NHL Free Agents who played overseas

[Ryan]

Hey guys, just wondering what peoples thoughts are on players who have finished out a contract in the NHL are are "Free Agents" they play in a different league, and then there is speculation of that player returning to the NHL.

my opinion is that they player should be a Free Agent and a viable addition.

I understand for a player that has not held a contract in the NHL before and I beleive thats what the "ruling" refers too.

Currently if a players contract is up in the NHL then they are not able to be on a NAFHL roster(but what about free agents who have not resigned during the season?

They are technically players who are not under contract.

and another scenario is what if a player decides to hold out a la sundin?

lets say Kovalchuk would not have signed right away, lets say he didn't sign until December, well would he have not been eligible to be on an NAFHL Team?

my case is that he is a FA, he was drafted by an NHL team he should be available to be signed(he refers to any general player in the situation)

whats your thoughts and opinions?

Ryan

[Mark - Bruins]

I agree a player is a viable option... once they are within the confines of the NHL. I think the spirit of the rules (it might be explicitly stated somewhere, too, I didn't check) are players who are not in the NHL or owned by an NHL team are not eligible to be owned.

A broad summary of the situation, Nabby left the league and (temporarily) retired from the NHL to play in Russia. You can't have retired players on your roster (otherwise I got first dibs on Mario Lemieux!). Your Sundin/Kovy situation involved players who never left the league. In fact, I think Nos carried Sundin & I carried Scott Niedermayer for a few months on our main rosters because they never technically left the league, but were 'NA' in the yahoo database until they signed.

Also, you have nowhere to sign Nabokov, too. He's too old for the farm team and since he's not in the yahoo database, you can't sign him to your main roster.

[Ryan]

hmm I would like to see something saying he retired from the NHL. Sundin was not under contract therefore should not have been on a NAFHL team.

I am trying to find documentation on Radulov as he in your terms Mark he "(temporarily) retired from the NHL"

this is a unique situation that I do kind of see both sides of, however I feel that since there is not necessarily a rule in place for this situation it cannot be created at the time it comes up.

bottom line is the Nabokov is a Free Agent, he is no longer part of another league, all indications show he is back in NA, and likely to play in the NHL again.

I understand if a player is under contract in another league, but he should have at least been on "waiver" wire for 2 days after his contract ended. Now I know yahoo does not have him so that makes it a little more difficult but I think a team should be able to sign him and have an empty roster spot until/if he signs in NHL.

like I said I see both sides of the story here, and im sure if anyone else attempted to sign him they would see my side a little better as well.

I mean Radulov, while im not certain his contract might be ongoing until he comes back and then his final year starts(not exactly sure as I cannot find much on the matter oddly) he is currently under contract in another league, ya he is eligible for farm/prospect team but ya he will clearly keep that eligibility if he is not in the NHl, I know Radulov may not be a valid case as im unable to find much recent info on if he is still under contract or not, although I think he is.

[Robyn - Flames]

I'm pretty sure Boston kept Radulov in his farm system while he was playing on a KHL contract. But he also had an NHL contract with Nashville he chose not to honour. My question is, if Radulov didn't have an NHL contract while he was playing in Russia, would Mark still be able to hold his rights on the farm? I would suggest that yes, he can. I will also point out that NHL free agents can be signed to an NAFHL team without being on an NHL contract.


Based on all this, I see no reason why Nabokov wouldn't be considered a Forsberg/Sundin type situation and eligible to sign with an NAFHL team.

[Derrick - Senators]

We use the Yahoo database for all main roster moves. This has always been the case. How can a player be added if Yahoo does not acknowledge he exists?

The closest example of this is the case of Dominik Hasek several years ago. He was not eligible to be drafted in the Waiver Draft and was not in the Yahoo database until much later. There was a scramble to sign him during "Free Agent Frenzy."

However, free agent frenzy occurs before waivers are in effect. Since the waiver rule is now in effect, every player (once added to the yahoo database) must go through waivers in order to be signed.

Radulov was exempt from this as a Prospect (and is still under contract with Nashville). If Nashville does not retain his rights once he becomes a minor leaguer he will not be roster eligible either.
Sundin and Niedermayer were exempt whereas they never left the league/database. Only listed as NA. Same as Selanne.

Being drafted is only a requirement that must be met by prospects.
Having an NHL contract must be satisfied by "new" players and minor leaguers coming into the league from a different league. This is the group Nabokov falls under, even though he previously played in the NHL. If Nabokov can be rostered so can Forsberg and Jagr. Either now or on the days after their contracts expire, but before they sign new deals with the KHL and SEL.

The countermeasure taken is the KHL rule where our league provides compensatory picks for departed players because it realizes they can not be rostered if not in the yahoo database.

Arbitrarily bending the Yahoo rules to fit our needs on this would be like deciding when a player is eligible for IR just because he is injured regardless of how he is listed on Yahoo.

Based on everything thats been discussed, the process to be followed here is, once Yahoo adds him to the Yahoo database, he will be available for GM's to sign based on waiver priority. It seems pretty straightforward to me.

[Nos - Sharks]

Dec 20, 2010 19:27:00 GMT -5 Derrick - Senators said:

We use the Yahoo database for all main roster moves. This has always been the case. How can a player be added if Yahoo does not acknowledge he exists?

The closest example of this is the case of Dominik Hasek several years ago. He was not eligible to be drafted in the Waiver Draft and was not in the Yahoo database until much later. There was a scramble to sign him during "Free Agent Frenzy."

However, free agent frenzy occurs before waivers are in effect. Since the waiver rule is now in effect, every player (once added to the yahoo database) must go through waivers in order to be signed.

Radulov was exempt from this as a Prospect (and is still under contract with Nashville). If Nashville does not retain his rights once he becomes a minor leaguer he will not be roster eligible either.
Sundin and Niedermayer were exempt whereas they never left the league/database. Only listed as NA. Same as Selanne.

Being drafted is only a requirement that must be met by prospects.
Having an NHL contract must be satisfied by "new" players and minor leaguers coming into the league from a different league. This is the group Nabokov falls under, even though he previously played in the NHL. If Nabokov can be rostered so can Forsberg and Jagr. Either now or on the days after their contracts expire, but before they sign new deals with the KHL and SEL.

The countermeasure taken is the KHL rule where our league provides compensatory picks for departed players because it realizes they can not be rostered if not in the yahoo database.

Arbitrarily bending the Yahoo rules to fit our needs on this would be like deciding when a player is eligible for IR just because he is injured regardless of how he is listed on Yahoo.

Based on everything thats been discussed, the process to be followed here is, once Yahoo adds him to the Yahoo database, he will be available for GM's to sign based on waiver priority. It seems pretty straightforward to me.

This is all 100% correct and how I see it. Seems pretty straightforward to me also.

[Chris - Capitals]

Agreed. Rules state wait till hes in the database