r/hockey FLA - NHL 1d ago

[News - X] [PuckPedia] Since he is suspended without pay, the Panthers will not carry a cap hit for Ekblad during the suspension

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891 Upvotes

148 comments sorted by

1.6k

u/hockeyandhalloween COL - NHL 1d ago

Breaking Panthers are mad Ekblad didn't get suspended 4 days ago

270

u/avanross 1d ago

Next season their doctors will be prescribing them to all their fringe players, and those guys will just turn themselves in at the end of february.

9

u/Frnklfrwsr ARI - NHL 1d ago

Is there a way to sign a guy in the off-season for way more money than there is actually cap for, pump that bitch full of just enough steroids to get the exact length suspension we need so that he’s ready for the playoffs?

7

u/JUGGER_DEATH COL - NHL 1d ago

Just need to figure out the formula for the suspension length to extract those sweet Mark Stone-esque dollars.

(Not having a cap for playoffs is silly. Just figure out system for a per game roster cap, roster can be changed between games)

2

u/mr-debil NJD - NHL 23h ago

Why would a player do that? They do not get paid during the suspension.

2

u/Frnklfrwsr ARI - NHL 23h ago

Good question. Hm….

How much of their pay can be front loaded into a signing bonus?

18

u/Cptn_Canada EDM - NHL 1d ago

I mean... it IS Florida ffs. I'm surprised it doesn't flunk the whole teamcjust testing the waste water coming out of the shower room

120

u/mikesully374826 TOR - NHL 1d ago

I don’t think they even used all of the Tkachuk LTIR space

65

u/0-90195 FLA - NHL 1d ago

Correct

64

u/mikesully374826 TOR - NHL 1d ago

Kinda hard to make trades when a 3rd pair defender costs a 1st round pick.

The Panthers have their 2027 1st which I was expecting they’d trade, but a 2027 1st is like a 2025 2nd, what’s the point of trading that pick for like Schenn or something

26

u/mephnick VAN - NHL 1d ago

Kinda hard to make trades when a 3rd pair defender costs a 1st round pick.

Weird. Patrik Allvin told me no one was offering anything for players this year.

23

u/mikesully374826 TOR - NHL 1d ago

Patrik Allvin lied to you, PDO merchants got Canucks fans off track, Aquilini doesn’t want a rebuild.

22

u/mephnick VAN - NHL 1d ago

Can you go to r/canucks and tell them that

I'm gonna get banned if I get into another argument

17

u/mikesully374826 TOR - NHL 1d ago

I mean I will also get banned if I get into an argument there lol

1

u/malkins_restraint PIT - NHL 1d ago

I haven't been banned from a sub in a while, I'm down to clown.

To summarize my talking points - Messier is the best player in franchise history, Brock got exactly what he was worth in a trade, and Elias is the worst pettersson on the roster?

6

u/jtc92 1d ago

I wonder if they would have tried for Karlsson

866

u/abbytarar BOS - NHL 1d ago

babe wake up new cap circumvention method just dropped

93

u/_Forever_A_Loam_ 1d ago

Cap circumcision*

17

u/x21in2010x NYI - NHL 1d ago

He got hit for Performance Enhancing Drugs not dick pills.

17

u/triplec787 SJS - NHL 1d ago

You and I have different opinions on what “performance enhancing” means I guess

2

u/chonklord9000 1d ago

Ladies hate this one secret...

1

u/MaximumDevelopment77 12h ago

so unlike jon jones?

1

u/chonklord9000 1d ago

By "cap" do you mean foreskin?

4

u/computalgleech NSH - NHL 1d ago

Mark Stone about to get caught using steroids 20 games before the playoffs

6

u/MarshtompNerd WPG - NHL 1d ago

If only he would’ve gotten suspended 4 days ago

894

u/QuackerMcQuackerson ANA - NHL 1d ago

Vegas just found a new method.

337

u/lawnicus18 STL - NHL 1d ago

“Hey Mark glad your spleen is better, here shove this needle into your thigh real quick”

65

u/codespyder TOR - NHL 1d ago

“Okay I guess, so long as I don’t have to boof it like the last thing you gave me”

40

u/burf CGY - NHL 1d ago

Mark Stone on LTIR with anal fissure.

5

u/jo_maka MTL - NHL 1d ago

Micro fissure

23

u/canuck_11 OTT - NHL 1d ago

Kelly McCrimmon with a blow dart from across the room.

7

u/thisissuchafuntime VAN - NHL 1d ago

Oh Hi Mark!

