The Lupul Situation

[hockeyfan1]

This article was written a year ago but still very much :relevant considering Lupul & co.'s situation with the Maple Leafs:

What Toronto does gain from Robidas and Lupul sitting out is two roster spots, which they can give to kids such as Connor Carrick and Mitch Marner, who are the future of the organization and focus of training camp, which begins on the ice in Halifax on Friday. They also keep their farm team reserved for prospects and centred on development.

Overall, the Leafs are spending a pile of money on players who won't play for them. Including Robidas's $3-million deal, Lupul, Nathan Horton, Jared Cowen's disputed contract, Tim Gleason's buyout and the retained salary from Phil Kessel's deal, they could be spending up to $19.2-million on thin air next season, almost exclusively on cleaning up mistakes left by previous management teams.


https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/joffrey-lupul-starts-pre-season-on-maple-leafs-injured-reserve-list/article31999378/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&

 

[bustaheims]

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.

If anything, I'd be upset if they weren't looking at every possible way to take advantage of loopholes related to the cap.

 

[bustaheims]

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?

Also, buying Lupul out is not necessarily the most beneficial solution. If the Leafs truly aren't able LTIR Lupul (a questionable premise, but a possibility), and legitimately needed the space to start the season, they would actually be in a better position moving forward if they activated him and demoted him instead of buying him out. The cap savings from having him in the AHL is only ~$240K less, but they'd save $1.25M in penalties next season.

 

[bustaheims]

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.

 

[Bullfrog]

I think part of the problem is calling it a physical. That's not necessarily inaccurate, but in the CBA it's stated as "injured, ill or disabled and is unable to perform his duties as a hockey player." I'm sure there's some leeway in claiming the latter part.

Frogman, that strikes me as wallowing in semantics for no real reason. Luckily, that's my bread and butter so your point is taken. Rather than say "he didn't fail his physical" I will instead say "He is not physically unable to play and statements to the contrary are bogus".

That's morally low, but if he's not going to fight it, there's not much else he can really complain about.

To re-iterate, I don't think his comments were in any way a "complaint" about the Leafs decision or the current situation. I think it was a complaint about mouth-breathing fans showing up on his instagram and saying things to the effect of "How come you can do that when you're too injured to play?!?!?!"

I'll freely admit to being pedantic at times, but I'll also admit to not often putting care into my own words. ha!

Anyway, my focus on semantics here was mostly because I think it IS causing issues for some people. It's as if they're thinking, "he failed his physical, but yet is still able to walk and breathe and go snowboarding. SOMETHING NEFARIOUS IS HAPPENING!!" Though I'm admittedly on the TML's side here, I'm suggesting that there could be many reasons he's failed his physical.

My morally low comment is in regards to him failing a physical while actually being physically able to play, but the Leafs proceeding knowing there's a reason he won't fight it.

Nonetheless, this discussion is a good example of the overblown reactions of typical fans (many of us included.) While I won't claim any knowledge of fact other than the Leafs declaring he didn't pass, I do agree with you that none of us should be surprised that something is going on that might not be 100% on the up-and-up.

 

[herman]

https://twitter.com/jlupul/status/910656646115762176
www.twitter.com/jlupul/status/910656646115762176

Tomorrow?s the deadline for filing for getting a second opinion on his medical clearance.

 

[ZBBM]

Like I said, the guy's in mourning and snapped off a response.

(Also, he's got a low battery and uses a retrograde cell carrier.)

 

[Zee]

Well, that's that.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

*whispers* he still probably didn't actually take a physical

 

[cabber24]

Lou standing behind him with his hand on Lupul's shoulder as he writes the text.

 

[Kin]

*whispers* he still probably didn't actually take a physical

He didn't actually say that anything he said was untrue.

 

[Frank E]

*whispers* he still probably didn't actually take a physical

He didn't actually say that anything he said was untrue.

Well, he did say he wouldn't be seeking a second opinion...that would suggest he has a first.

 

[Kin]

Well, he did say he wouldn't be seeking a second opinion...that would suggest he has a first.

Sure. But as Bullfrog pointed out, we knew that. What is, and has always been, the point of contention is the honesty/validity of that opinion.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I didn't bring this up at first because I was trying to find the actual video of Lou's comments but they didn't seem to be recorded. So when he first announced that Lupul (and Horton) failed their physicals some seemed to report that they both came to Toronto to take them. That felt weird to me, because I know last year and likely before that too Horton definitely took his physicals outside of Toronto. Obviously, why would he leave his home or wherever he is to fly to Toronto just to take a test he knew was pointless.

So, I dunno, that just stood out to me as weird. They were both apparently in Toronto and yet nobody noticed? I find that a little hard to believe.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

While it does seem out of the ordinary, on the opening day of camp when most were doing fitness testing/medicals it turned out that all of the expected roster players had taken/been offered to take all their testing in the week prior and none of the media knew about it.

I don't think two guys slipping in and out for testing is that big of a stretch.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

While it does seem out of the ordinary, on the opening day of camp when most were doing fitness testing/medicals it turned out that all of the expected roster players had taken/been offered to take all their testing in the week prior and none of the media knew about it.

I don't think two guys slipping in and out for testing is that big of a stretch.

But all of those expected roster players had been hanging around the Leafs facilities for awhile prior to that during their unofficial training camp skates. So it wouldn't have been a surprise if someone saw Kadri or Rielly walk in. But Lupul? Somebody who everyone in the media has probably been dying to speak to in 1.5 years? That's a stretch.

Further to that, why would the Leafs have even flown him out to Toronto to take his physical even in the off-chance that somebody did spot him and bombard him with questions. Why not just have him take an out-of-town physical like Horton definitely did last year? Maybe it is true that he took his testing in Toronto because the Leafs wanted to make sure their own people did it...

Regardless, anybody who thinks that this entire situation is 100% squeaky clean is kidding themselves. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing. This stuff happens in the NHL and it's fine.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Think of it this way... Polak barely has 2 working legs and he's allowed to take part in training camp. But Lupul, a guy whose out there skiing and playing tennis and volleyball can't? Yeah, ok.

 

[Kin]

While I won't claim any knowledge of fact other than the Leafs declaring he didn't pass, I do agree with you that none of us should be surprised that something is going on that might not be 100% on the up-and-up.

Regardless, anybody who thinks that this entire situation is 100% squeaky clean is kidding themselves. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing. This stuff happens in the NHL and it's fine.

This is really all I've been trying to say. We don't need to freak out and demand an investigation here but on the other hand it doesn't do anyone credit to be Captain Renault and be positively shocked that there's gambling going on in Casablanca.

 

[herman]

Think of it this way... Polak barely has 2 working legs and he's allowed to take part in training camp. But Lupul, a guy whose out there skiing and playing tennis and volleyball can't? Yeah, ok.

It's really funny when you put it this way.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

Think of it this way... Polak barely has 2 working legs and he's allowed to take part in training camp. But Lupul, a guy whose out there skiing and playing tennis and volleyball can't? Yeah, ok.

It's infinitely possible and I'd hazard they are probably doing a lot more nefarious things that we don't get wind of, I'm under no illusions that the team is some great bastion of all that is right and noble in the world.

I'm simply pointing out that until we have any kind of evidence, anecdotal or otherwise to the contrary, why not take them at their word?

With the strong caveat that there is probably more to all of this than we will ever know.