Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
You guys can all pretend the situations are the same but they are not. And waiting for the NCAA to fix the problem would be foolish.
The NHL needs to address this.
I think a simple solution would be to have a longer period where their rights are retained once they finish school. If not signing would mean missing a year, the problem would be largely eliminated.
For example. Hayes finishes school in April. If Chicago were then given 1 year to sign him, they would have his rights through the next playing season. He would sign.
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Yeah, he would sign or go to Europe or sign an AHL contract. Still it would give NHL teams some leverage. As it is, you draft a player going the US college route and there is always the question, will he sign? We went through that here with Gaudreau where there was much wringing of hands and it wasn't just the fans, the Flames were never sure he'd sign either.