Overview:
Evan Schemenauer is a Saskatoon based NLL writer. Random thoughts is a weekly column which outlines a wide variety of thoughts that Evan has on the NLL and lacrosse world!
Note: The opinions in this column are Evan's personal thoughts. They do not reflect the opinions of other members of the LC Daily Staff.
Your random thoughts…
I began a tradition a year ago that once a year, I wanted to hear your random thoughts, or give fans an opportunity to ask anything. Its always been a mixed bag so it truly is random thoughts. With that, let’s see what’s on your mind.
Would you change anything about the tiebreak formula?
Yes, I have three changes I would make to the tiebreak formula if it was up to me. One is very minor, simply remove the goals against in the tiebreak formula because if goal differential is tied and goals for is tied, goals against has to be tied. Its an irrelevant tiebreaker.
The bigger change is to move the second tiebreak, which is games against teams played an equal number of times should be moved way down the list. I far prefer to have tiebreakers that are in a team’s control instead of tiebreakers that are very random. The order in my mind is:
- Head-to-head win %
- Goal differential in head-to-head games
- Goals for in head-to-head games
- Strength of victory %
- Strength of schedule %
- League wide goal differential
- League wide goals for
- Winning % against common opponents played an equal number of times
- Coin flip
I would also bring back the reset rule which was in the tiebreak formula several years ago. The reset rule was that if more than two teams were tied, and one tiebreaker such as head-to-head win % eliminated one team to the good or bad, the formula reset so the teams that were still tied were now evaluated back at the top (head-to-head win % amongst the teams that were still tied).
Or if you really wanted to make things interesting, if the tiebreak decided who was in or out of the playoffs, you could always go to a mid-week, tiebreaker game to decide things.
And for those wondering, there are currently 268,435,456 possible scenarios as to how the regular season finishes off. By the end of week 18, that drops to 16,777,216 possibilities. No, those numbers aren’t pulled out of thin air. Pull out your calculator. There are 28 games remaining this season. Go to your scientific calculator and punch in 2^(28) and 2^(24).
How much do backup goalies make per game?
While backup goalies don’t get a lot of playing time, what you have to keep in mind is that off the floor, backup goalies have to put as much conditioning work in as starting goalies. They have to spend as much time away from work, friends and family as any other NLL player. They have to spend as much time studying game film and practicing as any other player. For years, Lacrosse Flash referred to backups Steve Fryer and Tyler Carlson as the biggest team guys in the league. They rarely played and yet were the biggest supporters of their team anywhere in the league.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement is not a public document, but backup goalies are the same active roster player as any other player on the team. Obviously on most teams, the backup goalie isn’t earning as much as a starting five forward. But player salaries are not public information.
The CBA does have salary ranges for rookies, that are separate from second year players, that are also different from veteran players. For a backup goalie that is in the veteran “normal” range, they could expect to earn between $1,000 and $1,500 USD per game. They can also receive additional money for promotional appearances, camps or jobs they work for the team and receive a small payment for every day of work they miss.
How many timeouts are allowed in overtime?
This was a bit of a smart question, but for new fans, this could be confusing because the graphics department for NLL broadcasts have had this wrong all year and a few oblivious broadcasters that just read what was on the screen, reinforced what was incorrect.
Starting this season, there are no timeouts allowed in overtime. If a broadcast says something different, don’t listen.
Is the league considering expansion or did New York’s move to Ottawa change things?
Let’s never say never, but at this stage I don’t see any NLL expansion happening anytime soon. There are available markets that I think would work. Edmonton possibly works, but only if the team is owned or managed by the Oilers Entertainment Group. Winnipeg possibly works, but only if the team is owned by True North. I think many of us would love to see Minnesota get another chance. Montreal proved they should get a chance, but I think a partnership with the Canadiens is necessary because the ticket sales changed dramatically the week of the game once the Canadiens started to promote the Unboxed game.
Outside that, the NLL probably needs to look at a smaller market like Halifax that is underserved in the sports market and the NLL team will be a larger focus.
