The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Is the NHL season so long that it doesn't matter if star players bother to show up for the first 1/4 of the season?

Scott Niedermayer, currently under contract with the Anaheim Ducks, announced before the season started he was contemplating retirement. Fine. In the interim, management decided to sign free agent Mathieu Schneider as a backup plan in case Niedermayer followed through with his plans to quit.

So it's mid-November now and he hasn't made a decision. He says one will be made before Christmas and he's staying in shape until he makes up his mind.

The problem with this scenario is many. With the obvious disarray management has to endure with him sitting out, they have to decide how the team will move forward. With limited cap space to work with, it's also risky to sign another player since Niedermayer is paid a huge sum of money. I believe it's around the $6.5 million mark, but interestingly enough the NHLPA has removed him from their website (where every player's salary is listed) even though he hasn't made a formal announcement.

But if he sits out long enough...this can turn into a huge advantage for the Ducks. They only have to count towards the cap what Niedermayer gets paid, and right now he isn't getting paid anything. So if he suits up 1/2 way through the season, that $6.5 million figure all of a sudden is $3.25 million towards the cap. Is this an unfair advantage the Ducks have over other clubs? Not only do they have him & Chris Pronger, but as previously mentioned, they also have Mathieu Schneider in the fold that they might have otherwise not obtained had Niedermayer reported to training camp.

To fix this problem, the league needs to set dates when players are contemplating hanging them up. Are you thinking about retiring? Okay, but if you don't make a decision by say, October 31st, you're suspended for the rest of the year and you can't play again until next season.

This may sound harsh, but when players pretty much declare the start of the season isn't important, when fans pay money to see the stars play and they don't show up, when players salaries no longer have to count towards the cap...it just isn't right.