Link: PuckUpdate .: The Hockey Blog :: Archives Archives (weekly).
Steve Ovadia has some good commentary on the unintended (or perhaps intended consequences) of the new waiver rules. The recent spate of players put on and passing through waivers leaves those guys in a kind of limbo, as Steve explains:
Krzysztof Oliwa was sent down by the Devils last month and he's in that kind of hockey purgatory. They don't want him playing with their AHL team because they don't want to take ice time from developing players. So he's just working out on his own, trying to figure out a way to sneak back into the NHL via the waiver wire.
So, did Darth Regier miss an opportunity by not claiming Kristian Huselius the other day? You can bet that Mike Keenan isn't going to do any of his rival GM's any favors by recalling Huselius, who was too expensive at $1.2 mill, but a real bargain at $600k. The opportunity cost for the Panthers to letting him rot in Rochester is his AHL salary, which is a lot less than 1/2 his NHL one. Compared to having that player come back and bite you at some point in the future it's a small price to pay.
Of course, it sucks to be Kristian Huselius. This is one wrinkle in the new CBA that the NHLPA should look at to be revised in the next round of negotiations, or is it simply another example of their sacrificing the 'tweeners for the superstars.
Dunno, just speculating at this point.
Ta,
Comments