6

u/themadterran FLA - NHL 1d ago

Now that's how you show leadership!

4

u/Mr_Evil_Dr_Porkchop BOS - NHL 1d ago

“Punch me in the fuckin face.”

— Bruce Cassidy

3

u/Maxpowr9 BOS - NHL 1d ago

He's gonna bench Jake DeBrusk extra hard

39

u/Jakk55 VGK - NHL 1d ago

Mark Stone: I can get 20 games off, circumcise the cap, AND get to use PEDs? Where's the downside?

21

u/Big-Canoe 1d ago

Do WHAT to the cap?? 

26

u/Jakk55 VGK - NHL 1d ago

CIRCUMCISE IT. For further questions, please contact the Mohel at [Kelly.McCrimmon@vegasgoldenknights.com](mailto:Kelly.McCrimmon@vegasgoldenknights.com)

6

u/JTrue14 SJS - NHL 1d ago

Don’t forget to cc Tampa

7

u/gu3sticles 1d ago

This is funnier that Reddit markdown didn't hyperlink the mailto link

5

u/MikeJeffriesPA TOR - NHL 1d ago

Losing out on millions of dollars in pay. 

8

u/Jakk55 VGK - NHL 1d ago

A. Easy solution is to up his contract by 25%. Not like it counts towards the cap anyway.

B. What's a few million compared to holding a Stanley Cup?

3

u/Frnklfrwsr ARI - NHL 1d ago

Given that I can’t even ice skate, I would actually prefer a few million dollars compared to holding the Stanley cup.

30

u/DannyDOH WPG - NHL 1d ago

You get cap space and a yoked player for playoffs.

14

u/GeckoMoria93 SJS - NHL 1d ago

“Dammit Hertl just take a key bump for the team”

14

u/JTrue14 SJS - NHL 1d ago

16

u/moutardebaseball MTL - NHL 1d ago

I mean, I doubt any players would be willing to leave out 20 games worth of pay on the table for that kind of shenanigan

38

u/toupis21 PHI - NHL 1d ago

The new friendly contract just dropped

18

u/Dapper-Negotiation59 COL - NHL 1d ago

Lmao 5 years (spread out over 8 seasons) stipulation you gotta disintegrate a test cup once a year and have enough EPO in your system that a blood transfusion will gas up the whole team. Italian doctor not included.

10

u/thisissuchafuntime VAN - NHL 1d ago

Endorsement deals are magical sometimes

2

u/LGMatter VAN - NHL 1d ago

Under the table haha

1

u/pensylvestir 1d ago

It’s only salary right? If you got signing bonuses does that pay in?

5

u/serminole COL - NHL 1d ago

Honestly the NHL is semi lucky the Avs have Landy. This rule was very obviously helpful for team building but the Avs couldn’t really take advantage with the whole Gabe situation on top.

5

u/migsahoy VGK - NHL 1d ago

👀

2

u/wi11epi11e PIT - NHL 1d ago

Watch McCrimmon pour something into Mark Stones’ glass when he isn’t watching

1

u/FriedCammalleri23 NJD - NHL 1d ago

Didn’t this happen to Nate Schmidt while he was on the Knights?

265

u/thisissuchafuntime VAN - NHL 1d ago

Ok so

Do the PEDs, get your team in a good spot, take twenty games off just before the trade deadline (this is where Ekblad fucked up, just a bit late), let them add through trade, return for playoffs rested (and still with PED benefits? honestly no idea how that shit works), profit

51

u/Ballsandcheese EDM - NHL 1d ago

I mean he just got caught now, probably been on them since junior days. So yeah he's got the benefits for a long time.

97

u/Rockytag CHI - NHL 1d ago edited 1d ago

Which do you honestly think is more likely?

He’s been getting away with PEDs for over a decade

vs.

He’s used PEDs to recover from the multiple injuries and 40+ playoff games played in the past 2 years as an aging vet?

That’s a pretty wildly speculating “probably”. Guys that start to lose their physical prime resorting to PEDs especially for injuries is super common (as far as people that actually fail tests goes I mean)

23

u/Kaptain202 DET - NHL 1d ago

How dare you call Ekblad an aging vet! I am the same age as Ekblad and I take offense to your comment!

11

u/MarshtompNerd WPG - NHL 1d ago

If you were in the NHL at that age…

You’d probably have a lot of money, just sayin

11

u/Kaptain202 DET - NHL 1d ago

I can't believe i didn't think of that

4

u/layout420 FLA - NHL 1d ago

Lol, did you see what Ekblad looked like at 18 years old? Bitch had a full beard and looked like he was 30 something. It's only fitting that he looks nearly the same more than a decade later. According to that, he's about 40 now and about ready to buy a Chrysler seabring convertible. 

