Grievance
Lowetide
July 29 2011 06:24PM
The Los Angeles Kings have filed a grievance with the NHL in regard to Colin Fraser's health at the time of the Ryan Smyth trade.
Helene Elliott, LA Times reporter and the single most reliable source on this story, tweeted the following earlier today:
-
Colin Fraser, acquired by Kings in Smyth trade, had ankle surgery on unhealed fracture this week. Agent says not sure how long recovery will take. Kings have filed formal grievance over Fraser's fitness/injury.
One of the possible outcomes for this trade is a reversal of the entire deal. Commissioner Gary Bettman will resolve the deal and his powers are enormous in this area. He can fine a club, take draft picks away from clubs, reverse the trade and do anything he deems to be proper in the execution of the trade. My thanks to Jewels from The Crown for the information.
I think credit is due Dean Lombardi in this matter. If an NHL General Manager is willing to say this in public:
- "the bottom line for me, I would have rather invested my money with Bernie Madoff than invest in Edmonton’s word"
He ought to have the decency to follow through and display the courage of his convictions. Dean Lombardi felt the Oilers acted in bad faith, and the Oilers clearly feel they have not stepped outside the law of the NHL. It will be a very interesting outcome and could have a huge impact on both teams.
What a turd that Lombardi is....
damn...
At the very least this SHOULD end Lombardi's endless belly aching. And I emphasized should because if Bettman sees nothing wrong with this trade do you think Dean will just sit on his hands? Doubt it.
The good thing is that he's following through. The Oilers would have done their due diligence on it and followed the rules, and the Kings feel they've been wronged.
There's a disconnect here and this will solve it. I'm actually looking forward to it, the NHL normally doesn't air their dirty laundry in public. I still expect some boring result, but there's a chance this trade gets reversed and that will impact many, many people.
Lombardi is digging his own grave. Not too often we get to see a GM meltdown in the NHL. Keanan, Milbury, and now Lombardi.
The Oilers told LA he had a broken foot that wasn't completely healed. Lombardi chose to make the deal anyway, instead of waiting for Fraser's next checkup with the Oilers, or having his own doctors examine him.
In that case, the Oilers did nothing wrong.
Lombardi was in a hurry and didn't do due diligence.
In a way I would like to see it reversed, just for the chaos that it would cause.
Okay, final offer, next up we have a healthy great looking forward in Shawn Horcoff.
lol. My guess is that this will end with Fraser an Oiler and a slightly improved draft pick. I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Lombardi gets fined for the quote comment too, but other than that this woudln't seem to be a difficult case.
I dont see the trade being voided IMO, but I do see the Oilers sending a late pick or a guy like Chorney to the Kings.
@Lowetide
So if Fraser comes back what do you think the Oilers will do with him? waviers/minors maybe?
Well he's going to take some time to heal and I don't think they can waive him until he's healthy and back from a conditioning stint.
You know, these things can sometimes turn around. Fraser might end up being a help at some point down the line. I'm cheering like hell for him now, no matter who he plays for.
Considering that all sides were originally fine with the deal and the Kings would have bought out Fraser for cap space, the worst that will probably happen is the Kings might get another mid to late round draft pick. The Kings weren't trading for a player to use, they were trading for a player they could cut.
Can the oilers take another contract at this point?
They are at 49, with a couple of contracts that can be taken off by sending the player to junior (RNH, Marincin iirc).
Now, they might want to sign Ryan Martindale and Brandon Davidson and I still think they might grab a goalie somewhere so it probably wouldn't be their preference.
Let's suppose Bettman decides that Tambi didn't play nice. Let's further suppose Bettman decides compensation is in order.
In that instance, I wish the solution could be simply having the Oilers loan LA a player until Fraser was ready.
"Here's Brule; we'll pay him but he can skate with you for a month or two until Fraser is ready to go."
It could never work for a dozen reasons, but if we had to fork something over that's what I'd wish for.
The NHL should award Dustin Brown to the Oilers for all the pain and sufferring this has caused......or, maybe we can trade Tambellini for Lombardi and put a bow on this deal.
I don't know the kings cap space, but having Smyth back, would that put them over?
I have no problem with the formal grievance, it was the informal crap I thought was unprofessional.
If deals are 'as is' then I hope the commissioner does not unilaterally decide to punish the Oil on this. What good is the rule of law if the dictator can randomly decide things.
With Smyth back the Kings won't be able to afford Doughty. Realistically this shows Lombardi just wants to save face on his comments, because Smyth moving opened up cap room for a situation where Richards, Gagne and Doughty could all fit on one team cap wise...
@magisterrex
Amen I could not agree more. What a idiot and I agree both Keenan and Milbury are idiots too. LA should say thank you to the Oilers for taking on Ryan Smyth contract hit.So quit your crying Lombardi.Time to move on. THEBIGD
I think Steve is pooching us. He should have settled this quietly weeks ago. Obviously, Fraser has an issue, he had surgery already.
What would have been the solution? Up the draft pick? Take Fraser back till he's healed?
I doubt Gary will side with the oil, but hope he does.
If the trade is reversed, I immediately offer Doughty 5 years and $40 million+, and force Lombardi into a very bad corner. Nice grievance tough guy!
@Lowetide:
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being inner peace and 10 being "I should be building a Lombardi effigy 'for practice'", how worried should I be about Smyth being sent away [again]?
0. There is zero interest on either side to reverse the trade. I think Bettman will call both of them up, say something like "really? seriously?" and it'll end up being Smyth for a 4th.