The issue with expansion is that there are teams struggling with attendance. Most of these teams have now been in these markets for at least 3-4 seasons, and the struggles remain. The available cities above need to be saved for when some of the existing markets eventually need to relocate.
And don’t get me wrong, I don’t view relocation as a negative. I look at it as an opportunity to strengthen the company.
The Riptide’s relocation situation was similar to that of the Rush back in 2015. The move was forced because they didn’t have an arena to play in as the Nassau Coliseum is being torn down.
What’s it going to take for Calgary to go back to the red jerseys?
It won’t happen as long as the sponsorship deal with WestJet remains in place, when Air Canada’s colour is red. But perhaps as a compromise, can they go to the black jerseys with the red trim? Put the Roughnecks logo on the Marvel jersey from Friday night, and it’s a sweet jersey for regular use.
Also, the two-tone blue jerseys the Riptide wore on Saturday were top notch. Someone needs to pick up two-tone blue with the seafoam colour scheme for next season.
Which season had the craziest race for the playoffs?
For the NLL, easily the 2018 season. A situation existed in the 5 team East Division where the top 3 teams made the playoffs and nothing was decided with two weeks to go. We thought we would get answers in the second to last week, except if one exact set of results happened. Sure enough that one exact set of circumstances happened, so going into the final week of the season, none of the five teams had qualified for the playoffs nor were any of the five were eliminated.
Going into that final week, the first place New England Blackwolves would finish 1st with a win, 3rd with a loss and a Toronto loss and out of the playoffs with a loss and a Toronto win. Luckily, they knew Toronto had lost by the time their final game against Georgia took place (which they lost, Georgia won the division and New England finished 3rd).
This is how the final standings looked.
But even this doesn’t come close to the 2016 MLL season where the top 4 of 9 teams went to the playoffs, and 7 teams ended up tied for 1st at 8-6.
Editors Note: Credit to swarmitup.com for having the standings from 2016!
What is going on with the attendance in Saskatchewan?
The attendance issues in Saskatchewan aren’t as simple as one factor. There is no question that the Rush’s poor performance on the floor is affecting things.
One of the keys though with attendance is the base of season ticket holders. Game 1 in Saskatoon back in 2016, there were 800 season ticket holders. But the team was top of the league and a lot of people wanted to check it out. In April 2016, with the team red hot and the arena selling out, the Rush were smart to put 2017 season tickets on sale with the ability to purchase 2016 playoff tickets if you bought your 2017 season tickets early. The numbers increased to around 7000 season tickets for 2017 and around 11,000 in 2018.
Unfortunately, that’s where things went the wrong direction. For 2019, season ticket holders were required to buy the ticket for the pre-season game and pre-pay for the first playoff game. Over 3000 season ticket holders didn’t renew. Games were all of a sudden not selling out. It wasn’t the hardest ticket to find in the city. And the Rush were no longer the new shiny thing to see in town. When the Rush lost in the opening round of the 2019 playoffs, that momentum continued to decline. In 2017 and 2018, people were offering me premiums to sell my excess seats. By 2020, I couldn’t even give the tickets away.
There was no team in the NLL more affected by the COVID layover than the Rush. Initially, a number of fans weren’t feeling safe about being in large gatherings. Some didn’t want to come out with the restrictions that were still in place. But the drop-off in the Rush’s performance kept people away.
This isn’t specifically a Rush problem though. The Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL) used to play to sold out crowds for years prior to the pandemic. The Riders have also had some tough years and Mosaic Stadium is now half full on a good day.
I’m not sure what the Rush can do to reverse the attendance trend other than win. They dropped ticket prices, they’ve brought in big name talent for halftime, had several giveaways, even dropped beer and hot dog prices. None of it has worked well in restoring the crowd. The only thing left to do is win and make the playoffs.
Is the NLL embrace in Vancouver real?
First off, I haven’t attended a game in Vancouver yet, so all I can go off of is reports from those that have been there. The uptick in attendance in Vancouver is an interesting one because the team is still underperforming, and they’ve lost enough ugly games over the last few years to keep fans away.
