The Predators have made a few more roster moves today...with a HUGE surprise.
According to a few sources, the Predators have assigned Triston Grant, Peter Olvecky, and Nolan Yonkman to Milwaukee. All three were placed on waivers yesterday, and cleared today.
The Preds also placed Cal O'Reilly on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the Ads. We'll know tomorrow at noon if he clears waivers.
Finally - here's the shocker: Alexander Sulzer has been re-assigned to Milwaukee.
That means both Cody Franson and Teemu Laakso will be staying with Nashville - at least for now.
I cannot understand this move from a fiscal standpoint. The Preds have always shown to be a cost-conscious franchise and this is certainly not a cost-friendly move. Since Sulzer is on a one-way contract, he will be making his NHL salary even while playing in Milwaukee.
In further roster-management news, the Preds will be placing Joel Ward on IR and designating Colin Wilson as a non-roster player. John Glennon says "Wilson can be designated a non-roster player because he’s new to the league. He’ll be allowed to stay in Nashville and rehab the injury, but will make a minor-league salary."
I'll be honest - that pisses me off.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement says this about Non-Roster Players:
16.12 Non-Roster Player
(a) Upon Approval of the Commissioner, a Player who is unavailable to play due to reasons other than injury, illness, or disability, will be designated a Non-Roster Player
There is no provision for "New Players". How in the hell can they keep Wilson up there? I guess all our discussions about whether Wilson will be in Nashville or Milwaukee are moot. He's in purgatory.
Regardless of my attitudes on this matter - the Predators are at a 22 man active roster. Or will be, once Cal O'Reilly goes somewhere.
Speaking of which - I'm also mad that O'Reilly has to go through waivers. According to the CBA, a 19 year old draftee has four years of waiver exemptions that begin when his first Standard Professional Contract is signed. Cal was born in 1986, drafted in 2005, signed in 2006, and should be exempt through 2010. The CBA pisses me off.
UPDATE 8:05 pm: John Glennon posted a comment that says "According to the Preds, O'Reilly signed in 2006 as a 20 year-old, and therefore only had a three-year exemption from waivers."
However, according to Article 13.4 of the CBA, age is based on when the player is drafted, not when they sign: "For purposes of this Article; "age 19" means a Player reaching his nineteenth birthday in the calendar year of the Entry Draft;"
The lesson here is that I obviously can't understand the Collective Bargaining Agreement worth a darn. (That's not going to stop me from trying, though)
Other than that - our forward projections weren't too bad. Basically, Cal O'Reilly didn't make it and Mike Santorelli did. And someone will have to come down once Joel Ward and Colin Wilson are healthy.