TylerDCA

Fergusen is attempting to pull one over on the league. Sign a player to a RICH AHL contract before the draft. Skip the draft and become Leaf property in 3 years.

Here is an article:

Report: Leafs offer Tavares AHL deal - Sportsnet.ca

If this works. Wow!

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Canuck

very interesting article. But i dont think Tavares would accept because he would be playing in the ahl when he could be playing in the nhl. I think he wants to get right into the nhl when hes 19

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hockeyboy14

Leafs tried to do the same thing with Sidney Crosby before he was drafted.
The only way Tavares is going to be with the Leafs and give up 3 years of NHL playing time, will be for the love of the Leafs.

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TylerDCA

The thing is this is a different animal.

If the NHL decides that he isn't eligible for the draft next year. Then 08-09 he would be in junior making next to no cash.

Then maybe he plays as a 19 year old, or maybe similar to guys like Toews, Malkin, Ryan, both Johnsons, he plays another year in junior or plays a year in the A in 09-10, Then in 10-11 you can be pretty sure he would be playing in the NHL on a rookie deal for 850k.

Option B: He signs in the AHL 3 years 6 million per. He misses 1 or 2 years of NHL time, but makes 6 million each. Then he also guarantees that he plays for his favorite team rather than Atlanta, Nashville or who ever sucks at the time (Leafs would probably still be in teh running).

Its an interesting situation with this draft eligibility.

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Hockey North Star

ugh....what an ass move, clever but ass. It almost has an odour a la Eric Lindros....

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Dgill

I think that's the worse thing the kid could do.

Sign a nice big fat pay cheque at a young age, and let it all run to his head. There's also no way in hell Tavares will be playing an extra year of junour after he's drafted, if he does, it will be ridiculous. He's breaking records set by Gretzky for gods sakes.

I'd sooner Tavares play for the love of the game, not for material such as money if that's what it all comes down to.

Even if he does begin to consider the possibility, there is going to be a war over this.

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Dgill

Leafs looking at signing Tavares to AHL deal? Don t bother says AHL prez
NHL.com - News

For the rest of the league, no worries now it looks like. Story is continued below. Sounds like Tavares agents never even knew of this claim, so it's begininning to sound more like a phoney rumour made up on a slow day by somebody...

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hockeyboy14

AHL and NHL have the same bylaws, but theres nothing against him playing for the Marlies when he's 18.

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Hockey North Star

The same rules that will keep John Tavares out of the NHL will prevent him from playing in the AHL next season, despite attempts by the Toronto Maple Leafs to sign the 17-year-old phenom to a minor pro contract.

AHL president David Andrews, responding to reports that the Maple Leafs have offered Tavares a contract to play for the Toronto Marlies next season, said the league’s by-laws with respect to player eligibility are the same as the NHL’s. AHL by-law 2(d) states that only players who have reached their 18th birthday by Sept. 15 of that season are eligible to play.

Andrews said the rule could be changed with a 75 percent approval from the league’s board of governors, but didn’t seem optimistic that would happen.

“Giving you the benefit of my 20 years of experience on the board, it hasn’t been very often that an amendment to our by-laws relative to players has been approved when it affects competitive balance,” Andrews told thehockeynews.com. “Those three-quarters of the teams that would need to vote in favor are going to have to play against this guy.”

Players under the age of 18 have played in the minors in the past, notably Radek Bonk, Petr Sykora and Sergei Samsonov, but all played in the defunct International Hockey League and not the AHL.

Tavares, who is not eligible to be drafted into the NHL until 2009, leads the OHL in scoring with 15 goals and 28 points in 12 games. Last season he was named Canadian Major Junior Hockey player of the year after scoring 72 goals (beating Wayne Gretzky’s record for 16-year-olds) and 134 points in 67 games.

Asked if there is anything in an OHL player’s standard contract that would prevent him from jumping to the AHL, OHL commissioner David Branch told thehockeynews.com: “I’m really not familiar with this story. In terms of some of the legal aspects, the National Hockey League (is) who should respond.”

Both the Toronto Star and Globe and Mail reported the Leafs hope to sign Tavares to a three-year contract and then convince him to forego the 2009 draft and then declare himself an unrestricted free agent in 2011.

Thestar.com says the Leafs would like to pursue one of three options: sign Tavares to a one-year AHL deal and then release him to the NHL draft when he is eligible; sign him to a multi-year deal and then trades his rights to the NHL team that drafts him or; sign him to a three-year deal with the Marlies, have him ignore the team that drafts him in 2009 so he’ll be free to sign with Toronto as a UFA in 2011.
FULL STORY

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