new Waiver Draft Rule for Hockey pool

[joel]

I am curious to hear some of your thoughts on the new Waiver Draft rule.

The rule by the way is that dropped players cannot be selected that year in the waivers and only become available until next year.

I am pretty surprised that it was implemented so quickly as in previous years it seems we have been very slow to adapt new rule changes to improve the overall enjoyment of the hockey pool.

[joel]

the biggest benefit i see, is just administrative. Waivers picks can precede the main draft immediately without interruption. Drops can be completed at anytime after and not have people waiting for everyones drop before proceeding.

[joel]

One problem that i have seen with the concept of waiver drafting in our hockey pool, is that in the NHL it is intended to allow weaker teams an opportunity of the overflow of the stronger teams. But I just don't see it utilized in that fashion anymore. There have only been 1 or 2 selections from the actually drop list each year, and it hasn't been to feed the weaker teams at all.

[supersuk]

Can someone refresh me on how waivers "used" to work? You only get to participate in waivers if your team has less than 30 people after your cut right?

Currently I'm at roster cap, I'd like to pick up some depth from waivers but I don't know whats avail till everyone drops their players.
Do I.. drop a prospect and hope I get someone elses useful drops? I might end up losing my prospect and not getting someone useful on waivers.
Do I.. keep my prospect and skip waiver. play it safe.

[joel]

[joel]

does that make sense or do you need a specific example?

[tiger]

so the waiver draft comes before the drops? Isn't that just more rounds of drafting?

Can't a GM just keep on picking if they think there's someone better, but really not exposing any of their players. Is there room for abuse of the rule. When do the drops have to be made?

i.e. I pick up 10 extra waivers, evaluate which guys I want, and dump the rest, even if I just picked them in the waiver?

There will be a rule that you cannot drop whoever you pick up (keep them for at least 1 year), and your drops are made immediately after you are done your picks. The ENTIRE waiver draft must be done in that same day. This could drag on for the very last guy who has 5 more waiver picks and then says "I'll let you know my other picks." Then they have all the time to do more research, which is unfair. Happened in the past when we would do the waiver over the phone and it took 2 weeks to complete. A couple of GM's took days to make their pick.

If I picked up Robidas, and waited the next day to know my drops, then heard news that Kuba was injured, then I'd drop Kuba.

Could be a room for a small unfair advantage.

[joel]

Yes, drops cannot be someone picked up from that year. So if you pick up 10 players and need to drop 13 players. they have to be from your original roster prior to draft. That only makes sense. Waiver picks should all be done on draft day, with no exceptions. I think the only exception to this rule is if they are not making any waivers, then technically they can drop anyone. (Like Isaac this year and Pickard).

as for what day you drop them, they don't have to be draft day is all I am saying. i don't think there is any unfair advantage b/c if we say drop day is prior to the first preseason games, then that's the case for everyone still. If someone gets injured in camp and they know he's injured then it doesn't matter. it's the same as if someone gets injured in the offseason, they still know about it. if they want to act on that info they have that option. But everyone has that same "advantage". In my opinion, it's pretty rare that it'll affect their drops very much b/c if someone decides to pick 5 ppl in waivers, they already have to have in mind who they want to drop on the original roster.

[supersuk]

Just saying that joel said the waiver draft was for extra depth. I'd like the extra depth but I'm not willing to go through waivers to chance it. Just saying.

Waivers should be done on the same day imo.

I'm fine with whatever.

[joel]

waivers are done the same day as draft.

It's the drops that I am saying can be done by a set day after. It can be due on the same day midnight as well. But I have a strong feeling that it won't even if you tell people it is.

But having drops done before the waiver draft stalls the waiver draft. I feel like I am repeating myself...

[joel]

[tiger]

so let's say next year, I pick 10 guys in the waiver draft, so I'm actually holding onto 42 players including my 2 draft picks, as long as I make the picks in the same day. If the set date for drop is 2 weeks later, then I have 2 extra weeks to evaluate players and decide who I drop. Plus now the 10 extra guys I drop aren't eligible for next years draft. So in reality I could pick all the players who have been drafted in the 1st round in the NHL, drop them, and then they wouldn't be available to be drafted in our pool until 2012? Then the 2011 draft would just suck. Or I can pick every player that's already playing in the NHL that hasn't been drafted (Fischer, Peverley, White, Robidas), drop them so that they won't be available until 2012, which would deplete the pool of NHL ready players for our draft.

But you know me, what I would really do is take 10 goalies that are on the cusp of making the NHL and then drop them, making them unavailable for 2 years for other GMs to pick up.

I don't like this rule because it encourages more hoarding, and this loop hole can be abused. Plus it seems like it's an indirect way of blocking players from being available, like burying them in the minors, but not ever really having their rights.

[tiger]

For me, I will push the 2 minute rule to be strictly enforced, plus if you are not available, you have a GM present that has a list or picking authority on your behalf. If you aren't able to make your pick, the next guy picks ahead of you until you are ready.

For time extension for trades, it has to be indicated at the beginning of the pick that the pick is available for trade or is being negotiated in a trade. At the end of the 2 minutes, there can be a 3 minute time extension only if there is an actual trade in progress, so the other GM has to call/confirm the extension. If no other GM calls/confirms the extension, the pick must be made by the 2 minute mark.

This will encourage GMs to announce that their pick could be available and what they want in return prior to the actual draft, and that trades can get done before with some subjects. i.e. the Canucks trade with Florida for Ballard and Van's 1st R pick.

For the waiver, I think 5 minutes to make your drops, and the same 2 minute picking rule.

So if we start at 2 pm, the 1st round will be done no later than 2:24 barring trades, but can be a quick as 5 minutes if everyone knows their picks.

I think the waiver draft should stay the way it is right now, where you can pick up players that GM's drop. That's more in line with the NHL, Redden, Souray are placed on waivers and any team can pick them up and use them for that season.

[joel]

[joel]