“One of our mandates was to protect current members’ jobs, so we were able to successfully do that. Because Canadian content is obviously very important to our fan base. And our members. But our American jobs are equally as important. So how can we create more value for them?”
Winnipeg Player Rep Chad RempelThe rule also states that teams are allowed to carry 3 American players on their active roster who fit the requirements, and still adhere to the ratio.
According to Friesen, this means that 10 “non-imports” can be starters, as long as the 3 extra Americans meet the requirements.
These players can also be backups, and substitute for injured Canadian starters, where previously if a National player went down, they had to be replaced with a Canadian player.
“So it provides more depth. When there is an injury, you’re not required to just replace a Canadian with a Canadian. It can be basically anybody. So the quality of play should go up. You’re not handcuffing GM’s.”
Chad RempelObviously this begs the question about the possibility of taking advantage of the rule, and of course it’s it’s worry.
“That’s obviously not the intent. We’re continuing to work on the language around that to make sure it’s not abused. And this isn’t coming into effect until 2020, so we have some time to make sure everyone’s on the same page.”
Chad Rempel
We’ll see how the rule actually takes shape during this 2021 season, which starts on August 5th, but hopefully, its intent continues to be its use.
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