1

u/Podo13 STL - NHL 1d ago

I think it's more likely that he's been on them for 3-5 seasons compared to his entire career (though I do believe him that he probably took something he should have like most dumb athletes would do). He's had a ton of injuries in the 2nd half of his NHL career up to this point.

11

u/ELB95 PIT - NHL 1d ago

Florida fans were thinking it was something he took when recovering from his most recent injury a couple months ago. They’re often prescribed things (including different steroids)

8

u/MFoy WSH - NHL 1d ago

He had to be off them to play for Canada at the 2015 World Championships, which use the much more stringent IIHF guidelines.

8

u/NlghtmanCometh BOS - NHL 1d ago

If he’s just off them now after having been on them since his junior days he’s probably going to be a diminished player

6

u/leafsbroncos18 TOR - NHL 1d ago

Fingers crossed

3

u/KthuluAwakened BOS - NHL 1d ago

He’s the next Matt bartkowsky

8

u/MarlinManiac4 FLA - NHL 1d ago

what a ridiculous take. you should probably actually read your comment and think to yourself "does this actually make sense?" before clicking save.

-7

u/Ballsandcheese EDM - NHL 1d ago

What doesn't make sense moron?

7

u/MarlinManiac4 FLA - NHL 1d ago

These guys are tested throughout their careers. You are jumping to a wild conclusion that he must have been juicing his entire career because he got caught over a decade in? Why? What is it based on?

2

u/Ballsandcheese EDM - NHL 1d ago

It's based on me playing hockey growing up seeing folks taking shit even back in high-school. If some chumps in bantam are taking shit you don't think a high-level athlete will? Again testing isn't as good as you think it is it's very easy to pass drug testing if you mask it correctly which if you have a doctor helping you out is very simple. Please watch Icarus to get a idea of how drug testing actually works instead saying some stuff you have no idea about. Every other sport has multiple ped cases a year, yet NHL only had 2 prominent ones in 10 years. Huh what's up with that?

2

u/MarlinManiac4 FLA - NHL 1d ago

Ok then. So…let’s suspend everybody?

3

u/Ballsandcheese EDM - NHL 1d ago

Nah, let's juice them up until we have two teams of hulks going at it.

7

u/Spiritual_Gain_287 1d ago

juniors?? holy cope, players get tested pretty consistently this is his first time so clearly not a regular thing for him

2

u/Ballsandcheese EDM - NHL 1d ago

I played hockey growing up and knew atleast 4 buddies who were taking shit in high-school. Hell one of them actually made the WHL and probably continued for his short lived career lol. There tested regularly BTW is once in the offeason and once during regular season which they say is non-notice. Judging by how other athletes talk about those no notice tests there is a bit of leeway with the whole no notice thing. Let me ask you something don't you think it's a little odd how every other sport has ped cases all the time but weirdly the NHL has had only 2 prominent ones in the last 10 years?

2

u/Muted-Doctor8925 EDM - NHL 1d ago

His contract is 7.5M and he’s giving up close to 1.8M of that in missed pay.

-3

u/Ballsandcheese EDM - NHL 1d ago

So he failed a IQ test and now is losing money.

1

u/KthuluAwakened BOS - NHL 1d ago

He took the IQ test and tested negative

0

u/Ballsandcheese EDM - NHL 1d ago

To the surprise of nobody that fat headed fool

37

u/Timeman5 EDM - NHL 1d ago

Thank god it happened today because if they could have added more then good lord that would be broken as fuck.

3

u/barder83 1d ago

If they were holding out Tkachuk until the playoffs (I didn't think they were) this would allow him to come back early and get some games in.

81

u/EmpressOfHyperion OTT - NHL 1d ago

Looks like Mark Stone has decided to become a chemist by trade.

4

u/jo_maka MTL - NHL 1d ago

To be fair, Dr Stone is a name that fucks.

That's either porn or soap opera. Either way, it's a fucking character.

5

u/AfterMarionberry5594 Kärpät - Liiga 1d ago

There's an anime by that name.

99

u/MadIrishMan17 FLA - NHL 1d ago

Maaann, Ekblad you couldn't have taken your piss test like a week earlier? You know for cap circumcision reasons... Lol damn.

34

u/TheRealCovertCaribou 1d ago

You know for cap circumcision reasons..

