Rookie camp opens; Schneider hits waivers

Rookie camp has opened, and Adam at Growing Up with the Isles is all over it. Day 1: Lots of coaches, lots of drills, one lost equipment bag, one healthy Jon Sim, and one Mike Sillinger skating and practicing slapshots (sans equipment). Adam will likely be updating each day, with interviews, so it should be some good stuff.

Meanwhile, would you claim Mathieu Schneider off waivers for the Isles at $5.75M? Nah. Too much coin at a position we don't need. But it should be entertaining to see who bites.

I know there are some complaints about the cap, about how it makes keeping a good team together difficult, but I think it's better than the alternative. I'm not a Brian Burke-hater, but I think it's great that this has happened. Burke knew of this risk -- that Niedermayer could come back and the Ducks would have cap issues -- when he first signed Schneider. When I saw the term last summer, I remember recoiling, "wow, that's a pricey stopgap."

In short, GMs ought to pay for their short-sighted mistakes. Maybe, just maybe, it will motivate a few more GMs to stop throwing cash around as if the cap isn't there. And as if the cap isn't guaranteed to keep spiraling upward. I am reminded of seven years for Ryan Malone. I am reminded of six years at $6.5M for Wade Redden.