The Club | The kickoff, the national anthem and… respecting the salary cap

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The kickoff… why?

The last Super Bowl was exciting as hell. However, I don’t understand why the NFL doesn’t look into an aspect of the game that has become completely useless for a few years. I am talking here about the kickoff, which, in living memory, prevents any return, the ball always ending up far in the end zone. Back to play at the 25 yard line! Suggestions: there is no more kickoff, we place the ball at the 25 yard line and it is 1^er and 10. Or, we move back several yards from where the kick should be made and there, we join the other facets of the game with electrifying returns, such as the one seen at the Super Bowl. What do you think ?

Raymond Gagnon

Reply from Nicholas Richard

Indeed, the situation surrounding kickoff returns pollutes the show. You are right, from now on it is almost certain that the kickers will kick the ball into the opposing end zone, without there being a return. This way of doing things may seem like a waste of time. However, when the NFL decided to move ball positioning forward, or give defensive players less momentum on kickoff returns, it was to limit the risk of injury. According to the league, players are five times more likely to suffer concussions in a kick return situation than during normal play. In fact, eight years after the introduction of the new rules, the number of kick returns had decreased by 62%. It is true that it spoils the show a little, but the health and safety of the players prevails for the NFL. That being said, leagues in Canadian amateur football have decided to give teams the option of attempting a comeback or automatically resuming from a certain distance in their zone, which may be an option for the NFL to consider.

Question of investments

Kickers always execute their field goal 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Couldn’t they step back further and kick from further away (eg 12 yards behind the throwing center) to gain an advantage when they are too close to the goal line? Thank you for your enlightenment.

Eric Lafontaine

Reply from Nicholas Richard

In fact, the team cannot decide the vertical distance of the ball’s position for a convert, but could, if they wanted to, move the ball laterally. However, the chances of success are much higher if the ball stays in the middle. Here’s what the NFL rulebook’s scoring rule Section 3 states: “After scoring a touchdown, the team may place the ball anywhere on or between the bounding lines of the field, 15 yards from the opposing goal line for a punt, or 2 yards from the opposing goal line for a rushing pass play. »

National anthem

I would like to know who chooses the person who performs the national anthem at the Bell Centre.

Manon

Response from Katherine Harvey-Pinard

According to what the Canadian tells me, it is the match production department that is responsible for finding the singer for the national anthem. The organization has three regulars, namely Alexandre Sylvestre, Brittany Kennell and Cherylyn Toca, who are assigned matches according to their respective schedules. Otherwise, the Habs sometimes invite singers for special occasions, as was the case on February 14 to celebrate Black History Month. In this case, the singers pass auditions.

above the ceiling

In the NHL, what happens if a team’s current contracts exceed the salary cap? Is the team fined? Is the transaction/signature of the contract that would lead to the overrun blocked by the League?

Como Fiorucci

Response from Guillaume Lefrancois

Your guess is correct. The NHL has a registrar (“Central Registry”) through which all personnel movements must pass, whether it is a recall, a contract or a transaction. It is this body which will therefore report the fault and which will ask the team to comply with the salary cap. The NHL still has the freedom to sanction a team that tries to circumvent the rules, as it did in 2010 with the New Jersey Devils, who had just awarded a 17-year contract to Ilya Kovalchuk, who had then 27 years old. The Devils were originally fined $3 million and lost a pick of 1^er round. The fine was then halved and the Devils did not lose a 1 pick^er round, but had to fish out at 30^e rank in 2014, although according to the rankings they should have gotten 11^e choice.