CowboyinAmerica 2,887 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Don't call it a comeback With all of the hype about a close playoff race, it may seem odd to see a Trade Deadline come and pass with as much movement as a sumo wrestler following Thanksgiving dinner. The Bears, Legion, Vikings, Express and Dynamo all seem to be on the playoff bubble, yet not a single one made a move to try and improve heading into the homestretch of the season. There are plenty of potential reasons for this stagnation, and it suffices to say that the league’s general managers are not particularly happy about the idea. However, when looking for deadline help, it seems that many GMs were looking in the wrong direction. Entering Season 42, former Seattle Bears and Cologne Express winger Karsten Olsen sat third on the all-time hits list, 11th on the all-time penalty minutes list, and tied for 12th on the all-time games played list. There aren’t many players in VHL history who have been roughed up as many times as Olsen. And yet, there is one main fact that seems to have escaped many VHL GMs. “I never actually retired,” Olsen tells Sports Illustrated. “Go ahead and try and look for my name in the retired players’ paperwork. You won’t find it. As far as I’m concerned, I’m still able and willing to play.” The saga of Olsen’s Season 41 preseason, unknown before now, reads like a corporate layoff. Fresh off of a Season 40 run to the European Conference finals with Cologne, and just after starting on the first line for Scandinavia in the Season 40 World Cup, Olsen was all ready to field calls in free agency. However, the calls never came. And when Olsen went to Cologne’s arena to get in some time in practice, he found that his key to enter the building no longer worked. “It was like I was discarded. I went from hero to zero in approximately three seconds. That shift... it was jarring to say the least,” Olsen says. Will we see the return of Karsten Olsen? That depends: Will the VHL play by its own Rule Book? VHL management pointed to the Rule Book to say that Olsen was no longer in the league following Season 40. Convention – and the practices of every player in league history – have dictated that a player plays no more than eight seasons following the year he was drafted into the VHL. However, the actual Rule Book itself says no such thing. In the main VHL Rule Book, there is no section regarding retirement, only the lack of a structure for awarding a player’s salary past his or her eighth season. In addition, in the league office retirement division, there is no mandatory basis for retiring after eight seasons. Not even the player creation guide provides information about forced retirement. The only mention of forced retirement that our reporters could find comes buried in depreciation statutes, which include the utterly vague claim “towards your Eight [sic] seasons of VHL eligibility.” Olsen’s lawyers do not believe that a forced retirement would hold up in court due to the lack of league guidance. As a result, Karsten Olsen continues to believe that he should be eligible for free agency. And, given the lack of a minimum contract in the VHL Rule Book, he believes that he can do so for free, which could be a boon to teams such as Helsinki that are flush up against the cap. There is also no basis for depreciation past a player’s eighth year, and Olsen would argue that this means he has the same skills as he did in Season 40. However, he is willing to work with the league to knock down his attributes an additional 9 percent for his ninth season, using the same “previous season + 2 percent” formula already in place. So, will a team take the plunge? Olsen is certainly willing to find out, with his former teams in Seattle and Cologne at the top of his list. “I don’t really want to fight the VHL, but I will if I have to,” Olsen says. “If Encarnacion and Reencarnacion can be in the league at the same time, with only one of them in the VHL and the other updating in the VHLM, then so can Olsen and Wingate. It’s only right to allow this.” Will it be the Bears, the Express, or another team that gets Olsen's services? Kesler and eaglesfan036 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jala 922 Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,935 Posted March 24, 2015 Admin Share Posted March 24, 2015 Our people are everywhere, going to court is futile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DollarAndADream 3,356 Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Content: 3/3 - Sick article. I want me some Olsen back.Grammar: 2/2 - Couldn't find a thing.Appearance: 1/1 - Good. Last image isn't appearing for me though.Overall: 6/6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyinAmerica 2,887 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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