Will NHL players who opt out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs get to see their name on the Stanley Cup?
The NHL is almost back, but not all its players are coming back. Players had until 5:00 p.m. on Monday to opt-out of the season restart in Edmonton and Toronto. Only a few players decided against joining the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the most notable being Travis Hamonic from the Calgary Flames.
These opt-outs form a very interesting question. If any of the players who opted out see their respective teams win the Stanley Cup this season, will they get their names on the Stanley Cup too? Sure, players who haven’t played in the playoffs have had their name engraved on Lord Stanley’s silver chalice, but a voluntary opt-out is an entirely different story.
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The NHL has very strict rules of just exactly who gets their name on the Stanley Cup. Every team uses a myriad of players throughout the season, through trades, minor league call ups, and other transactions, but not all of them qualify for the immortal name stamp on the Stanley Cup.
As of 2015, the requirements to get your name on the cup if your team wins are that a player must play 41 games or one game in the Stanley Cup finals. Since 1994, teams have been allowed to petition the commissioner to add specific names, and exceptions have been made.
Most of the players not name Travis Hamonic wouldn’t meet the 41 game threshold, so we can forget about them. If you’re voluntarily not playing in the playoffs they wouldn’t qualify for the “one game in the Stanley Cup final” requirement anyway.
Still, a petition to the commissioner is possible but very unlikely. Roman Polak opted out as well and played 41 games for the Dallas Stars. Under the 41 game rule, he would qualify.
For the sake of argument, let’s assume Domi opts out and if he would qualify for his name on the cup. Hamonic played 50 games this year before the season was suspended. Domi played 71 games for the Canadiens. Under the official rules, both would be able to get their names on the Stanley Cup if either the Canadiens of Flames win.
That’s following the official rules. What if the NHL decided to change the rules a little for this situation? While the league could do that, the easiest way to solve this problem is just to have Gary Bettman be a little more accommodating with petitions to waive the requirement. This whole “return to play” has been complicated, let’s not try to complicate it more.
One interesting story to watch is Mike Kitchen who is an assistant coach for the Florida Panthers. Kitchen is the only coach to opt-out. If the Panthers win, will he get his name on the cup? There are NHL restrictions for players, but the only requirement for non-players is that they have an active role on the team.
Kitchen is still a part of the Florida Panthers organization, he’s just sitting out specifically the season restart. There should be no problem getting his name on the cup if Florida wins.
Thinking of who gets their name on the Stanley Cup might be thinking way ahead of things. There’s still a lot that needs to happen before then, and even in the next two weeks before actual meaningful hockey is played again. Perhaps the NHL and NHLPA have already talked about it and found a solution. Let’s just enjoy that hockey is coming back.