Brian Rolston on Waivers- What happens now?
by Kevin Sellathamby on Dec 14, 2010 3:20 PM EST
in Devils Issues, Views & Analysis
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The big news today would be the Devils placing overpaid winger Brian Rolston on waivers (according to TSN's Bob McKenzie). Yes, Rolston is a 35+ contract, meaning yes, his cap hit still sticks with the team if he's sent to Albany. The only way to remove his cap hit would be trading him or expecting someone else to claim him off waivers.Tom Gulitti has also mentioned that Lamoriello has no plans right now of placing Rolston on re-entry waivers.
Rolston has been a point of discussion due to his albatross cap hit- Tom mentioned in an earlier post that Rolston could be one of the cap casualties, and Matt had a post about the implications if the Devils waived Rolston at the start of the year (as a solution to getting under the salary cap). While Matt's post did talk about scenarios early on in the season and is still relevant, there are some differences from his post then and the situation now. Teams are trying to get themselves ahead of each other in the hunt for a playoff spot, and adding a big winger who could contribute offensively (a change of scenery might help, who thought Alex Tanguay would be 2nd on the Flames in scoring) and is decent defensively could be a coup if they give up very little. In addition, the massive $5.062 million cap hit on Rolston's contract has gone down to $3.203 mil (due to games played) and Salary down to $3.170 mil, and that value will be halved if he's placed on re-entry waivers.
If he is to be placed on re-entry waivers, he could be an interesting option for some teams, and much cheaper- there are rumors about the St. Louis Blues trading for Alex Kovalev, an equally maligned forward who's infinitely lazier than Rolston and has a similar cap hit ($5 million/year on the dot). If Kovalev is traded before he is, then Rolston could be a backup plan for teams that need a lazy forward. While the 2nd year is going to be a problem, some teams probably wouldn't mind having a useful two-way forward who can play on both wings around. His big shot is also attractive for teams that want to destroy their own endboards improve their powerplay as well, or are looking for a point man on the powerplay.
Personally, I think nothing's going to come of this right now. Tom Gulliti tweeted that if Rolston goes through waivers unclaimed, he will be in the lineup Wednesday. Seeing as no team would want to touch an underperforming overpaid forward (unless they were extremely desperate), I think Rolston remains a Devil for now. That and waiving Rolston isn't going to solve any problems. His production hasn't been there, but he's still a serviceable forward (overpaid, but still serviceable) and the chances of him getting claimed off (re-)entry waivers right now are pretty slim. If you ask me, Rolston's not the problem.
With that in mind, what do you think of this news? Leave your thoughts in the comments section and vote in the poll.
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I hate unicorns.
The 2010-11 NJ Devils are like the Titanic: they both looked good until they hit the ice.
okay, fine. Unicorn gets replaced with Giant Teleporting Dwarf with an axe that shoots lightning bolts.
In Lou We Trust/Twitter
This season is all a terrible dream brought on by too much Penne a la Pesto.
by Kevin Sellathamby on Dec 14, 2010 3:38 PM EST up reply actions
I’m afraid it would take a unicorn,a dwarf, a giant and King Arthur himself at this point…
"Look at my face. I came here to play a hockey game and look at my face." -Kris Draper
by HELLAWAITS on Dec 14, 2010 4:39 PM EST up reply actions 4 recs
You’re on a roll lately, H.
Your humor is much appreciated :)
The 2010-11 NJ Devils are like the Titanic: they both looked good until they hit the ice.
Thanks pal…it’s my new outlet/approach to dealing with all of this disappointment and frustration. I’m hoping I can help out a few other desperate Devil worshiping souls in the much needed laughter department via these posts…
"Look at my face. I came here to play a hockey game and look at my face." -Kris Draper
hahahaha Twice already today you have me rolling..Awesome. Rec’d
In Lou We Trust: SBN Blog of the New Jersey Devils
"Hockey is the only job I know where you get paid to have a nap on the day of the game." - Chico Resch
by Matthew Ventolo on Dec 14, 2010 5:03 PM EST up reply actions
Beats one of the most illogical video game characters ever. Rec’d.
In Lou We Trust/Twitter
This season is all a terrible dream brought on by too much Penne a la Pesto.
by Kevin Sellathamby on Dec 14, 2010 5:06 PM EST up reply actions
Even invisible pink unicorns?
So this is what it's like to be an Islanders fan...
by Marty 4 Prez on Dec 14, 2010 3:59 PM EST up reply actions
I guess I’m a bit ignorant of the full process of waivers. So the Devils waive Rolston, but per Lou, "If he’s not claimed, he will be playing tomorrow (against Phoenix)."
So if he’s not claimed then he’s still a Devil unless assigned to Albany? So was this merely Lou putting an empty fish hook into the water hoping that some fish was dumb enough to bite?
