Ah, jerseys from the lockout. So much stuff, so little money. There was a thread on The Ice Block a while back about whether or not lockout jerseys are cool or not. To that, I say, yeah, they're cool:
HKM Zvolen is a Slovakian team (for those who don't know). During the lockout, they took on a few NHLers, including Michal Handzus and Richard Zednik. Another they took, was Vladimir Orszagh.
Orszagh had a strange trip last year. Due to transfer agreement issues, he was "stuck" in Europe, playing for Lulea HF (Ingmar, any help here?). Finally something was ironed out, and he got back to the NHL. According to TSN, he was picked up as a UFA by Phoenix, signed a 2 year contract, then picked up on waivers by St. Louis the next day. ????????? Help me here. That seems really stupid. What was that about?
It would be foolish of me to say I know a lot about HKM Zvolen. What I do remember is how incredible the Slovak fans were at the World Cup of Hockey. They danced, cheered, sang, shouted, whistled, and the US fans? They waited to be told to make some noise. It was incredible.
There are no patches on this game-worn jersey, everything is sublimated. As an owner of a rink in Rhode Island told me, "It's amazing what they can do with sublimation." Dude was a former Whaler, so I am not going to disagree. Last time I was in RI, the rink had caught fire, and was still under repairs.
This is a standout jersey to me. It's just beautiful. Just the team logo on the front makes people stop and look. You can see them at games, as you pass in the halls. They look at you as you pass, wondering what it is you're wearing. I like to think it's with a little jealousy.
5 comments:
According to TSN, he was picked up as a UFA by Phoenix, signed a 2 year contract, then picked up on waivers by St. Louis the next day. ????????? Help me here. That seems really stupid. What was that about?
The NHL has some rule about bringing people from European hockey in the middle of the NHL season.
Players have to clear waivers before going to the team that signed them.
At least, that was the case for Orszagh. I think it is a new feature of the CBA.
Does that mean that Phoenix had to pay half the salary? Jeez, there's more waivers in this new CBA. I had to clear waivers just to go to a game at the Pepsi Center.
I don't believe Phoenix had to pay salary for Orszagh; in that, I believe it is different from an AHL call-up.
Still, they had a need for a winger and tried to fill it with V.O., except nobody needs more than the St. Louis Blues, apparently.
I am not 100% sure on these facts, though. Anybody else want to be 'CBA expert'?
Orszagh signed a contract with Luleå with a clause that said he could play in the NHL if an offer arose. This had been possible under the old CBA, but the new CBA states that a person signing a contract for a year to play abroad is ineligible to play in the NHL during that year.
We are still confused about this because somehow he got cleared to play for The Coyotes. The Swedish Hockey Council nasically shat on the agreement between the NHL and the IIHF when they allowed him to play.
I THINK I read that his transfer is being taken to court since this basically sets a precedent for European players being able to point to Orszagh's case and they can say: Hey he did it, why can't we?
I'm still puzzled by this decision.
I hope it helped somewhat. Love your blog already. Great posts.
Ingmar comes through again.
Thanks, both of you, for the help. It fills in some puzzle pieces.
If either of you can read Russian, I'll need your help on the next one.
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