[News] NHL investigating whether Oilers used Kane LTIR cap relief in compliance with CBA

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by AC

Seems like a pretty open and shut case. Of course that doesn't mean anything will come of this.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...ipated-return/

April 14: Asked when he'll be making his debut he smirked and then said "If you're comparing how I feel now to last year, I'm ready to go."

Yet he didn't play the 2 remaining regular season games as they'd need to be cap compliant for that to happen.

What does the CBA say about this, though? If you have a player on LTIR but can't make the necessary roster moves to be cap compliant, it simply says that the player can't be activated.

Now, Article 26 says that the Commissioner can impose fines based on perceived cap circumvention for any reason so there could still be issues, but I don't see any direct provisions of what if a team does have a healthy player coming off LTIR but doesn't have the means to activate them due to cap issues. It simply says player can't play.

[gvitaly]

The LTIR loophole should've been closed a while back, after Kucherov, Stone, etc.

I think the NHL is finally not cap strapped enough to make it a reality. I doubt anything comes of this one, but this seems like a final warning for teams.

That said, I don't see a way to prove that a player is faking an injury. Pain tolerance is a very individual thing, and managing and suppressing the pain is a part of the medical decision.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

What does the CBA say about this, though? If you have a player on LTIR but can't make the necessary roster moves to be cap compliant, it simply says that the player can't be activated.



Now, Article 26 says that the Commissioner can impose fines based on perceived cap circumvention for any reason so there could still be issues, but I don't see any direct provisions of what if a team does have a healthy player coming off LTIR but doesn't have the means to activate them due to cap issues. It simply says player can't play.

Well what if they intentionally went out and made the Walman trade with the expectation that they'd just sit Kane until the start of the playoffs and claim he wasn't ready yet?

[CalgaryFan1988]

In reality, the Oilers cheated with Duncan Keith, cheated with Mike Smith, and cheated with Evander Kane. Cheaters gonna cheat. The NHL is soft on their "rules".

[littlereddevil]

Originally Posted by CalgaryFan1988

I'd say the penalty should be losing their first rounder but 2027 is a long time away.

The NHL should start imposing point deductions in the upcoming or current season, plus forfeiture of a pick in the lottery. This would discourage misuse of the LTIR cap relief quite quickly.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by curves2000

I have a feeling Seravalli might just be grasping at some straws here with some speculation with an ounce of truth to it.

People may not like Frank but he's probably the most plugged in of all the insiders so I highly doubt it's speculation. Everyone knew the Oilers were stashing Kane for the playoffs and the NHL still let it happen and he helped the Oilers got within a few games of winning the cup. The Oilers would have gladly paid the penalty for a cup so it's kind of a joke that the NHL decide to investigate after the playoffs.

[Erick Estrada]

The guy felt he was ready to play early March.

https://############.com/news/oilers...efore-playoffs

Elliotte Friedman kind of let the cat out of the bag well before the playoffs when the Oilers were actively trying to trade Kane that the Oilers were trying to keep him from getting back on the ice in the regular season.

Again, as I’ve said here with Kane, I think it’s important for him to play. He wants to prove, he wants to come back in the regular season, and he wants to prove he can be a factor on a good team. I don’t know what the medicals say, I know there’s a disagreement.

I’m not sure the Oilers feel like… — I know we talked on Friday how they want to use the LTIR, right? Everything he’s been through, everything his body’s been through, I don’t know that the Oilers feel that makes sense. I just don’t know.

[indes]

I think the big difference is that at least Tampa and Vegas played coy about it. The Oilers and all the talking heads were pretty much bragging about how smart of a move it was to delay his surgery and keep Kane out until playoffs. It's like the broken gumball machine at an arena around here. Bunch of kids were sneaking a gumball here and there for free, then one kid grabs a bag, empties the machine and ruins it for everyone.

[GFG#1]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

The guy felt he was ready to play early March.

https://############.com/news/oilers...efore-playoffs

Elliotte Friedman kind of let the cat out of the bag well before the playoffs when the Oilers were actively trying to trade Kane that the Oilers were trying to keep him from getting back on the ice in the regular season.