So this is what it's like to be an Islanders fan...
I don’t like the idea of him playing tomorrow night. He represents a potential $2.5M in cap savings next year, no sense in risking an injury and being stuck with him through the end of a critical offseason.
A non-story. No one will be claiming him with another year left on his contract. The teams that have that kind of cap room are the ones with internal budgets and no need for fading greybeards.
Either we pay him to play poorly, or we pay him to sit and pay another person to take his spot. Except we don’t have the cap room for the latter.
1995 - 2000 - 2003
I’m hoping for one of two scenarios, myself:
Scenario 1: The Devils work out a deal for someone to claim him on re-entry waivers, in return for the Devils doing some sort of favor to the receiving team. I still believe the logical fit might be Edmonton and claiming Sheldon Souray on re-entry waivers. The Devils’ defense certainly needs the help, and the Oilers want Souray gone in the worst way (which is why Sheldon is playing for Washington’s AHL affiliate). Let Rolston mentor the young pups in western Canada for half a season and ride off into the sunset…. I doubt Edmonton would be upset about having $2.5 million in dead cap without having to spend a dime next year. Souray can provide some offensive spark and size to the Devils’ blue line, and also permit Lou to trade another defender.
Scenario 2: Rolston remains a Devil, and retires this summer. In my opinion, Rolston becomes easier to trade if he’s retired, because there are bound to be teams out there that would take the salary cap number off the Devils’ hands if given a pick or prospect to sweeten the deal. I believe that teams who traditionally float near the Lower Limit would love to have a $5 million hit without paying a dime, as it allows them to pocket more cash and still stay compliant with the rules.
In the interim, if we’re stuck with Rolston, I’ll revive another suggestion I’ve made repeatedly since last summer. Play him on the fourth line at even strength (about 6-10 minutes a night tops), and use him as a specialist on the PK and PP. You open up a greater role for a prospect of Lou’s choosing, plus you allow Rolston to maximize what he has left by lessening the burden. He’s smart enough to kill penalties, and his best remaining asset is the point shot with the man advantage. Use those to their maximum, and try and limit the negatives by not overexposing him out there.
If Rolston retires, his cap hit sticks. Only way to get rid of a 35+ contract is for it to expire or moving it (via waivers, trade)
In Lou We Trust/Twitter
This season is all a terrible dream brought on by too much Penne a la Pesto.
by Kevin Sellathamby on Dec 14, 2010 5:05 PM EST up reply actions
Lou traded Vladimir Malakhov’s cap hit on October 1, 2006. The actual transaction line reads as follows: Malakhov and a #1 to San Jose for Jim Fahey and Alexander Korolyuk.
For those of you who don’t want to follow links on relatively unknown players, I’ll explain in the text here.
Fahey was a journeyman defenseman, who went 1-19-20 as a rookie in half-a-season in San Jose in 2002-2003 and had five assists in parts of three NHL seasons afterwards. One assist in 13 games with the Devils in 2006-2007. Now playing in Germany.
Korolyuk was a Russian forward who came to the sharks during the 1997-1998 season and stayed until the lockout. By and large, the stat sheet shows a forward with some scoring touch, although not likely a Top 6 forward on a good team. He returned to Russia during that lost year and decided he’d stay. The Sharks gave up on his returning and traded his rights, and the Devils couldn’t convince him to re-cross the pond. The Devils tried to return his rights to San Jose near the trade deadline in 2007 (for a 3rd-round pick), but the League voided the deal.
The Sharks would send the pick in question to St. Louis as part of a draft-day trade to flip positions in the first round. St. Louis drafted David Perron with the selection in question.
All that exposition aside, the point I was hoping to make is that a salar y cap number like this can be traded even after the player retires — unless the NHL wants to step in and make it illegal going forward (and I wouldn’t be surprised if they did). More than that, I think Rolston’s cap hit as a retired player would be more attractive than whatever Rolston could provide on the ice, especially as there wouldn’t likely be a $5 million salary attached to it that the receiving team would have to pay.
If Rolston retires, I think that makes it easier for Lou to trade him. If he’s a living, breathing, going NHL concern, I don’t know that any team will be interested at $5 million.
I don't think you get it
When a player aged 35 or older signs a multi-year contract, his average salary is counted against the team’s salary cap during every year of the contract, even if the player retires before the contract is up.
The Salary cap explains that the player’s cap hit is counted even if he retires. If Rolston retires he’s still going to be paid by the Devils and his cap hit will still count.
In Lou We Trust/Twitter
This season is all a terrible dream brought on by too much Penne a la Pesto.
by Kevin Sellathamby on Dec 14, 2010 5:55 PM EST up reply actions
Still, i think I get where you’re going with it, though the NHL would void it seeing as he’s already retired.
