I want to bring to light a new issue that’s arisen with the recent SHL contract changes. I’m sure people have noticed as there’s already been a couple threads from some people. Teams are becoming so cap crunched that they’re having to release prospects and these prospects are sitting in limbo. While I do believe the intended effect of these changes is starting to work, this inadvertent side effect wasn’t foreseen.

I’ll be optimistic and assume HO has already taken notice, but I want to post this so everyone is aware. There’s at least two threads in the media section of players who have been dumped and looking for an SHL team, and I know of a player on Kelowna who is in the same position. I think it’s safe to assume there is more as well, or will be in the coming seasons.

As a member of a team currently in cap hell I don’t think I can offer a valid opinion at the SHL level, but I do believe there should be some leniency for prospects here. Maybe we can give SMJHL teams the option to work with SHL and offer to cover more cap on certain players, or increase the total amount covered on SHL send downs and raise the SMJHL cap. I hope the league is able to come up with a solution for this quickly as no active player should be without a team.