Afinogenov Available

[StarsGM]

I have been informed that Maxim is unhappy with his current situation and would like to be traded. He is a serviceable forward that would lend depth to a third of fourth line.

I am looking for a draft pick, prospect or RW farm team replacement.

Find me on ICQ or email me at [e-mail]

[Ottawa GM]

i think i would just retire him

[Anaheim GM]

The NsHLPA would not have such a difficult time with players like Maxim playing in the minors if they were properly put through waivers and all possibilities of properly placing players like this have been exhausted.

If a team wants to get a player off of the salary cap "books" so to speak, and does not want them on the pro roster, things CAN be done from an agent/GM standpoint so that all parties are happy.

#1 a player that has played as many NsHL games as Maxim MUST pass through waivers before reporting to the minors. If you stowed him here before the season began you are hoarding talent unrealistically, in my opinion. We are working on a fix for this at the moment. If you passed him through waivers and no one wanted him, than he has no problems playing from the standpoint of the NsHLPA.

#2 a player CAN make his NsHL salary in the minors and be perfectly happy with the situation (NHL examples come to mind: Souray, Redden, etc.). If you want to keep him, and don't mind paying that kind of money for him to toil in the minors, you and the agent can certainly work something out.

#3 a player can be traded

*****************************************************

To my knowledge none of these steps were sought in regards to the very few that were identified recently. The NsHLPA is simply attempting to close a loophole that GMs have exploited before the season began. In my opinion, it should not have had to be done because GMs should be doing the correct thing. However, just like the NHL, GMs don't always do the correct thing. That's why we're here.

Mark

[StarsGM]

I hope that this is the last time I need to post/talk about this issue.

As a new GM to this league I am astounded by the amount of work that goes into running, maintaining and building this league. The website and all of the info herein is well presented and extensive. As a commish in two other leagues I understand the thankless nature of the job. It comes with the territory.

Having said that I am not trying to criticize anyone when I say that the League Constitution does not make mention of:
#1 How exactly do I put a player on waivers? To put Maxim there do I have to put him onto my pro roster then onto the farm, do I submit my lines like this, what do I do?
#2 There is no mention of the problem with having "stowed" a player on the farm before the season began.

Please remember that you may have been in the league for 5 or 10 years and know all the ins and outs, all the unspoken rules, all of the ways that certain things are supposed to be done, what is expected and required in each circumstance. I do not. All I have to go by is the League Constitution, the GM and all the other officials. I have thoroughly read the documents and looked throughout the website, I have talked with many GM's. Unfortunately, sometimes you only discover you haven't done something properly when a firestorm of controversy erupts.

Finally, I strive to always do the "correct thing" because I believe that the integrity of the league is what makes the league most enjoyable to compete within. Perhaps instead of being accused of hoarding, purposefully circumventing unwritten league rules or exploiting loopholes someone could have just asked me about Afinogenov. Like, "Hey did you know that Maxim has to go through waivers in order to play on the farm? Do you know how to do this?" I would have welcomed the input and taken the required steps. I tried from the moment I took over this team to trade Robidas and Maxim, with absolutely no offers for Maxim.

Wow, there is all I hope I need to say about a player that has never had so much press time in his life.

[torontogm]

Don't want to weigh in too much here, but I can tell you this:
1. Jason and I discussed the Afinogenov situation on several occassions, and as a mentor in this situation, I dropped the ball. I have never actually waived a player and was told that the 15 game rule applied to each season on its own when I asked for clarification when I first joined the league - but I was asking about a fringe player at the time, not a player with Afino's history in the league, and that's where I blew it. I knew there had been an honest effort to move him, so I thought Jason was all good. Bottom line, since I was not 100% certain I should have referred Jason to Mark and or Nate. My bad - sorry to all parties affected.
2. I can 100% assure you all that there was NO intention to hoard - Afinogenov has been available on the forum since Nov 9th and was listed in Jason's greeting on ICQ for a long time. Yes, an e-mail to the league would have helped, but isn't the Forum supposed to be where trade chatter should be happening? Robidas was moved to ensure that he would play in the NsHL. I honestly thought Afino would move, but if you look at his key attributes, he would be in the top 12 forwards on very few teams [and certainly not in Dallas], so the offers did not roll in.
3. Keep in mind that Jason joined the league literally the day before Free Agency began. He has worked hard at getting up to speed. He has come to me with many issues to try to do things properly and has done so repeatedly in a very short amount of time. Yeah, we dropped the ball here, but it was an honest error.
4. Now let's get this guy waived or retired so you can all get back to beating the snot out of the Leafs