In Lou We Trust/Twitter
This season is all a terrible dream brought on by too much Penne a la Pesto.
by Kevin Sellathamby on Dec 14, 2010 5:56 PM EST up reply actions
I’m not saying the cap hit would vanish. I know it would not. However, I don’t see where Rolston would get paid if he retires, because retirement implies he volutarily walks away from the deal. If he doesn’t hold up his end of the contract, why should the team holding said contract have to pay him?
My belief is that some teams working under a self-imposed budget would be quite happy to pick up Rolston’s “cap number”, because it allows them to raise their salary cap number without actually having to pay money or use up a roster spot. Look at the National Basketball Association for a related example. Players who have suffered career-ending injuries are often very popular trade chips, because they come off the salary cap two years after the injury takes place (and insurance on the contract typically pays most or all of the dollars owed). Teams will often part with legitimate assets to secure those particular players.
It wouldn’t surprise me if an attempt to trade a “retired” Brian Rolston runs into a legal challenge from the League, similar to the whole Kovalchuk fiasco. I’m not sure where the League would have a leg to stand on, however, given they allowed the Malakhov deal four years ago and that particular section of the CBA has not been addressed in the interim. I think the NHL might have a bigger problem if the contract were traded to a team that would be in violation of the Lower Limit barring the Rolston number…. but that would be more between that other team and the League than New Jersey.
Well, you can’t trade a cap hit from what I know.
In Lou We Trust/Twitter
This season is all a terrible dream brought on by too much Penne a la Pesto.
by Kevin Sellathamby on Dec 14, 2010 6:24 PM EST up reply actions
That’s why I cited precedent above (the Malakhov deal) — I believe you can based on the fact that the Devils have done it once under this CBA. Whether it should be permissible is a completely different story. And in doing so, it probably opens up another argument about legality and the wording of the CBA and all that joy we went through during the Summer of Kovalchuk. I’m not a big fan of delving back into that, but I will pull a definition straight from the CBA
“Trade” means the transfer, other than as a result of a claim by Waivers, from one Club’s Reserve List or Free Agent List to another Club’s Reserve List or Free Agent List of a Player’s SPC, the rights to a Player (including his SPC, if applicable) on such Club’s Reserve List or Free Agent List, and/or the rights to a draft choice in the Entry Draft.
(Article I, Page 8 of the CBA)
Now, this is just my interpretation I’m going to state here. If Rolston were to file his retirement papers right now, I believe he’d be shifted to the Devils’ “Reserve List” in that the Devils retain his rights (were he to choose to “un-retire”) and are still obliged for his salary cap hit in consideration of the “35+ rules” on contracts. Therefore, I don’t see any reason why the Devils couldn’t trade him, which would simply shift him from one Reserve List to another, with the receiving team acquiring Rolston’s rights but not otherwise obligated to him short of another change in status.
Fair enough. Do you believe my argument hold if Rolston “retires” but doesn’t actually file the papers, a la Malakhov?
i think the league would have a huge problem with it because rolston has a no-trade clause. so in effect he’d have to agree to go somewhere, then decide he didn’t want to play there and retire. malakhov had no such clause, so it could be plausibly argued that he just didn’t want to report to san jose.
If he’s not claimed, he’s going to play tomorrow?
What the point of doing this? No team is picking him up with his contract as is.
In Lou We Trust: SBN Blog of the New Jersey Devils
"Hockey is the only job I know where you get paid to have a nap on the day of the game." - Chico Resch
by Matthew Ventolo on Dec 14, 2010 5:09 PM EST reply actions
He doesn’t have to be the problem to not be the solution.
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
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by John Fischer on Dec 14, 2010 6:24 PM EST up reply actions
But, what is the root cause(s) or problem(s), diagnostically speaking?
I’m not sure I or anyone can untangle such a mess, but I don’t believe it can be canned up into convenient, trite expressions anymore: they play with no heart, not playing smart enough, trying to do to much, etc. Those observations have a measure of truth in them, and make a lot of sense to the speaker… but what do they really mean?
The expression I like to use, of course, is that the team lacks discipline, which might suggest they’re not playing within the “system” John Maclean has set up for them. But what system is that?! I ain’t seen one.
I guess it’s like this: you can play with heart, play smart, and not try to do too much… and still get beat… or even wiped out. Can you play with discipline and get beat, or even wiped? Yes, I think so. Yet for me, playing disciplined hockey is somehow more consistent with Devils-ness as I have come to understand it…. which stands for gritty, defensive stability as the foundation of a squad.
When I think of it this way… that problem of defensive lapses and bad position play… over-committing to one side or trying to do too much… stands as the absolute, biggest problem for the Devils right now.
