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ThinkTank
Oct 23, 2007

Admiral Goodenough posted:

Having your career be over at 40 must be pretty hard. Is there some sort of support network for old retired players? I'd imagine this would be something the NHLPA would be involved in.

I'm not sure about any support networks, but for the players Pensions were a big point of contention in the last round of CBA negotiations. Players are entitled to roughly ~$20,000 per year of service between 2013 and 2022 once they turn 65, so that sorta accounts for their shortened career.

A lot of former players turn to scouting, coaching and management as well once they retire (in fact the vast majority of NHL, AHL, CHL and College coaches are all former pros or minor-pros) and a lot of guys end up moving into the business world in various capacties (as spokesmen, owners, etc.) so it's not like there are no career opportunities for them once their playing days are over. Kids who play in the CHL are given a year of free tuition at a Canadian university for every year they play in that league, so they're sorta set up a bit that way too.

The NHLPA has a concussion support network (although I don't know how extensive it is), but I've never heard of a general retired player's support network. It's not the easiest thing to do as there are thousands of former players, and it's not really the responsibility of an employer to look after people once they retire outside of providing pensions, etc. In general the community/familial support networks for NHL players are better than those of other sports as they're predominately white, middle class individuals (learning and playing hockey is prohibitively expensive so tends to weed out low income families). Still, there are players that fall through the cracks all the time sadly.

It's worth noting that NHL teams have alumni networks for former players and staff. For the Canucks their mandate is as follows: "to work for the improvement of personal relationships among all members of the hockey fraternity, to provide financial and other forms of assistance to members of the hockey community and their families, when in need, to support charitable causes, primarily youth orientated, and to generally promote the game of ice hockey at all levels".

http://canucks.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=39790

ThinkTank fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Jan 21, 2015

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MIDWIFE CRISIS
Nov 5, 2008

Ta gueule, laisse-moi finir.
That's all really cool and better than I expected, thanks!

a false
Mar 5, 2009

I DECIDE
WHO LIVES
AND WHO DIES
if your career lasts until age 40 in the NHL you almost definitely have a guaranteed job with a franchise in some capacity if you want it.

Lawnie
Sep 6, 2006

That is my helmet
Give it back
you are a lion
It doesn't even fit
Grimey Drawer
Most guys wash out before they're 30

Divorced And Curious
Jan 23, 2009

democracy depends on sausage sizzles

Kennel posted:

Rules, refs and schedule is tailored for North Americans which makes Euro fans whine even more than usual.

What are the major differences in rules?

Lawnie
Sep 6, 2006

That is my helmet
Give it back
you are a lion
It doesn't even fit
Grimey Drawer

SeekOtherCandidate posted:

What are the major differences in rules?

The rink isn't a football field wide so you can't just carry the puck in along the wall every rush like the Euros do.

Zat
Jan 16, 2008

SeekOtherCandidate posted:

What are the major differences in rules?

It simply uses the NHL rules instead of the IIHF rules unlike the Olympics and the World Championships.

Here's a handy list: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=704685
Note that the IIHF now uses the hybrid icing as well, so that's no longer a difference.

larkko
Oct 4, 2008

Lawnie posted:

The rink isn't a football field wide so you can't just carry the puck in along the wall every rush like the Euros do.
A bit generalized, but basically right. In Euro-hockey you can pass or carry the puck over the blue line even if the opponent has four or five guys back with smart puck movement or personal skill. In the NHL this basically only happens if there are odd-man or 3-on-3 and 2-on-2 rushes because of the lack of space on the ice.

This also affects the tempo and flow of the game. In a Euro-sized rink the game has more of an ebb and flow to it, rather than just being rock-em-sock-em, high-tempo, dump-and-chase, agressive forechecking hockey as in the NHL.

Being a floaty Euro, I think they each have their pros and cons and enjoy both tremendously.

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DOOMocrat
Oct 2, 2003

The Finns play on a rink that is wider than the NHL's, but not as large as an IIHF rink. As expected, you get more wide open rushes than the NHL (Though quality of defense factors in too) and still some good checking against the boards when things permit.

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