Doggy

Wow! Really? You win the internet.

Tremendous insight.

If that were to happen, that'd be a positive thing. Someone who gives up that easily is not required for a Stanley Cup run. Passion, commitment and sacrifice are required and a prima donna who quits that easy has none of that.

And the Norris.

Ritola got his first point as a Bolt with an assist on Teddy Purcell's goal.

Lol. Whoops!

What? In the last 11 seasons, only Tampa and Carolina have been in the Finals, winning two of three.

Entry into Calgary zone = instant turnover every time. WTF?

Different kettle of fish. Lilja had an existing undiagnosed bleed in his head that was exacerbated by getting punched by Weber.

Wings dropped the ball in this one. No excuses.

Maltby had to clear waivers too, dude. Someone had to be sent down, we were at our roster limit. Ritola (and Maltby) just couldn't cut it when given the chance. How many chances does he need? You make it sound like Maltby was a preference over Ritola.

Because of the salary cap.

The NHL is littered with undrafted players, it's hardly "keeping young future stars out". Besides, in 2005 they dropped it from 9 rounds to 7 (60 less picks) and no-one said boo, so I'm pretty sure two less picks less in four years shouldn't cause too dramatic of an impact. Don't you think?

I've never read anything at all that even slightly resembles this within the CBA, and I feel I know it pretty well. Where do you have this information from? My understanding of it is this: the only difference between a one- and two-way contract, is the money that comes out of Mike Ilitch's bank account. So why would a fan care?

Why would a fan possibly care if it's a two-way deal or not? Do you pay his salary?

I doubt the NHL will again request the services of MacArthur's arbitrator. This award basically forced the Thrashers to lose a useful, young player.

Of course it's not as attractive when it doesn't circumvent the guidelines of the CBA.

The main reason this contract has been deemed a clear circumvention of the cap, is because of the structure of the deal. The structure actually encourages Kovalchuk to retire, not just a little bit, but well before the end of the full contract. Why would Kovalchuk stick around, playing (and probably sucking) at 42+ years old to make less than league minimum? He wouldn't. If the money was more evenly spread, it would have been more likely to have been accepted. To address your point more precisely. To hope a 28-year-old will be playing in 17 years is acceptable. To expect it is completely absurd. All contracts should be agreed to with the expectation that they are to be fulfilled, in full, by both parties. If this is not the case, it's fair to call it circumvention.

HOckeytown001 -- I know you probably just forgot to link, but where is that article from?

Awful. Absolutely disgusting.

They should change the name from arbitration to arbitrary. Every admissable piece of evidence says Blake Wheeler should've been awarded more than MacArthur.

Hang on... didn't Clarke MacArthur get $2.4m???? Something must be off here.

48 hours. It's all in that link a few posts above.

Probably. Just to put this to bed -- Milan Jurcina went to arbitration last off-season and Washington agreed to the award. Then he was traded to Columbus and then back to Washington during the season.

There's a Hudler vs. Hossa question?