<p>Hahahahahaha.</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">NHL/NHLPA have reached an agreement on Robin Lehner/Vegas. </p>
<p>Simplest way to put it is this: Lehner’s contract will not count against the cap, but he will still be paid his salary. </p>
<p>“Unique situation,” as all sides have indicated</p>
<p>&mdash; Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) <a href="https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1841862028505342117?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The National Hockey League likes to make up its own rules sometimes, and this recent announcement that Robin Lehner&#8217;s contract won&#8217;t count towards the cap is yet another affirmation that the rules aren&#8217;t the same for everyone.</p>
<p>The Swedish netminder hasn&#8217;t played a game since the 2021-22 season, undergoing hip surgery and rehabbing away from the team. Lehner was clear about not reporting to camp this season for his physical, thus meaning that he would not be playing in the upcoming 2024-25 season. This comes off the backs of Lehner declaring bankruptcy.</p>
<p>&#8220;The litany of evidence before this Court shows that Lehner fraudulently obtained $4.8 million via a loan from AGF only six weeks prior to the filing of Lehner&#8217;s above-captioned bankruptcy case based on intentional misrepresentations and omissions and is, thus, precluded from discharging his debt to AGF,&#8221; <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/goldenknights/robin-lehner-assets-frozen-amid-allegations-of-frivolous-spending-3178446/">the ruling reads in part</a>.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a very unique situation, absolutely. While it&#8217;s not unheard of to file for bankruptcy while being an active player (see exhibit 1, Jack Johnson), the factors going into this one are many. Lehner&#8217;s well-publicized activism for mental health is a personal battle for him, and along with the injury, puts quite a lot of burden on the person behind the mask. That much is understandable. There is probably a genuine argument as to why the NHL opted to choose this solution.</p>
<p>What isn&#8217;t as understandable, is the NHL simply giving Vegas a free pass to an additional $4.5 million in cap space this season. It was a legal contract, signed according to the rules of the CBA at the time, and with everything fulfilled. If Lehner couldn&#8217;t play due to failing his physical, he&#8217;d be put on LTIR, just like every other player to do so before him. That would give Vegas that additional cap space all the same &#8211; they just wouldn&#8217;t be able to accrue it in the manner that they can do so now.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s frustrating because the NHL has not applied the same standards to previous contracts. The one that hits closest to home is how the league punished the Vancouver Canucks for signing Roberto Luongo to a perfectly legal contract at the time that took advantage of a flawed CBA. Their reasoning was it was against the &#8220;spirit of the CBA.&#8221;</p>
<p>They really do love their vague criteria, don&#8217;t they?</p>
<p>There are probably very valid reasons why Lehner can&#8217;t be playing hockey this season, both from a physical and mental health perspective, not to mention the sheer mess of the financial situation. However, the League has not stated these circumstances, which can only lead to speculation. What makes this situation so special, that the Golden Knights get a free pass from this contract counting against the salary cap?</p>
<p>What seems to be essentially happening, is that Lehner&#8217;s contract is being terminated. They&#8217;ve made an arrangement to keep paying him out because those debts can&#8217;t exactly be paid by someone not making NHL salary. But when other teams terminate contracts, they&#8217;re <em>usually</em> met with some sort of recapture penalty.</p>
<p>This all becomes more relevant as the Canucks are juggling how to handle Tucker Poolman and their own LTIR situation. The defenceman is all but retired from playing in the league thanks to a multitude of concussions, but as Vancouver wants to accrue cap space, they are really looking at not using their LTIR space. That leaves them in quite the crunch to fit their roster, the best possible team, within the League&#8217;s rules. The rules for everyone but the Golden Knights, of course.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s not a clear solution to all of this. The vagueness of it all leads to some worst-case assumptions, ones that lack the details and clarity that the NHL probably has when making their decisions. But the optics, with all the historical context, make this look really, really strange. It leaves a sour taste in fans&#8217; mouths across the league, seeing how the team that is perceived to be the NHL&#8217;s favourite gets coddled once more. Canuck fans had to deal with Luongo&#8217;s dead cap being thrown back at them because they followed a legal CBA. Why are there different rules for different teams?</p>
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Hahahahahaha.
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https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1841862028505342117

The National Hockey League likes to make up its own rules sometimes, and this recent announcement that Robin Lehner's contract won't count towards the cap is yet another affirmation that the rules aren't the same for everyone.

The Swedish netminder hasn't played a game since the 2021-22 season, undergoing hip surgery and rehabbing away from the team. Lehner was clear about not reporting to camp this season for his physical, thus meaning that he would not be playing in the upcoming 2024-25 season. This comes off the backs of Lehner declaring bankruptcy.

"The litany of evidence before this Court shows that Lehner fraudulently obtained $4.8 million via a loan from AGF only six weeks prior to the filing of Lehner's above-captioned bankruptcy case based on intentional misrepresentations and omissions and is, thus, precluded from discharging his debt to AGF," <a href="https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/goldenknights/robin-lehner-assets-frozen-amid-allegations-of-frivolous-spending-3178446/">the ruling reads in part</a>.

It's a very unique situation, absolutely. While it's not unheard of to file for bankruptcy while being an active player (see exhibit 1, Jack Johnson), the factors going into this one are many. Lehner's well-publicized activism for mental health is a personal battle for him, and along with the injury, puts quite a lot of burden on the person behind the mask. That much is understandable. There is probably a genuine argument as to why the NHL opted to choose this solution.

What isn't as understandable, is the NHL simply giving Vegas a free pass to an additional $4.5 million in cap space this season. It was a legal contract, signed according to the rules of the CBA at the time, and with everything fulfilled. If Lehner couldn't play due to failing his physical, he'd be put on LTIR, just like every other player to do so before him. That would give Vegas that additional cap space all the same - they just wouldn't be able to accrue it in the manner that they can do so now.

It's frustrating because the NHL has not applied the same standards to previous contracts. The one that hits closest to home is how the league punished the Vancouver Canucks for signing Roberto Luongo to a perfectly legal contract at the time that took advantage of a flawed CBA. Their reasoning was it was against the "spirit of the CBA."

They really do love their vague criteria, don't they?

There are probably very valid reasons why Lehner can't be playing hockey this season, both from a physical and mental health perspective, not to mention the sheer mess of the financial situation. However, the League has not stated these circumstances, which can only lead to speculation. What makes this situation so special, that the Golden Knights get a free pass from this contract counting against the salary cap?

What seems to be essentially happening, is that Lehner's contract is being terminated. They've made an arrangement to keep paying him out because those debts can't exactly be paid by someone not making NHL salary. But when other teams terminate contracts, they're <em>usually</em> met with some sort of recapture penalty.

This all becomes more relevant as the Canucks are juggling how to handle Tucker Poolman and their own LTIR situation. The defenceman is all but retired from playing in the league thanks to a multitude of concussions, but as Vancouver wants to accrue cap space, they are really looking at not using their LTIR space. That leaves them in quite the crunch to fit their roster, the best possible team, within the League's rules. The rules for everyone but the Golden Knights, of course.

There's not a clear solution to all of this. The vagueness of it all leads to some worst-case assumptions, ones that lack the details and clarity that the NHL probably has when making their decisions. But the optics, with all the historical context, make this look really, really strange. It leaves a sour taste in fans' mouths across the league, seeing how the team that is perceived to be the NHL's favourite gets coddled once more. Canuck fans had to deal with Luongo's dead cap being thrown back at them because they followed a legal CBA. Why are there different rules for different teams?

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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NHL suddenly decides that certain contracts for certain teams don’t count against the cap

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