When they were trying to trade him, maybe they said he can be ready before the playoffs to some of the other GM's. which could also be part of the reason for the investigation.

[keenan87]

I dislike the Oilers as much as any other Flames fan... but I will say - why haven't these investigations taken place for Vegas or Tampa?

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

I wonder if Kane filled a grievance

Seemed they were forcing him to stay out which doesn’t help his career going forward

I do wonder this myself. The guy wants to get paid roughly the same if not more with the cap going up. Doubt he will when you now have GMs questioning if you’re ever fit to play with a long-term injury such as this. Or was it long-term? It would be funny if he became the villain again. He does this to every club he plays for and plays the victim card when things aren’t going his way.

[dustygoon]

About to close the LTIR loophole but not before they fine the oilers? Delicious.

[Scornfire]

Originally Posted by keenan87

I dislike the Oilers as much as any other Flames fan... but I will say - why haven't these investigations taken place for Vegas or Tampa?

They did? There were tweets from insiders reporting the conclusion of investigations iirc, for sure with regards to Mark Stone there was

https://twitter.com/user/status/1670981784517877761

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Locke

So....summary execution at centre ice prior to puck drop on Game 1? No it should be Game 2.

Jeff Gillooly is to be added to the Oilers' front office any day now.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by keenan87

I dislike the Oilers as much as any other Flames fan... but I will say - why haven't these investigations taken place for Vegas or Tampa?

As someone else mentioned, the Oilers were just so brazen about it. Everyone knew they were going to do it well ahead of time and it played out just as expected. They weren't coy about it and I seem to recall their management even alluded to doing it at some point.

Plus, the cap is going up so it's a good chance for the NHL to put a stop to it since teams pretty much have a clean slate. They can tell the teams not to spend to the cap with the idea that they can just use LTIR hijinks.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by keenan87

I dislike the Oilers as much as any other Flames fan... but I will say - why haven't these investigations taken place for Vegas or Tampa?

https://vegashockeynow.com/2023/06/2...circumvention/

The cap circumvention claims against the Vegas Golden Knights have reached an elevated level. Fans, media, and now at least one NHL team feel the Golden Knights circumvented the salary cap, according to Elliotte Friedman on “32 Thoughts: The Podcast.”

Friedman stated, “The NHL went hard at Vegas this time, in terms of investigating them and asking for the medical reports on Vegas.”

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...s-stars-align/

In April, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported the NHL had warned teams that it was watching for any questionable transactions. BriseBois confirmed Saturday the NHL investigated the Lightning’s handling of Kucherov’s contract and found that no rules were broken.

“When you place a player on long-term injury and get the salary cap exemption and this year, in particular, the NHL investigated I believe all of the LTIR requests. I know they investigated the Nikita Kucherov one,” BriseBois said. “We had to be able to justify the surgery, the rehab time, the return to play clearance to make sure everything was done according to the rules and according to the circumstances. Those were the cards that we were dealt and that’s how we handled it.”

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Itse

I think the NHLPA might actually be against teams not letting healthy players play, especially if they want to play.

Players want to play, and their next contract is always related to how they play now. Players also often care about things like career numbers.

Especially if there's suspicions that they purposefully timed surgeries to keep him out all season, that might very well be something the PA wants to put a stop to. Generally speaking, their thing is being for players being able to make their own decisions.

Let me ask you this, what do you think Kane or the PA would stand to gain by filing a grievance over this?

[Erick Estrada]

Elliotte is saying right now on 960 that the NHL is questioning the knee surgery and why it was performed because they believe it was not required.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Why ?

What else could trigger it

Clearly a doctor signed off that he’s “hurt”

So the only way they can prove / have circumvention is if the doctor admits he lied (that isn’t happening) or Kane says he was healthy enough to play and the team held him out

It's proper procedure to put air quotes around doctor when mentioning one from Edmonton.

[Reggie Dunlop]

It's hard to believe Evander Kane would've gotten involved with such a shady organization like the Edmonton Oilers in the first place.