Loaning players

how come it is often done in European leagues, but almost never in NHL?

pretty sure all the CBA's of the major leagues here in the US include no loan clauses. It's not done in the NHL, NFL, NBA or MLB because each of these player associations have made it illegal through CBA negotiations over the years. It used to be done way back when, especially in baseball, but not anymore.

With that said, the reason you see it in European hockey as well as soccer is because I don't believe they have player associations over there.

Just a guess, but I'd say that it's probably covered in the collective bargaining agreement, because it happens from time to time in the minors.

On the flip-side, trading players in the European leagues rarely happens, but they do use transfers, like in soccer. I think that from the player-personel standpoint, European hockey teams are run more like soccer teams than like NHL teams.

pretty sure all the CBA's of the major leagues here in the US include no loan clauses. It's not done in the NHL, NFL, NBA or MLB because each of these player associations have made it illegal through CBA negotiations over the years. It used to be done way back when, especially in baseball, but not anymore.

With that said, the reason you see it in European hockey as well as soccer is because I don't believe they have player associations over there.

I don't know about hockey, but soccer does have an international players union, FIFPro. I don't think it's as powerful as the NA sporting unions, though, because it covers all professional players, including those in lower leagues, not just the millionaires, who's wants and needs are often different. It also does its negotiations directly with FIFA, which is probably more powerful than the UN. :)

Soccer players often help their careers with loans, and while it can't be fun to be sent off by your team on loan, it is usually more important to these guys to get first-team play. If they don't want to go on loan, they have gained more rights to stop the deals. For a prime case, look at Fernando Morientes.

I wouldn't mind loaning Lundvquist somewhere. Assuming he's not ready he could play 65 games somewhere, and Blackburn could start 65 with the Pack.... of course it'll never happen but it would be nice to see both get a major workload.

I wouldn't mind loaning Lundvquist somewhere. Assuming he's not ready he could play 65 games somewhere, and Blackburn could start 65 with the Pack.... of course it'll never happen but it would be nice to see both get a major workload.

Maybe we should wait until we know that Blackburn is actually ready to start the season--discovering and correcting the problem with the nerve in his shoulder was just the beginning of the healing process. And it will be almost impossible to "loan" players out in the AHL next season if there is a lockout at the NHL level--teams are going to juggling too many players on their rosters.

Look on the bright side: Lundqvist may blow by his competition on the Swedish team, do extremely well in the World Cup and end up as the Rangers' starting goaltender next season!

Gotta have happy dreams about something :lol:

Maybe we should wait until we know that Blackburn is actually ready to start the season--discovering and correcting the problem with the nerve in his shoulder was just the beginning of the healing process. And it will be almost impossible to "loan" players out in the AHL next season if there is a lockout at the NHL level--teams are going to juggling too many players on their rosters.

Look on the bright side: Lundqvist may blow by his competition on the Swedish team, do extremely well in the World Cup and end up as the Rangers' starting goaltender next season!

Gotta have happy dreams about something :lol:

I was assuming of course that Blackburn could play next season. It would be nice to see both goalies get major minutes... I know it's not gonna happen it was more of a "wouldn't it be good if," thats why I wrote "it would never happen, but."

I was assuming of course that Blackburn could play next season. It would be nice to see both goalies get major minutes... I know it's not gonna happen it was more of a "wouldn't it be good if," thats why I wrote "it would never happen, but."

Part of helping a prospect develop is not rushing him back from a major injury. I'm very worried that Blackburn will put too much pressure on himself (and the organization sits back and doesn't do anything) and then hurts something else in his rush to get back into playing shape. My guess is that Blackburn will need to ease back into playing and won't be ready to start regularly for a couple of months.

Actually, a (short) lockout could really help Lundqvist and Blackburn. It would give Lundqvist some time to start regularly at the beginning of the season (he's going to ready from day one anyway because of the World Cup) and take the pressure off of Blackburn to rush back. Then, if Lundqvist adjusts quickly to the smaller rinks and the lockout ends before Jan/Feb, he can come up to the NHL and be the backup/compete for the starting job--having the advantage again because he'll have been playing in competitive games since Sept. while everyone else in the NHL were playing pickup games. And Blackburn can start the majority of the games in the 2nd half of the season with the Wolfpack. Both get playing time and hopefully it shortens the time it takes for one or both of them to become impact players.

