This New York Post story is like a week old, but whatever -- I'm lazy enough that it's still breaking news.
The case for Lubomir Visnovsky blocking his trade from the Ducks to the Islanders is now just a matter of interpretation.
What, nobody speaks Slovakian any more? Oh, wait.
Visnovsky and the NHL Players Association, countered by representation from the league, each brought their cases to arbiter George Nicolau on Tuesday and a decision is expected sometime before Sept. 15, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires.
It's not like the players association or the league has anything more pressing to get done these next couple of days, right?
Visnovsky’s agent, Neil Sheehy, who was a witness at the hearing, said Wednesday he thinks the outcome is "50-50."
"If he loses, he goes to the Islanders happy," Sheehy told The Post. "If he wins, he would go back to Anaheim."
Hmm, so Sheehy's telling me that Lubo would be comparatively unhappy if the trade were voided. Poor Lubo, winning the grievance case that he filed -- man, that'd be a tragic outcome for anybody.
Nicolau will have to interpret if a 2010 trade from the Oilers to the Ducks permanently eliminated Visnovsky’s no-trade clause, allowing the Ducks to trade the 36-year-old defenseman without his approval on draft day to the Islanders for a second-round pick in 2013. If he went back to Anaheim, where he feels betrayed, odds are Visnovsky would force a trade to an approved team — possibly back to the Islanders, a franchise he has begun to embrace.
Visnovsky’s $5.6 million salary cap hit (with a $3 million salary) is key in getting the Islanders to the current salary-cap floor.
So let me get this straight, New York Post. The Ducks don't want the deal voided, because they've signed UFA defensemen Souray and Allen under the assumption that Lubo is traded. The Islanders don't want the deal voided, because Lubo's cap hit is an important number that helps them reach the salary floor. And apparently Lubo doesn't want the deal voided, because he'd lose out on the inherent happiness that would come from being a New York Islander.
And despite all affected parties wanting the EXACT SAME OUTCOME, the best they could pull off was a coin flip?!
Geez, I'd hate to see players and the league butt heads on something they didn't fully agree on.
Oh, wait.
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