[Trade] Tim Thomas traded to NYI

[WCW Nitro]

We need a new CBA.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by Short Shift

Yeah, try again ESPN.

Hilarious!

Perhaps the Isles are trying to convert the former NBA player Tim Thomas into an NHL goalie?? No wonder he doesn't want to play!

[Hunter7]

Isles were $4m above the cap floor before the trade.

Snow says he wants cap flexibility for other possible moves, later this season. That sounds like he's laying the groundwork. to move high priced Vis + Streit at the trade deadline, for prospects, picks or much cheaper players.

Vis is on LI now, gonna play in Sat. game against Buffalo.

[Hunter7]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

smart trade for Boston. 2nd round pick for a guy that isn't even wanting to play.
Shipping him to garbage NYI is classic Jacobson. Don't anger the old man.

It's a conditional 2nd. Thomas has to play at least 1 game for the Isles.

Thomas' agent made a statement after the trade, saying he's not playing this season. The Isles beatwriter in Newsday, says they aren't gonna toll his contract. No 2nd rounder for Boston.

Isles and B's both get cap flexibilty.

[Tsawwassen]

I don't know if it's been said already but Don Taylor had a good line about this trade. Tim Thomas was excited about going to the Islanders because they won't be visiting the White House anytime soon.

[Hunter7]

Originally Posted by Parallex

I would lol if Tim Thomas reported to the Islanders just long enough to have them hand over the 2nd rounder and then immediately retired.

Thomas has bitter feelings towards the Bruins. You believe he's thinking of ways to help them?
and if he showed up late in the season, why would the NYI play him, knowing if he makes 1 start, they are out a 2nd rounder ?

[Hunter7]

delete

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Jacks

Okay? everything I have read says that they were under the cap before this. Capgeek shows them at $53,042,156 with Thomas.

They had to be cap compliant as of today. With Vishnovsky suspended, they would have been under. This move was to mitigate the risk of his refusing to report.

[Milt Schmidt]

Originally Posted by Hunter7

Thomas has bitter feelings towards the Bruins. You believe he's thinking of ways to help them?
and if he showed up late in the season, why would the NYI play him, knowing if he makes 1 start, they are out a 2nd rounder ?

You're absolutely right that there's no way Thomas would do anything just to help the Bruins. However, if he did the 2nd is not conditional on him playing, just reporting to the team ready to play. If he shows up and says he wants to play the Isles have not choice, the pick is Boston's. Again tough, not gonna happen so it doesn't really matter.

Milt

[craig.caulks]

Originally Posted by Short Shift

Yeah, try again ESPN.

Maybe he retired due to suffering from Reverse Michael Jackson disease.

[edn88]

Thomas could actually screw the Islanders by coming back and insisting on playing. Then they would have to cough up a few million in his salaray, and the Islanders would have to send a second round pick to Boston.

The islanders, if they need cap floor relief, should have traded for a player with a large cap hit and a low actual salary that could actually play.

[sureLoss]

Larry Brooks ‏@NYP_Brooksie Bill Daly tells Post via email that if Tim Thomas does not return to NHL, cap hit goes away after this season even if NYI toll the contract.


so no infinite cap floor reduction for the Isles, but what is confusing is if Tim Thomas has no cap hit next year can the Isles trade him say to Vancouver and the Canucks have a $5mil goalie that doesn't have a cap hit?

[Hunter7]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

They had to be cap compliant as of today. With Vishnovsky suspended, they would have been under. This move was to mitigate the risk of his refusing to report.

Vishnovsky's not suspended. He flew to LI this week and his suspension was lifted. He's practicing with the team.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Larry Brooks ‏@NYP_Brooksie Bill Daly tells Post via email that if Tim Thomas does not return to NHL, cap hit goes away after this season even if NYI toll the contract.


so no infinite cap floor reduction for the Isles, but what is confusing is if Tim Thomas has no cap hit next year can the Isles trade him say to Vancouver and the Canucks have a $5mil goalie that doesn't have a cap hit?

