Quote:
Originally Posted by FAN
In theory that sounds like a decent idea but in practice the effects of that rule change would be negligible. Erixon is the only post-lockout 1st rounder to refuse a bonafide offer from the team that drafted him. We see that many teams are pushing North American prospects to play in the CHL so they can be signed early. We see that many North American prospects are either going the CHL route or leaving college early in hopes of beginning their NHL careers as soon as possible. We also see European prospects sign with their NHL teams and get loaned back or make the jump to the AHL after a year. Many European prospects actually prefer to stay at least a year or two before heading over to North America as they prefer playing in Europe than in the CHL or AHL.
The biggest problem with your proposed rule change is that unlike prospects playing in the CHL and college, prospects playing in Europe get paid. You can force guys like Erixon to wait a year but it's really not much of a deterrance considering he can just play another year at home and earn a paycheck. The rule will deter prospects playing in the CHL from refusing to sign with the team that drafted him since many will be without a team to player for, but it really won't be much of a deterrance for Europeans.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dissentowner
The rule should be that you have x amount of years to sign your prospect, at the end of that time there should be a set qualifying offer like RFA and you retain your prospect. If he does not want to sign with a club then the club can either trade him and have the time to do so they need or he can wait until he reaches UFA status. Players entering the draft should not have any advantage in where they end up playing, it is not fair to the team who drafts them.
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Well since you found the problem with my proposal, I think dissentowner makes an even better proposal. If the player refuses to sign, a team can retain the prospect as long as they make an qualifying offer. The player can stay in Europe all he wants, and won't play in the NHL unless the team that drafted him is properly compensated and won't be surprised last minute like the Flames were with Erixon.