Posted at 12:00 p.m.
The toss to the rescue
The Canadian has already claimed four players on waivers since the start of the season: Samuel Montembeault, Adam Brooks, Kale Clague and Rem Pitlick. Is it a record?
Hugo Larose
Response from Simon-Olivier Lorange
No, it’s not a record. We haven’t been able to investigate until waivers were invented, but only in 2016-17 did the Toronto Maple Leafs turn to waivers to acquire five players – actually four, because the One of them, Seth Griffith, was claimed twice. This season, the four players of the Canadian are indeed a top of the NHL, shared however with the Kraken of Seattle. It is also important to note that the current campaign is very busy in terms of players claimed on waivers. Since the start of training camps, around forty players have already changed camps in this way, a total that is frankly higher than in previous seasons (between 11 and 30 per year from 2014 to 2021).
To explain this upsurge, let’s hypothesize the willingness of teams to protect their backs during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the obvious financial advantage of claiming a player with a modest salary, which is usually the case for the athletes involved, in a fixed salary cap context for the second season in a row. It also depends on the philosophy of the managing directors involved: a third of the teams (11 out of 32) have already used it at least twice. In closing, a curiosity: six players have already been claimed twice or more. The ultimate champion remains Adam Brooks, with four times.
The importance of the “special”
Thus, Vincent Lecavalier has been appointed special adviser to hockey operations by the Canadian. I notice that we often hear about special advisers, but never about another position. So what distinguishes a special adviser from just an adviser?
Donald St-Pierre
Response from Simon-Olivier Lorange
In recent years, there has been a clear trend throughout the NHL to multiply hierarchical titles within hockey operations departments. Some general managers are also vice-presidents, others are not. Here, a VP will be director, there a director will be senior. Take the Vancouver Canucks, for example: there is a president of hockey operations and a vice-president above the general manager. Funny fact, some teams have relied simultaneously on assistant GMs and assistant GMs – lovers, like me, of the series The Office enjoyed it.
As far as special advisers are concerned, there is no clear cut rule. This denomination seems to apply to ex-players or coaches who have remained close to the organization or their leaders, without however having any concrete executive power in the daily life of the team. Think of the Sedin twins in Vancouver, Glen Sather in New York, or Scotty Bowman in Chicago, where his son was general manager before being fired this season. Vincent Lecavalier, in Montreal, joined the list.
The hostage league
Considering that it often happens that American players refuse to sign a contract with the team that drafted them, is it relevant to bet on these players for high draft picks? Shouldn’t there be a rule to prevent these players from behaving like this and holding NHL teams hostage?
Claude Cloutier
Response from Guillaume Lefrancois
The phenomenon is not so frequent; only, the players who really refuse a contract make a lot of talk, like Jimmy Vesey with the Nashville Predators, for example. But the subject often comes up in the news since this possibility of refusing a contract offers bargaining leverage to players and agents. But there is indeed a way to review the rules in order to prevent draft picks, in which teams invest resources for a few years, from ending up failing them. A suggested settlement submitted by a hockey man a few weeks ago: force a player to report to the team that drafted him if it offers him the maximum salary and bonuses allowed by the collective agreement.
Cadet scholarship
What is the purse given to the caddy of a PGA pro when winning it? Does the cadet have an assured stamp as salary if his boss does not win scholarships for a certain period of time?
Robert Belanger
Reply from Nicholas Richard
Caddies are effectively paid a base salary, which varies from $1,500 to $3,000 per tournament, regardless of their player’s result. Then, in the event of good performance by the golfer, the cadet receives part of the purse, so approximately 10% for a victory, 7% for a top 10 and 5% for any other ranking position.
Paquette’s problems
What is the problem with Cédric Paquette? What does the management of the Canadian blame him for?
Laurent Legault
Response from Katherine Harvey-Pinard
From training camp in the fall, Cédric Paquette was fighting for the role of 12and attacker. The Canadian eventually preferred him to young Ryan Poehling at the center of the fourth line, and he got several chances to assert himself in the first half of the season. But in 24 games between October 13 and January 29, Paquette collected only 2 assists and won 29.8% of his faceoffs. As an energy player, the 28-year-old forward must disturb the adversary, which was not quite the case. That said, Paquette’s stay in Laval will no doubt be beneficial to him. It will allow him to get a lot of playing time and find his bearings.
Whose fault is it ?
In the statistics compiled for NFL quarterbacks, can we distinguish the number of interceptions caused by the quarterback’s unforced error from those caused by bad play or clumsiness by the receiver? It seems unfair to me that a ball recovered by the opposing team following a blunder by a winger or poor reception technique can be put on the quarterback’s sheet.
yves lebeau
Response from Miguel Bujold
Unfortunately, there is no distinction when it comes to interceptions. In order to know if it was an error of the receiver, for example the bad course of pass, the team would be obliged to specify it. It is often impossible for people who are not part of the team to know who is at fault. Notice that it’s essentially the same thing in hockey. Even if it’s because of a turnover by the defenseman or because the puck was deflected by a player from his own team, all the goals that a goalkeeper allows are recorded on his record.