Finland in a covert operation straight out of The Bourne Identity, but that's besides the point.

 

Anyone got a better knowledge of Ashton, the kid the Lightning moved back into the first to take.

At first glance, I do like the move.

 

I used to think that but it's not true.

I think it was either Sea Bass or Fly (two guys who know the rules) who cleared this up in an earlier thread a number of months ago

As I remember it, If he plays in over ten games, his NHL entry level contract kicks in. They can still send him back to major junior but it counts against his year of eligibility

Here's what I found on Mr. Google:

A junior-aged player with a contract can play up to nine NHL games as a trial period. If he is returned to junior before the tenth game, his contract is effectively put on hold: when he goes to training camp the following season, he will be in the first year of his contract.Once the player appears in his tenth NHL game, his contract kicks in. He can still be returned to his junior club after that. But at season's end, a full contract year will expire.

It's not that the NHL team can't send him back, it's not in their interest to send him back

 

Defensemen and (especially) goalies tend to spend a couple of years matriculating in the AHL. The better forwards tend to go straight from junior to the NHL.

 

JR is correct.

And EagleMorph, the NHL does not say players have to be 20 to play in the AHL. Yes, it's rare to see a teenager in that league, but it's allowed.