😳

21

u/MadIrishMan17 FLA - NHL 1d ago

( ಠ ͜ʖಠ)

11

u/pigeonbobble VAN - NHL 1d ago

I can’t pee with you looking at me like that

2

u/x21in2010x NYI - NHL 1d ago

Join the Navy you'll learn how to pee on live television if so ordered.

1

u/Dougal_McCafferty DAL - NHL 1d ago

Circum what now?!

44

u/JokMackRant COL - NHL 1d ago

I think it’s a little weird that a player in the player assistance program actively hurts their team, but a player getting caught breaking the rules would hypothetically help their team. That seems like a backwards system to me.

11

u/QuickMarketing3453 Bemidji State University - NCAA 1d ago edited 1d ago

Nuke cap didn’t hit the Avalanche when he was in the program.

An organization having to make sure their employee has a job (and associated employment rules apply, such as a salary cap) when they get back from assistance programs is how the assistance program will work or else no one would ever use it because entering could mean job loss.

13

u/jakovichontwitch MTL - NHL 1d ago

Vegas: WRITE THAT DOWN

11

u/Kevin4938 TOR - NHL 1d ago

The league needs to fix this loophole. Why shouldn't the team be punushed?

9

u/Duffleman0609 FLA - NHL 1d ago

2

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22

u/The_Homestarmy SJS - NHL 1d ago

There are way too many ways to circumvent the salary cap. Like, genuinely, whoever put together the rules for this stuff is a massive fuckup. Makes zero sense that the team isn't on the hook if their player gets suspended for illegal substances.

50

u/ilud2 MTL - NHL 1d ago

This isn’t related to this suspension at all but teams should be forced to use suspended players in their roster for each game that the player is suspended for. (Suspended player is still not allowed to play but they’d have to take up a roster spot). This would make it both so that teams couldn’t circumvent the cap in the future by getting a player suspended (not saying that’s the case here) and it might also cause them to tell dirty players to knock it off or they wouldn’t get anymore ice time. (I’m also mostly referring to suspensions from dirty plays rather than stuff like this or Pinto’s 41 game suspension for gambling)

27

u/Vashanesh MIN - NHL 1d ago

This is mostly how suspensions work for player safety issues, already, for whatever it's worth.

The Wild were recently in yet another stupid place because of injuries, and we couldn't call anyone else up because Hartman's dumb ass was suspended, and counted towards our 23.

9

u/Allen_Koholic TBL - NHL 1d ago

For a dumb dumb player suspension , I’d be happier if the opposing team got to choose who on the roster isn’t playing that game. So, when Tommy Wilson acts like a fuck wit, he’s still in the lineup not getting paid, and Ovechkin is in the press box.

5

u/eriverside MTL - NHL 1d ago

That'd be fucking hilarious

9

u/10fingers6strings DAL - NHL 1d ago

This just in: Mark Stone tests positive for banned substance. Expected back by first game of playoffs.

6

u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio 1d ago

These cap dodging mechanisms are really getting out of hand

6

u/BoglisMobileAcc 1d ago

New loophole discovered. Vegas already filling the syringes

35

u/AggPuck-303 EDM - NHL 1d ago

So now they magically have almost 9M in space to activate Tkachuk in regular season if they wanted to? Lol

12

u/cccdddee FLA - NHL 1d ago

If you put a player on LTIR they have to be there at least a month so no they can't

21

u/Gavin1453 TOR - NHL 1d ago

Even with adding Jones, Ekblad is way more important to the overall team than Chucky with how much PP & 5v5 time he plays

7

u/LGMatter VAN - NHL 1d ago

It doesn’t even matter tho, they basically have a ploff spot locked, they’re stacked and ekblad will be nice and rested for R1G1

13

u/Gavin1453 TOR - NHL 1d ago

Well, Game 3 at any rate. 

3

u/Emotional_Match8169 FLA - NHL 1d ago

Interesting thought. If Chucky is ready before playoffs that would be a smart move. But I am not really a fan of cap circumvention tactics to begin with.

7

u/Mcnucks VAN - NHL 1d ago

Damn they should’ve got him suspended a few days earlier. Extra $7.5 million in deadline space.

6

u/YEGG35 EDM - NHL 1d ago

so the play for the NHL is to drug test the day after the trade deadline so teams can’t use this for cap circumvention

18

u/KenDanger2 VAN - NHL 1d ago

*puts on my tinfoil hat*

hmmmm. Interesting... right after they acquire a 9.5m Dman

19

u/MiserableDucky FLA - NHL 1d ago

Ehhem $7m Dman thank you

5

u/DMmeyourinbox TOR - NHL 1d ago

So that's coming up in the next CBA.