[Carolina GM]

Wow, don't want some of my fellow GM's reporting me But you didn't do anything wrong and neither did Jason!

[ex-BluesGM]

No one has done anything wrong here, per sey. Its just a matter or reaction to an action that would be realistic in real life. (redundant, I know.)

The 15 game rule that was explained to Jade is accurate but also is the loophole Mark talked about tightening. It has existed for quite some time and frankly pretty much every team in this league at one time or another has used it to their advantage. Particularly to send down vets whose attributes just don't match-up.

What happened here is you have Affy, whose got a huge contract and a reputation that no longer matches his skill set. I mean let's face it... look at his attributes, they don't belong on a lot of our rosters, and esp not at that price.

Its completely realistic in our realm that a player like Affy would be sent down to save money off the cap. But its also completely realistic that a player of Affy's clout would complain. Some don't (see Wade Redden) some do. Some accept assignement, some "retire" and end up in Europe, or taking a season off.

What is a big deal (keeping realism in mind) is that the loophole as it exists allows teams to save money and only play these guys 10% of their NsHL salary. In most case this isn't accurate, unless a vet on the cusp agreed to a two-way contract. Wade Redden still get's paid his $6mil, the Rangers just don't take the cap hit.

When you look at a situation like Redden or Avery. They were waived and not claimed, then they were brought back on re-entry waivers, which means teams could claim them at half-price and still no takers. At that point players really can't complain.

I know I was the one who brought up the word "hoarding." And Jason apply replied. In doing so I wasn't referring to Affy. I was mostly referring to Erskine. (You can argue either way about McClean.) Erskine is 30 years old, which means he's 2 years away from his first chance at unrestricted free agency. Not getting to play will hurt his chances at getting a good deal. And you do have the room on your roster for him. That's why I chimed in on "hoarding" you are entitled to keep him down as per our rules.... but that doesn't mean it will look good for you in the future when veterans want to sign a new contract.

I'm not telling you what to do with your franchise. I would never do such a thing to you, Ron, Nate, Mark, anyone..... do with it what you will. Make it a juggernaut like the Yankees or a perrennial laughing stock like the Pirates... I don't care. I'm also not a PA member. But when all the messages were going back and forth I felt it was important to chime to help a newer member learn how things will be looked at.

Who the hell knows... maybe I'm wrong... The PA doesn't seem to care about Erskine but jumped on the Affy thing.... so don't listen to me anyway.

[Anaheim GM]

The "15 game rule" will hopefully be gone very soon (Constitutional change). It is the epitome of unrealistic and the fact that GMs use or abuse it requires action from their agents at this time. Plain and simple. Keep in mind, the NsHLPA is still making (and has to make) major adjustments with the new CBA. In essence, we're learning to. We had the old sim and old CBA down to a science, quite frankly and now there is a lot more detail and a LOT more work to do. Bear with us.

In addition, the league GMs are adjusting to changes in the salary cap (CBA) and some have done a MUCH better job of planning than others, that's all.

It's not a "shame on you" moment, it is simply a time for a team to fish or cut bait with some of these players that did NOT have a chance to go through waivers.

We are working on a fix with the simulator so that this does not happen, however, in the meantime, the NsHLPA gets the lovely job of trying to get the GMs to "keep it real".

Nothing personal. I, unfortunately, do not always have the time to spell the details out of these situations ahead of time, however, if you have a direct question, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time. I am always available. If you don't know, ask. Thanks for doing what is best for Maxim.