The ridiculous rule that cost the Leafs an Olympic gold medalist netminder
The Leafs made a cheeky move on Sunday that surprised a lot of Leafs fans, inking KHL goaltender and Toijala, Finland native Harri Sateri to a league minimim contract for the remainder of the 2021-22 season. What appeared to be a nothing move for some added goaltending depth on the surface quickly drew the attention of Leafs Nation after a simple Google search revealed that, not only was Sateri one of the better goalies in the KHL, statistically speaking, but he also excelled in a high-pressure situation on the world stage. Unfortunately, things did turn out as planned for Leafs GM Kyle Dubas.
It all started Sunday at 2pm, when the list of NHL players that had been placed on waivers for the day was released. The Toronto Maple Leafs placed Petr Mrazek, Kyle Clifford and Harri Sateri on waivers.
Many, myself included, wondered, «Who is Harri Sateri and when the heck did he become a Leaf?»
Sateri is a 32-year-old Finnish goaltender. He was drafted in the 4th round in 2008 by the San Jose Sharks. All 9 of his NHL games were played for the Florida Panthers in 2017-18. Since then, he's been playing for Novosibirsk Sibir in the KHL. His last 3 seasons have seen him post .921, .922 and .926 save percentages respectively. He also lead the Finnish Men's Olympic Hockey Team to a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. So he's a pretty decent goaltender, regardless of his lack of NHL experience. The Leafs signed him on Sunday to a 1-year, 1-way contract worth $750,000.
So that explains who he is and when he became a Leaf. Now for how they lost him 24 hours later, and why they couldn't get him back.
When a player that started the season in another professional league (AHL excluded) signs with an NHL team, they must pass through waivers prior to joining their new team. It's an extremely stupid rule that has burned teams before. The Detroit Red Wings signed Evengy Nabokov in 2011-12 only to have the Islanders claim him off waivers. Nabokov never played a game in Detroit. In this case, the Arizona Coyotes claimed the would-be Leafs netminder, robbing them of some potential added stability in net.
The way waivers work, when a player is placed on waivers, teams have 24 hours to submit a claim. The team lowest in the standings who puts in a claim receives the player.
Okay, so why didn't Dubas simply offer Arizona a pick or prospect to get their shiny new goalie back? Well, that's not so easy either.
To trade a player that has been claimed off waivers, the player must first be offered to every other team that put in a claim. This means if 3 other teams had submitted a claim for Sateri, he would have to avoid being claimed by all 3 on the second go through to be eligible to trade. Given that the Coyotes are tied for second last in the NHL, any number of teams could have submitted claims and missed out the first time. They would all have had to turn down the chance to claim Sateri for free in order for the Coyotes be allowed to trade him back to Toronto.
In other words, 2 ridiculous waiver rules combined to make sure the Leafs never got their hands on a player that they scouted, contacted, negotiated with and signed to a contract. It's a convoluted and frankly, a stupid process. Dubas was right to try picking up Sateri, but he never stood much chance of actually getting him. Welcome to Bettman's NHL.
| POLL | ||
22 MARS | 442 ANSWERS The ridiculous rule that cost the Leafs an Olympic gold medalist netminder Should the league change this complicated waivers rule? | ||
| Yes, what a stupid rule | 366 | 82.8 % |
| No, it's not often a factor | 41 | 9.3 % |
| Honestly, I don't even care | 35 | 7.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