I would love this, but right under the 7.7 mark or whatever that means four first rounders
"What a turd that Lombardi is...." Maybe the turd is Tambellini.
As to: "Fraser might end up being a help at some point down the line." What has history taught us about Fraser?
I liked the suggestion of replacing Tambellini in the trade for Smyth. Solve some big problems at our end.
This mess doesn't make the Oilers' management look very bright or trustworthy. Don't be surprised to see the Commissioner step in and award LA a second draft choice for all the aggravation the Oilers have caused the NHL.
Has there been any official notice given or is this a according to the LA pillow talk. If there is a grievance filed, the NHLPA would be involved due to the fact that the NHLPA doctors cleared him. What I understand DL is under a gag order and why is he talking to a reporter.
They should reverse the trade.
One hour later Oilers should throw Doughty an offer sheet. Just to screw Lombardi even more, he is asking for it.
Edit: I see someone already said the same thing ^
After this is over if I was ST I'd send an offer sheet to Doughty anyway just to say F U Lombardi lol even if the kings matched just to see DLs rant in the papers about the offer sheet would be priceless*.
*Then Id make sure the likes of Hall,Eberle,PRV,and RNH are all signed to extentions before thier contracts run out so DL cant do the same to us.
Oilers might get stuck with Fraser salary until he can play as a solution.
Why wait for the grievance to be settled before offering Doughty an offer sheet? All though offering Luke Schenn one might be funnier... don't you think? Just wondering...
Colin Fraser not playing for them is a blessing in disguise - those idiots.
wont be surprised and wont care unless its a 1st round pick. every other pick in the draft (as noted on this site) has a diminishing probability of ever playing in the NHL as the rounds tick down.
I have nothing to add to this conversation except my own personal grievance that this picture was not chosen as the "let's get this over with" image.
http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/1/18/129082986653895088.jpg
This needs to go well for the Oilers and more specifically for Tambo.
Its a great trade for the Oilers but now that is has been officially called into question, it could still go bad for the Oilers which would be a true Tambo classic. How do you mess up 'here's Ryan Smyth for peanuts' deal?
Where there is smoke there is often fire. Is Tambo really a bumbling idiot? Injury disclosure/communication issues continue to plague this guy. This appears bad when it comes to options around trading oft-injured Hemsky this season. NO, this is not good and could spell trouble for Steve's career in Edm. Eventually there has to be that final nail in the coffin.
Hoping its Lombardi that's coming apart at the seams might be wishful thinking from Oilernation.
At least Bettman is making the call, so we know there will be a fair, balanced, well-investigated, objective analysis before a decision is rendered that will be fair to all involved.
@Bendelson
A while back Stauffer 'hinted' that the NHLPA had their own doctors examine Fraser and that their opinion was a closer match to that of the Oilers medical staff. If that is correct it will be that much tougher for Buttman to decide in favour of the Kings.
I also heard that the NHLPA docs examined him and sided with us. That SHOULD be empirical evidence in our favour.
@Lowetide
The Kings don't want the trade voided. They are looking for some sort of compensation for Fraser. Likely in form of money, but mostly Lombardi wants everyone to know he wasn't happy with how this went down.
You are correct that he is sticking to his guns on this and not backing down, so at least I applaud him for following up on his original accusations.
@Jason Gregor
If it's true that the NHLPA has looked at Fraser and sided with the Oilers, then I think the compensatory draft pick will be taken from the Kings, for their slanderous statements and false accusations (and for taking the Great One and wasting his talents).
Nothing like 'sticking to your guns', regardless of the facts.
FFS Tabellini tries to send TWO players who aren't fit to play to LA and somehow Lomardi is at fault?
One of these guys is a clown and his name isn't Dean.
This is exactly the part that is so irritating to me. He's been acting like a child.
If the NHLPA agrees, then yes, he just might be.
If not, he's for sure guilty of slander and being a d0*che bag. His statements to the press are inexcusable, no matter how bad this deal turns out to be.
Seriously?? Are you fricking kidding me? Hello... Is anyone home? Any one has taken any level of business courses through college will know that Business Law has something in it when comes to contracts and business called "due diligence" and falls on the shoulders of both teams. The Oilers were up front with what they knew of Fraser's health based on the last doc info they had. That's their end of the due diligence. The Kings have every right before agreeing to the trade to state that it has to wait until Fraser passes their medical clearance or the deal doesn't go through. It's something they have a right to do as every other team in the league does. If Lombardi was too much of a dumb ass to use the process as it's designed to be used that's not our problem. For any Oiler fan to say that this is just dirty pool by the Oilers.. well I would have to throw them in the "dumb ass" category as well. Seriously... it's a straight matter of proper process and procedure and it exists within any type of business transaction. The Oil did their due diligence, the LA Kings organization were a bunch of schmucks for not checking first and if the NHL rules any differently then CLEARLY they don't support their own guidelines and procedures they have in place. PERIOD and NUFF SAID.
Lombardi is acting like a guy who just had some idiot try and pass him two counterfeit twenties and then pretends he's not a fraud
Bettman should lower the boom
No. A guy like that would call the cops before he called the media.
@DSF
OR he's acting like a guy who happily accepted two $20's, knowing that they had tears in them, then later thought better of it when the transaction was completed and he had a closer look at how torn the bills were.
Idiot Lombo
Tambos not that much better
Quit yer whining B!T**
Haha, that's awesome. I'm assuming the last paragraph is pure sarcasm.