Quote:
Originally Posted by mrdonkey
We’ve already heard first hand that Toronto was in fact doing this.
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I'm pretty convinced that Tampa did that with Kucherov as well. After reporters caught him in full practice weeks before the playoffs, Tampa shut media out of the practices, and of course Kucherov was back the second the cap wasn't a concern. I totally believe that they kept a healthy player on LTIR longer than needed. Jon Cooper even made some comment about him being ready to go at the time, then back tracked and wouldn't answer questions.
The timing of his surgery was also really convenient. They knew he had a hip situation and he could have had surgery months before the season started, but instead they waited right until a time that would allow them to capitalize on LTIR the most, but also have him back in time for the playoffs. It's not cheating because teams and players can decide when it's appropriate to have surgery, but I think they did it strategically to take advantage of the system. There was lots of talk all summer about how Tampa would be able to be cap compliant without making big roster moves but they downplayed it and acted like it didn't matter, then just before cap was going to open, it was a announced Kucherov would need surgery and be out for the regular season. Why was it right at that moment, they opted for surgery, and not sooner? Just seems too convenient to not have been the plan all along.