Gambling and Losing in the New NHL

It's yet another small example of how NHL transactions are no longer dictated by the performance on the ice, but by the ink on the contract.

Short on defensemen this week, the Montreal Canadiens did what NHL teams have been doing for decades. They turned to their minor league team, calling Ron Hainsey up from the American Hockey League to fill the gap.

But the venerable minor league call-up ain't what it used to be. Under the new rules, any player earning more than $75,000 in the AHL must clear waivers before joining his big league team. Columbus, also in need of defense, promptly grabbed him off the waiver wire. Hainsey is now a Blue Jacket.

Not only do the Habs lose their man, they must continue to pay half of his $550,000 salary, and it counts against the Montreal salary cap.

The new waiver rule has transformed how NHL teams fill in for injured players. A veteran minor leaguer like John Slaney signed a six-figure deal this season, and in doing so accepted the fact that he will not play any games for the Philadelphia Flyers. A cheaper guy like Josh Green, on the other hand, lives a yo-yo existence between the Vancouver Canucks and Manitoba Moose.

Considering that Ron Hainsey has yet to win an NHL job in five years of trying, he probably didn't fit into Montreal's future plans anyway. But the Canadiens sure could have used him Tuesday night, when they were shut out 4-0 by Ottawa. Montreal had only five defensemen, including a guy playing his first NHL game. Such are the risks of NHL life in 2005-06.