Not incidentally, it is a problem for which Brian Rolston is not to blame. He’s on the “low offensive production” side of the equation. Literally: if (offensive production with regard to goals) > (defensive lapses w/r/t goals), then I’d expect some wins. The Devs D and goaltending can be porous only if offensive production is way above par, which it ain’t!
So… what are the problems? Oh, just everything. And especially passing.
I guess it won’t hurt to try and see if someone pick him up. I dont think anyone will. I also don’t think anything can save this season
by C.J. Richey on Dec 14, 2010 6:38 PM EST via mobile reply actions
The management might just be looking to save the season financially.
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I have to admit, I am confused
I have read the stuff on the waiver process and re-entry waivers. The way I initially understood it was that if a player were put on waivers and not claimed, then he would also HAVE to be placed on re-entry waivers before rejioining the NHL club.
Based on what Lou is saying and all the articles, it sounds like my understanding was wrong though. It sound like if they waive him and nobody claims him, then DONT have to assign him to Albany. And if they don’t assign him to Albany, then there is NO re-entry waiver process.
Can someone confirm the above is right?
If that is the case, to me this is much ado about nothing. It seems to me that the Devils were just taking a wild bet that maybe somebody decides they want to overpay for this guy.
To me the only realistic hope is the re-entry waivers. Someone might pay $2.5 million for this guy. And as somebody said on one of these strings, I would rather have $2.5 million in cap space and no Rolston than have Rolston.
The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall. - Vince Lombardi
by Devilssection21fan on Dec 15, 2010 11:01 AM EST reply actions
One way contract
So Rolston’s deal was one-way, meaning a few things. One is that if he plays one game over the course of the season for the Devils, his entire cap hit remains there for the rest of the season (doesn’t really matter for Rolston though because he is over 35 anyway so the cap hit would stick anyway). Secondly, it also means that for Rolston to be moved to minors he would need to clear waivers first. This is more of a technicality at this point because no one would pick up a player who has produced so minimally this season at the cost of a prorated 5 million dollar cap hit (I think it’s just over 3 million this year) followed by a full-on 5 million dollar cap hit the following season. After he clears waivers, the Devils would then be elgible to move Rolston down to Albany. However, since Rolston was 35 when he signed the deal, moving him would not clear any cap space. Instead, it would only free up a roster spot for another player. Once he clears waivers, he becomes elgible for this movement but does not have to be moved, just like any player with a two-way contract could feasibly play every game for the Devils. Honestly, the only way that the Devils will move Rolston is if a team actually thinks that his ineffectiveness is due to trying to fit in with the Devils system rather than poor play on his part. I think it is probably a combination of both. Even in this scenario, it would most likely be on re-entry waivers, and the Devils would still be responsible for 1/2 of the contract left this year and next year.
by NJPenguins08 on Dec 15, 2010 12:17 PM EST up reply actions
This is correct.
It sound like if they waive him and nobody claims him, then DONT have to assign him to Albany.
You can waive a player and keep him on your NHL roster for up to 30 days, any time in that window you can demote the player to your AHL club without having to re-clear waivers.
It happened to us (Leafs) with Mike Zigomanis. He was waived right near the beginning of the season but wasn’t sent down until weeks later.
I’m not certain if a player has to be demoted to the AHL before the re-entry waivers process can begin, or if the player can be placed on re-entry without the formality of demotion.
20 miles to Legoland!
by nhlcheapshot on Dec 15, 2010 1:18 PM EST up reply actions
OK, but that means this is not the end of it
Within 30 days (or 10 games, whichever is first) he will either have to be sent down to Albany or directly put on re-entry waivers. I think I’ve got it now
I wonder if doing this now was simply a way to give other GMs some time over the next month to clear up their own situations to be able to take on a guy with a $25 million hit. I know there is some kind of waiting period around the holidays where players cant be moved.
I could see someone taking him for $2.5 million.
The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall. - Vince Lombardi
by Devilssection21fan on Dec 15, 2010 3:26 PM EST up reply actions
Not exactly. At the end of 30 days, he can just remain with the team. Nothing has to be done after that 30 days. All the initial waiver clearance did was open a 30 day/10 game window in whcih Lou and co. could do something without the consent of Mr. Rolston. He basically dangled Rolston out there to see if there just happened to be any other GMs feeling particularly generous, full of Christmas Spirit, or in need of an overpriced winger.
At any time during this window, he can be sent to Albany, released/retired (but still paid and hitting the cap) or remain with the team as an active player. After 30 days, the window closes and he would need to pass waivers once again to be moved to Albany or exposed to re-entry.
Perhaps Lou is gambling that if the team picks up their production, Rolston will as well which would make him more attractive to other teams at half the price…
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