Steve Mason

[Derrick - Senators]

There really is no argument here.

With that said, I have created this thread to discuss the apparent disproval of Steve Mason being picked up off waivers. Based on the post from the Yahoo board, it is my understanding that "intention" and "emotion" supersede the written rule book of the league as evidenced by:

"Don't be petty, Derrick. Calgary's intentions were pretty clear."

"I know Robyn would not drop Mason if he knew someone else could pick him up. That's bad business if you keep him Derrick."

If we allow this "reasoning" to exist, EVERY manager could claim ignorance of the fact/rule for almost anything, including future minor leaguer transactions but I am willing to open a discussion on the matter I suppose.

[Krzysztof - NAFHDL Predators]

The rules are the rules.

But I believe there is some precedence to this. I seem to remember Atlanta trying to send Mike Smith down to the minors when he was a minor leaguer. Someone called him on it, saying he would lose the player, and the whole thing was nullified. Anyone else remember this? (Actually, you can see it in the first page of his transactions.) Not sure if this means anything.

[Nos - Sharks]

In the past intentions have usually superseded the written rule for, I'm guessing, the protection of the league and its franchises. Has Robyn contacted you? If going by the written rule it's legit I suppose, though also consider the way the rule was written. The word 'experience' leaves a sort of ambiguity to the situation, it should probably be amended by changing it to either 'Games Played' or 'Games Started'. Games Started would be appropriate for goaltenders.

[Chris - Capitals]

Something needs to be done because every time there is a disagreement of intention we have days of this back and forth stuff and will only turn into more people saying hey we can just claim ignorance.

[Robyn - Flames]

I certainly had no intention of dropping Mason from my team as it completely ruins my future plans.

[Derrick - Senators]

Feb 8, 2010 13:15:57 GMT -5 Krzysztof - NAFHDL Predators said:

The rules are the rules.

But I believe there is some precedence to this. I seem to remember Atlanta trying to send Mike Smith down to the minors when he was a minor leaguer. Someone called him on it, saying he would lose the player, and the whole thing was nullified. Anyone else remember this? (Actually, you can see it in the first page of his transactions.) Not sure if this means anything.

I have spoken to Robyn about the situation, yes.

However, I am not sure if the above post is pro-calgary or anti-calgary, whereas the "precedence" in every NAFHL decision has been to let the first instance serve as an example to the league that (normally) prompts a certain rule change. In this case, the alleged Atlanta incident should have been further clarification of the rule that has been in place for 4 seasons now lending no excuse in the current situation.

With that said, obviously no manager would outright drop Mason or intentionally lose him to waivers. However, since a complaint was only raised AFTER a waiver claim had been made, "whoops I made a mistake" doesn't really hold much weight. As a league, there is no way for us to know whether Calgary was covering its tracks for accidentally letting Mason's prospect status expire, or trying to "sneak" Mason down to the farm to maximize keeper spots based on his terrible season. I am not making these claims, I am simply stating that there is no way for us to know either way, and since there is no way for us to know, we must default to the written law of the league which clearly defines prospect statuses for both goalies and skaters.

The only ambiguity in this situation is the wording of the rule and its interaction with the
distinction that yahoo player game logs makes. "Games Started" and "Games Played." This distinction is ONLY used to denote wins and losses, not actual "games played." Since this holds no relevance in the fantasy world, this can not be cited as a legitimate excuse. For example, the starting goalie for a team is pulled, the backup comes in. Both managers who roster these players accumulate stats just the same, with no distinction between games started and games played. The "half game" even counts toward the minimum weekly total of 3 goalie games started. Much like if a skater were to get injured mid-way through a game, this still counts as a "game played" in real life and in roto leagues.

As a result of the uproar, I will be starting a poll to settle this issue and amend or uphold any existing rule that is currently in place in the NAFHL rulebook.