The bolded is the key. There are 3 possible scenarios that I can think of:

1) Thomas doesn't return to the NHL next season; NYI can toll his contract, but it'll have no effect and they won't get the cap hit without the salary.

2) Thomas does return to the NHL and NYI toll his contract. They'd owe him $3M in salary next year and he'd carry a $5M cap hit

3) NYI doesn't toll his contract and he returns. He'd be a UFA in July.

Basically the NHL is just saying that if Thomas doesn't return to the NHL next year that NYI can't indefinitely toll the contract, which makes sense. There was no way the NHL was going to let a team repeatedly toll the contract of a retired player in order to cheat the cap floor. I don't know what McKenzie was talking about yesterday, because he seemed to be under the impressions that New York could just keep tolling it and effectively have a cap floor that's $5M lower than the rest of the league.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by opendoor

The bolded is the key. There are 3 possible scenarios that I can think of:

1) Thomas doesn't return to the NHL next season; NYI can toll his contract, but it'll have no effect and they won't get the cap hit without the salary.

2) Thomas does return to the NHL and NYI toll his contract. They'd owe him $3M in salary next year and he'd carry a $5M cap hit

3) NYI doesn't toll his contract and he returns. He'd be a UFA in July.

Basically the NHL is just saying that if Thomas doesn't return to the NHL next year that NYI can't indefinitely toll the contract, which makes sense. There was no way the NHL was going to let a team repeatedly toll the contract of a retired player in order to cheat the cap floor. I don't know what McKenzie was talking about yesterday, because he seemed to be under the impressions that New York could just keep tolling it and effectively have a cap floor that's $5M lower than the rest of the league.

I believe the league has changed it's tune from when he would have initially discussed this with them.

They released a statement to the tune of 'any player with a certified contract is open to be moved blah blah blah' with no comment on the indefinite nature of things. Likely, after a review, they have chosen to nip this in the bud.

[Hunter7]

Originally Posted by Milt Schmidt

You're absolutely right that there's no way Thomas would do anything just to help the Bruins. However, if he did the 2nd is not conditional on him playing, just reporting to the team ready to play. If he shows up and says he wants to play the Isles have not choice, the pick is Boston's. Again tough, not gonna happen so it doesn't really matter.

Milt

Really?

NY press says he has to play 1 game.

http://mobile.newsday.com/inf/infomo...ed:i=1.4583677

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

I believe the league has changed it's tune from when he would have initially discussed this with them.

They released a statement to the tune of 'any player with a certified contract is open to be moved blah blah blah' with no comment on the indefinite nature of things. Likely, after a review, they have chosen to nip this in the bud.

I don't see their statements to be incompatible. They said any player can be moved and they're allowing this trade even though it's patently obvious that New York is just looking to hit the floor without spending real dollars. However, it's a giant leap from allowing that for this year only and allowing New York to toll the contract of a retired player into his late 40s just to save some cash. The idea that the NHL would've allowed the latter to happen is silly and was never realistic.

Hell, the new CBA hasn't even been finished yet (they're still operating off of the Memorandum of Understanding for now) so if the NHL and NHLPA really wanted to they likely could've added language into the document to clearly prevent this.

[Knut]

Sounds like all it is just the Islanders doing the Bruins a favour. If the Isles were allready at the cap floor, and risk him going crazy and wanting to play for them (thus losing the 2nd and having to pay his salary, what is the benefit to them ??

Flexibility at the deadline so taht if they move big contracts they do not dip below the floor ??? Doesnt that show that they have decided to pack it in for the year allready ?

[Milt Schmidt]

Originally Posted by Hunter7

Really?

NY press says he has to play 1 game.

http://mobile.newsday.com/inf/infomo...ed:i=1.4583677

The Boston writers were saying on twitter that he just has to report, as does the tsn story here:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=415479

It would seem odd that the Islanders would be able to prevent giving up the pick if Thomas decided he wanted to play since he has a guaranteed contract. Then again, this whole thing has been a mind&*^% since Thomas went mental last season.

Milt

[awildermode]

I bet those Tim Thomas Islander jerseys are flying off the shelf.