OT:Pronger is the NHL disciplinarian.

[CaptHowdy00]

NHL -- Hiring of Philadelphia Flyers' Chris Pronger by NHL is completely baffling - ESPN

And as a person, I'm sure that he will be good at the job. But so long as he is being payed by a team, he should not have been hired. How can someone police players while being a player themselves?

 

[davnlaguna]

It is bad enough that he retired years ago, but didn't announce it so they could cheat the cap. Now they do this. Sad

 

[PuckinUgly57]

It is bad enough that he retired years ago, but didn't announce it so they could cheat the cap. Now they do this. Sad

They're not cheating anyone really. Pronger is done, and they are getting the benefits of the LTIR overage. But there is a formula involved so they are not getting the full overage, only a percentage. Pronger's salary is definitely on their books and they work around that yearly.

From Pronger's POV, if he announces his retirement he is no longer due his full contract. The Flyers could continue to pay him if he announced his retirement but would be under no obligation to do so. Pronger won't risk that if he's smart, which he is - very smart.

Right now he just sits at home and collects millions, with this season being the last 7 figure salary ($4 million). Next year and the last year on his deal he will collect $575,000. This is just as much on him as it is the Flyers - he wants his money and won't announce his retirement until he gets every penny from that deal.

I don't see anything wrong with this at all, it's unfortunate however for him that his career ended.

 

[davnlaguna]

But if he retires he counts against the cap. The problem here is, Pronger is still technically a player on a team, he can't also be a ref, of judge or official.
Now in the team and Pronger's defense; they all thought since he signed this deal before he was 35, that rule would not be in effect. Problem is the contract didn't start until he was over 35.
I think he will be fine in this role, but it sets a bad precedent.

 

[3riverbabe]

Pronger as the NHL disiplinarian is proof that truth really is stranger than fiction.


But I don't blame him at all for not retiring & collecting every penny of his contract.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

I'm not blaming him for getting what is his, I just see a major conflict of interest is he is getting money from both the NHL and a team. His decisions will called into questions if he makes a call in favor of a team that he has ever played for.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

But if he retires he counts against the cap. The problem here is, Pronger is still technically a player on a team, he can't also be a ref, of judge or official.

Right, but with him staying on they get the LTIR overage every year - they're getting some cap relief, although not the full $4.94 million. The formula to determine how much a team can spend when a player is LTIR Player Salary Cap Hit - Salary Cap Space Available. In the Flyers' case, even though Pronger is on the books for $4,941,429 the actual cap space (as of today) is $4,941,429 - $2,055,000 = $2,886,429 available.

As you can see, it actually benefits the Flyers to keep him on LTIR and just pay the guy vs. having him retire and have a $4,941,429 cap hit on their books for the next 2 seasons for a player who wasn't going to play again anyway. They have more cap space with him on the books than off.

Now in the team and Pronger's defense; they all thought since he signed this deal before he was 35, that rule would not be in effect. Problem is the contract didn't start until he was over 35.

This is the part that actually cracks me up - what stupid attorney approved this? It's very clear cut from the 2005-2012 CBA that any 35+ contract takes effect the day the player turned 35; Pronger's contract was not going to take effect until that so it is a no brainer. This attorney should be disbarred for being a complete tool.

The NHL calendar year is July 1 to June 30 of the following year, he had a contract that hadn't expired yet and would kick in on July 1.

I think he will be fine in this role, but it sets a bad precedent.

I think it sets a bad precedent not because he is a player and paid, it's pretty much known and a gentleman's agreement that he is done so he has no motive to rule in a non-objective way but they picked a guy who has stomped on people, been suspended 8 times in his career and is generally known as one of the dirtiest players ever to lace up.

That is the irony of it all, he was about anything BUT player safety.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

Ok I had to include this article, simply because of what Babcock said about Pronger.

Chris Pronger's new job with NHL has appearance of conflict - LA Times

"He's a guy who broke enough rules. He should know what the rules are and should be able to enforce 'em," Detroit Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock said last weekend. "He knew all the tricks, and he was mean, flat-out mean. It's great for hockey and for Prongs."

 

[oxnardkingsfan]

I know it's probably within the rules of the league and the CBA but it just sounds wrong to me. If Bettman and the league officials wanted him involved they should have waited until his contract with Philadelphia was over. It just sounds wrong to me to be collecting money from a team and the league. It's not like he's hurting for money. Of course that's just my personal feeling based on nothing.

Ox