What is clear though is that the Warriors’ and CSE’s push to create a party atmosphere where the results on the floor have less of an effect on your attendance has worked. The infamous $5 beers got the non-lacrosse crowd into the building. The reports tell me that a number of people are dressed up to the nines, and the game is a prep for whatever club they’re going to later in the evening.
We know the results of what the team can draw strictly from a sell lacrosse strategy. We saw that at the Langley Events Centre. I have said it multiple times, the key for NLL teams is to draw non-lacrosse people to a party where a lacrosse game breaks out, and then get them hooked on lacrosse. As long as the Warriors don’t mess around with the ticket prices and the beer prices, they should continue to draw large crowds as the team should expect better results in future years. If the prices go up, the momentum could be lost.
Are there actual implications for teams exceeding the salary cap?
This has been a topic of discussion for years. While there is a salary cap in the NLL, it functions closer to the system in place for Major League Baseball than it does for the NHL, NBA and NFL. In the latter three, there is a hard salary cap, with only a few ways to get around it (such as the infamous LTIR in the NHL). In MLB, you have a luxury tax system, where there is an informal cap, but teams can exceed it by paying a luxury tax. The luxury tax in the NLL starts at 25% and goes up to 100% based on how much a team exceeds the cap. The proceeds of the luxury tax are shared by the teams that don’t exceed the cap.
There isn’t much stopping a team from exceeding the cap so long as the owner and management are satisfied with the amount they are overspending and the luxury tax that applies. What the league has been trying to crack down on are extra perks that are sometimes offered informally to entice top level talent.
Does all of the overspending work? Not necessarily. The belief is the San Diego Seals have the highest payroll in the league, and yet they haven’t won a playoff game with all that spending. When the Rush were in their dynasty years, they were definitely paying into the luxury tax and it worked. Different GM’s and different owners will have different philosophies as to how to build teams.
Just look at the top three teams right now. Two of them are heavily based off of free agents and signing some expensive contracts. The other, Albany, might have one of the lightest payrolls in the entire league. Albany has built through drafts and trades. Toronto and San Diego build through free agency. Its rare that Jamie Dawick keeps an early round draft pick.
There’s one thing that isn’t in question though. Its far harder to build a contender through draft picks and developing players. What Glenn Clark has accomplished this year is to be admired, and barring a miracle, he’s getting my #1 vote for GM of the year.
Why was Ottawa removed from the Unboxed city list?
The purpose of Unboxed was to bring camps, clinics and awareness of box lacrosse to markets that currently didn’t have an NLL team. Ottawa was on the list despite having a large lacrosse community, perhaps in anticipation of an Unboxed regular season game there in the future.
Now that the Riptide are moving to Ottawa, the responsibility for community engagement in lacrosse falls on the Black Bears organization and doesn’t need to be included in the Unboxed cities any longer. I would anticipate that if a team relocated to Montreal, the same would occur.
Can you explain the backup goaltending switch in Saskatchewan and the issue with the Practice Roster?
The issue that existed here is that any player, regardless of position, that is on the practice roster at the end of the season becomes an unrestricted free agent. The only exception is if they sign the player to the protected practice roster, which gives the player more money.
Thomas Kiazyk was selected in the second round by the Rush in 2023 and has been on the practice roster ever since he joined the team until recently. With goaltenders becoming harder to come by and Kiazyk being from the Ottawa region, and the Riptide/Black Bears having goaltending depth issues, it was highly likely that the Rush would have lost Kiazyk in the offseason if he remained on the practice roster.
Does that mean Laine Hruska could leave in the offseason too if he remains on the practice roster? Absolutely, and he has lived in Ontario for considerable periods of time before, so he has some mobility. He is playing for the Cobourg Kodiaks again this summer.
We could see a repeat of last season in that when Alex Buque went on the IR, which opened a roster spot for Hruska, who was activated and had his PR tag removed. Because of that, he wasn’t a UFA at season’s end. Its entirely possible that the Rush could activate him again should there be an injury anywhere in the Rush lineup.
Thank you everyone for your questions, and until next time…