Let’s play devil’s advocate for a minute and imagine a world in which an NHL lockout exists. I know it’s scary, but just try.
Where would the Columbus Blue Jackets go? Who would stick to their guns and sit out the lockout? Who would go overseas? Who would head to Massachusetts to play with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons?
Four of the five Russians on the team – Nikita Nikitin, Fedor Tyutin and Artem Anisimov – would most likely play on various teams in the KHL, while Vinny Prospal would head for the Czech leagues. But what will happen to the ten Canadians and nine Americans on the roster?
Let’s be clear: the following discussion covers a situation where a lockout would be prolonged, say, beyond October. Add to that the fact that the AHL makes it clear that there can only be a certain number of players on their teams’ rosters. The AHL development rule relevant to this states:
Of the 18 skaters (not counting two goaltenders) that teams may dress for a regular-season game, at least 13 must be qualified as “development players.” Of those 13, 12 must have played in 260 or fewer professional games (including AHL, NHL, IHL and European elite leagues), and one must have played in 320 or fewer professional games. All calculations for development status are based on regular-season totals as of the start of the season.
According to that rule, players with entry-level contracts, such as Ryan Johansen, Cam Atkinson, Tim Erixon and John Moore, would be sent to Springfield. Others with two-way contracts would have to either clear waivers to play or sign a separate AHL contract. Those players with over 260 pro games would have to go elsewhere.
Sergei Bobrovsky is a special case. He’s in the last year of his entry-level contract, but there’s a hitch: he’s played so many NHL games in his first two years that he would need a special waiver to play in the AHL. Rather than do that, he’d probably go to Russia with his colleagues.
Finally, there’s the problem of 2012 NHL Draft pick Ryan Murray. He can’t go to the AHL yet because of his age, so the Blue Jackets would send him back to his WHL team, the Everett Silvertips. Should the lockout be lifted, he’d be called to training camp and go from there.
All right, time to put the hypothetical situation away. There’s still time for both sides to hammer things out. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
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