The Lupul Situation

[hockeyfan1]

The Lupul situation explained..

[tweet]909889364037128192[/tweet]


James Mirtle  @mirtle
Replying to @TheAthleticTO

The other ramification of this: If the Leafs don't/can't use LTIR, they really don't have much cap space. So Lupul specifics matter.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Also this...

[tweet]909918466337116161[/tweet]

 

[Zee]

Heavy rumors that Lupul won't pursue any sort of grievance or second opinion because the Leafs have "something" on him they could make public if he did.  This was mentioned by Simmons on Leafs lunch yesterday so i'm not pulling it out of my ass...although with Simmons I might as well be.

 

[Can8899]

Heavy rumors that Lupul won't pursue any sort of grievance or second opinion because the Leafs have "something" on him they could make public if he did.  This was mentioned by Simmons on Leafs lunch yesterday so i'm not pulling it out of my ass...although with Simmons I might as well be.

I read that too but I don't buy it.  The only something that could possibly be keeping him quiet is some way for the Leafs to void his contract.  If that were the case, they would have done it as it would help avoid this entire situation.  Sports is a business and can be cruel so I find it hard to believe that the Leafs would just pay $10+ mil because Lupul is a nice guy if they could get out of it.

I think it's much more likely that the Leafs don't want him and saw an "out" with his injury history that would allow him to be paid to just disappear under the guise of a long term injury.  This way they're not saddled with dead cap space for 2x the length of a contract under a buyout.
 

 

[bustaheims]

That's not necessarily true. Depending on the extent of the type of issue we're speculating about here, a player could absolutely fail a physical because of it.

Again, I don't really want to dwell on this aspect of things but I very much do not think that is true.

As a pre-cursor to my response, I want to make it clear I'm not directly speculating RE: Lupul. However . . .

As someone who has both some personal experience with individuals with substance issues, as well as some academic experience, I can assure you, it is absolutely true. Substance issues can absolute have enough of an impact on an individual's health to the point where they'd fail to meet the health requirements to be cleared to play in the NHL.

 

[Kin]

As a pre-cursor to my response, I want to make it clear I'm not directly speculating RE: Lupul. However . . .

As someone who has both some personal experience with individuals with substance issues, as well as some academic experience, I can assure you, it is absolutely true. Substance issues can absolute have enough of an impact on an individual's health to the point where they'd fail to meet the health requirements to be cleared to play in the NHL.

If we are talking in terms of general vagaries, yes, I agree. Abusing certain substances to certain extents could result in health problems that would preclude playing in the NHL.

I don't think we can discuss whether or not that in anyway is applicable here without getting into specifics of the sort we are trying to tapdance around so I will just re-state, I don't think that is possible in this case.

 

[bustaheims]

I don't think we can discuss whether or not that in anyway is applicable here without getting into specifics of the sort we are trying to tapdance around so I will just re-state, I don't think that is possible in this case.

And, that's where we disagree. I think it's very much possible in this case.

 

[Kin]

I don't think we can discuss whether or not that in anyway is applicable here without getting into specifics of the sort we are trying to tapdance around so I will just re-state, I don't think that is possible in this case.

And, that's where we disagree. I think it's very much possible in this case.

Well, I hope you can at least understand just how much of a sacrifice it is for someone like me to say that we may have to leave it there rather than risk the specifics.

Because I have some good stuff in the quiver.

 

[rdowdall]

I don't think we can discuss whether or not that in anyway is applicable here without getting into specifics of the sort we are trying to tapdance around so I will just re-state, I don't think that is possible in this case.

And, that's where we disagree. I think it's very much possible in this case.

Well, I hope you can at least understand just how much of a sacrifice it is for someone like me to say that we may have to leave it there rather than risk the specifics.

Because I have some good stuff in the quiver.

You're going to start up a pay site called "Things I would have said on TMLFans", aren't you?

 

[Coco-puffs]

Also this...

[tweet]909918466337116161[/tweet]

Well, if I'm Lupul and the Leafs are planning on buying me out- to which I lose 1/3rd of my remaining money- maybe I pull a Jared Cowen and say "I was too injured to be bought out" and file a grievance over that.  So, the question becomes what is more important- trying to get back in the NHL or getting paid in full for the contract I have? 

 

[Kin]

You're going to start up a pay site called "Things I would have said on TMLFans", aren't you?

I'm at 20000 posts. It's not like I've held back on much.

 

[rdowdall]

I think that all these conspiracy theories fit to a certain degree, but I think at the end of day the simplest explanation is probably what is going on.  The Leafs don't want Lupul to play and found a way to make that happen.  Lupul while not totally opposed to this doesn't like the fact that he gets called out on social media and fires back a couple of things.

Nobody wants to think of the team that the cheer for as bending the rules, which is causing the backlash on Lupul.  The Leafs have been pretty secretive around Robidas and Lupul, so to that end, they are reaping a bit of what they have sown.  If you aren't transparent on what you are doing then you leave yourself open to speculation. 

 

[rdowdall]

You're going to start up a pay site called "Things I would have said on TMLFans", aren't you?

I'm at 20000 posts. It's not like I've held back on much.

Just the stuff that people would pay for.  I mean, you may not want to make a pay site now, but you shouldn't shoot your future self in the foot.

 

[Kin]

Just the stuff that people would pay for.  I mean, you may not want to make a pay site now, but you shouldn't shoot your future self in the foot.

I'm pretty sure that was the message of Looper anyway.

 

[Kin]

Nobody wants to think of the team that the cheer for as bending the rules, which is causing the backlash on Lupul.

I don't think it's that complex. I think it's like Seinfeld said. Some people are just cheering for Laundry.

 

[rdowdall]

Just the stuff that people would pay for.  I mean, you may not want to make a pay site now, but you shouldn't shoot your future self in the foot.

I'm pretty sure that was the message of Looper anyway.

This is good on so many levels. 

 

[rdowdall]

Nobody wants to think of the team that the cheer for as bending the rules, which is causing the backlash on Lupul.

I don't think it's that complex. I think it's like Seinfeld said. Some people are just cheering for Laundry.

I may be applying some of my own lines of thinking to others with my original statement.  I don't like thinking of the Leafs as being cheaters.  I believe that they don't always do things on the up and up, so I accept that stories like this may come out.  I also believe that they aren't the only team to do things like this. 

 

[pnjunction]

I also believe that they aren't the only team to do things like this.

That came up on one of the panels I watched...there's a lot of glass houses around the league for anyone to be throwing any stones at the Leafs over this.

 

[Kin]

I may be applying some of my own lines of thinking to others with my original statement.  I don't like thinking of the Leafs as being cheaters. 

I think I'd agree if we were talking about "cheating" in the sense of actually making the games themselves unfair like using illegal sticks or something but when it comes to cap violations...eh. I don't think the cap is primarily an instrument of fairness or integrity so it's hard for me to look at violating it as an ethical concern.

 

[Zee]

I may be applying some of my own lines of thinking to others with my original statement.  I don't like thinking of the Leafs as being cheaters. 

I think I'd agree if we were talking about "cheating" in the sense of actually making the games themselves unfair like using illegal sticks or something but when it comes to cap violations...eh. I don't think the cap is primarily an instrument of fairness so or integrity so it's hard for me to look at violating it as an ethical concern.

I'm with Nik here, if the Leafs were caught bribing officials to affect the outcome of games that's one thing, but using their financial might to get around cap concerns with some gray area injury definitions, that doesn't bother me.  Every team tries to get around the cap situation in one way or another.