It's actually going to be very tricky, lockout or not, to get both of these kids enough playing time. Hopefully, the organization will play it right for once and our dreams (the good ones for a change) will come true.

Part of helping a prospect develop is not rushing him back from a major injury. I'm very worried that Blackburn will put too much pressure on himself (and the organization sits back and doesn't do anything) and then hurts something else in his rush to get back into playing shape. My guess is that Blackburn will need to ease back into playing and won't be ready to start regularly for a couple of months.

Actually, a (short) lockout could really help Lundqvist and Blackburn. It would give Lundqvist some time to start regularly at the beginning of the season (he's going to ready from day one anyway because of the World Cup) and take the pressure off of Blackburn to rush back. Then, if Lundqvist adjusts quickly to the smaller rinks and the lockout ends before Jan/Feb, he can come up to the NHL and be the backup/compete for the starting job--having the advantage again because he'll have been playing in competitive games since Sept. while everyone else in the NHL were playing pickup games. And Blackburn can start the majority of the games in the 2nd half of the season with the Wolfpack. Both get playing time and hopefully it shortens the time it takes for one or both of them to become impact players.

It's actually going to be very tricky, lockout or not, to get both of these kids enough playing time. Hopefully, the organization will play it right for once and our dreams (the good ones for a change) will come true.

Purely hypothetical of course because the Rangers won't loan Lundqvist but..

I think that Blackburn would probably be in training camp. Everything I've read has said that he's been having a fast recovery. Which means that after 1/4 of the season is over he'll most likely be ready to be the full time goalie. He needs desperately to be "the guy" again. If you think back he hasn't had that role since he was 17 or 18. It's time for a team to rely on him and give him a major workload. In theory a year or possibly even two should have him ready for the NHL. The guy has the menatl toughness and athletic ability that should help him become a fixture for us.

Lundvquist should also get plenty of ice time. The more games he plays the more experience he'll get with NA hockey, and the quicker he'll adjust. It is unreasonable to expect him to play in the NHL this year. If he can start 15 games towards the end of the year, then that would be great but you cant expect that at this point. He'll also most likely need a good year in the AHL to polish his game and adjust.

One question: who's higher on the depth chart? And shouldn't the prospect who's closest to playing (right now) in the NHL get every opportunity to get there?

Also, with Blackburn, remember that there is a difference between recovering from the injury and being ready to play. He hasn't been able to get a upper body workout for nearly 10 months, it's going to take a lot of physical therapy to get all those muscles back into shape. Let's see how long it is before Blackburn can hit the ice in full pads before mapping out his road back to the NHL.

One question: who's higher on the depth chart? And shouldn't the prospect who's closest to playing (right now) in the NHL get every opportunity to get there?

Also, with Blackburn, remember that there is a difference between recovering from the injury and being ready to play. He hasn't been able to get a upper body workout for nearly 10 months, it's going to take a lot of physical therapy to get all those muscles back into shape. Let's see how long it is before Blackburn can hit the ice in full pads before mapping out his road back to the NHL.

I dont know. Who is higher on the depth chart? We seem to have really forgotten about him after he missed a year. I like Lundvquist as much as the next Ranger fan, but lets not forget Blackburn playing terrific and earning a back-up spot at 18. Let's not forget that with Richter hurt he filled in and played decent hockey, not great by any stretch, but he wasnt terrible. Remember goalies like DP and Luongo getting thrown in prematurely? They got torched, and now they are both on their way to being great goalies.

I would argue that I'm more concerned with getting the most talented and mentally tough goalie ready, not necessarily the one thats closest. We are in a rebuilding stage... for once we have Time. Maybe the Ranger brass things Lundvquist has the brightest future - I don't know what their scouts say on both players. I'm merely saying not to push Blackburn down on the depth chart when the kid has major skills. His injury shouldn't change that. He may need an extra year to prepare, but thats okay.

Again I dont know everything about Blackburns recovery... I'm just saying that if he's ready we need to find games and a goalie coach for him to hone his skills. I hope he can get his strength back over the summer and hopefully play some games in training camp. I for one would love to see him playing for the Pack this year. The challenge is getting both goalies the time.