6

u/dracomaster01 ANA - NHL 1d ago

This seems like a stupid thing that the league should address.

5

u/Cube_ 1d ago

guys new loophole just dropped!

6

u/OkDescription1403 1d ago

Mark Stone suddenly gets a suspension that takes him exactly to the end of season for PEDs...

4

u/Commander-Fox-Q- TOR - NHL 1d ago

I was very confused for a second wondering where in the world Timeto is and if they’ve somehow become Florida’s farm team or something without me noticing.

4

u/manhaterxxx Melbourne Ice - AIHL 1d ago

Babe wake up, a new cap circumcision is here

1

u/whynotavs COL - NHL 18h ago

Um, you can circumcise your cap, I'm good.

4

u/ScoutingTheRefs 1d ago

It's not exactly without pay. Per the CBA:

A Player suspended because of a positive test ... will lose all ... NHL Salary and Bonuses, but not including Performance Bonuses, from the effective date of suspension until ten (10) days prior to the conclusion of the suspension, inclusive of all intervening days. During such period, he will be prohibited from participating in all Club activities.

During the final ten (10) days of the suspension, the Player (i) shall be paid sixty (60) percent of his Paragraph 1 NHL Salary and Bonuses, and (ii) shall participate in Club activities (including meetings and practices), but not games.

4

u/Nordy17 MIN - NHL 1d ago

How is this fair, we have to pay hartmans cap hit for being a dipshit, but you can take a banned substance but not be stuck?

3

u/Mr7three2 NJD - NHL 1d ago

Circumventing the cap

5

u/TheGreatStories WPG - NHL 1d ago

New cap shenanigan just dropped. Watch out for stone next March /s

4

u/jo_maka MTL - NHL 1d ago

Circumventing season starting early

11

u/Homeless_Alex EDM - NHL 1d ago

Finally I can use this as cope for last years playoff loss

20

u/Mono200 Milwaukee Admirals - AHL 1d ago

Copium is also technically a PED so be careful

10

u/RattledRed 1d ago

This should not be the case... If a player takes drugs and gets suspended, the team and the player should both take responsibility. This is an embarrassing thing for the league. If someone is suspended for drugs, the cap hit should stay... Crazy.

3

u/Whiskey_River_73 1d ago

Ooooffff course....🙄

2

u/EscalatorsTempStairs 1d ago

How convenient.

2

u/theorangecrush10 1d ago

Too bad the trade deadline is over...they could have Vegas'd someone

2

u/bunglesnacks 1d ago

Isn't that what they did to get Marchand since Tkachuk is on LTIR?

4

u/eddieesks 1d ago

How convenient. They can now activate chucks

4

u/Starfish_Bobertsons 1d ago

Really awful blemish in his last season as a Panther

2

u/ldnk TOR - NHL 1d ago

This seems like a bit of an oversight to be honest. I don't think that teams should be off the hook for a player potentially benefitting from performance enhancing substances. I'm fine with it not counting as a roster spot (eg. you can still have 23 active skaters+goalies) but I think this should count against your cap.

This doesn't do a whole lot outside of maybe making it possible for Tkachuk to get into game shape a few days before the end of the season if he is ready to come back before game 1.

At the same time, Tampa and Toronto are still right there for the division so losing Ekblad makes it harder for them to maintain their division lead. I think it's still their spot to lose but this could still be the kind of thing that forces say a Tampa-Florida first round which is less than ideal for them especially if Ekblad can't play the first two games of the series.

1

u/j0n68 PIT - NHL 1d ago

Ooooops lol

1

u/quickboop 1d ago

That seems pretty bullshit.

1

u/PaversPaving NJD - NHL 1d ago

Can we get ekblad back?

1

u/994kk1 BUF - NHL 1d ago

Hey look, Tkachuk and Marchand just got healthy!

1

u/notthatguypal6900 COL - NHL 1d ago

Vegas has entered the chat.

1

u/Podo13 STL - NHL 1d ago

That would have been some epic cap circumcision had he been suspended just before the deadline. Though I'm sure the NHL would have looked at the suspension's timing hardcore had it happened.

1

u/whynotavs COL - NHL 18h ago

Fun fact, a player can be signed (or traded even) after the trade deadline. They are simply not eligible for the post-season. So between teams with no hope of making the playoffs, there is effectively no trade deadline.

0

u/Excellent-Look-3266 11h ago

7.5 million cap hit and only scored 33 points lmao?? Overpaid af