Quote:
Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger
I just wanted to point out how scummy this is, rules or not. Furthermore it is a bad rule and needs to be changed immediately. I also want to point out how much I hate the argument, brought up a few times in this thread, of "it is what it is". That doesn't make the rule any less stupid. Just because the team knew about it and the player can exercise his right, doesn't make it any less dumb.
Teams need to be able to protect these players. There should be a date by which the team has to make an offer and if they don't the player can leave. I see no reason why a player should ever be allowed to go to free agency straight from college.
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The reason is that you have to give the same rights to all drafted players in regards to UFA status. Both Junior players and College players Have 4 years after being drafted until they can be signed as a UFA. Junior players have the re-draft if they don't sign after 2 years, but if they go another 2 years without signing they go UFA too.
You can't just tack on an extra year because they decided to go to school, you'll see a pretty good swing away from NCAA, which IMO is not a good thing. The NHL should not be discouraging kids from going to school, whether that is officially, or indirectly by putting further restrictions on those players.
The NHL/teams can and should look at ways they can circumvent the NCAA rules, but that's a big risk for the player. It's the NCAA that needs to change their rules. Any other student can have a job while attending school, why can't a student athlete enjoy a signing bonus while they are at school? It makes absolutely no sense. The NCAA doesn't just cover hockey though, and I have no idea what the rules in other sports do in regards to NCAA players. But it seems like most NFL and NBA players come from there, so they must have something figured out.
What Flames_18_22_12 mentioned sounds like it's something that could work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames_18_22_12
I wish the NHL could implement a supplemental draft like the NFL for these situations. If vesey goes for the loophole, he does not become a UFA, but goes to a draft where teams would submit what round pick they would forfeit to sign the player, they would lose that pick in the next draft and it would go to the team that is losing his rights.
The uncertainty of what team they would go to would be enough to sign with whichever team originally drafted them (unless it was the oilers).
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I also thought the "scholarship" idea was a good one, but that gets pretty hairy for the athletes in regards to what they can accept.