Why Pro Scouting Is More Important Than Ever in the NHL Cap Era

As hockey fans, we know the importance of the "Draft."

We are all becoming more and more aware of the lifeline the draft provides each and every NHL team.

We have become more and more aware of the value that certain teams place on the draft and their ability to select the "best player available" when its their turn at the podium.

We have sports networks and web sites that follow along the draft in "real time" so we can see the events as they play out. We are watching and witnessing the moves made on the draft day by our favorite teams and our not so favorite teams. Got to love the information age...

What we are starting to see now, in the salary cap era, is the advancements in pro scouting.

Pro scouting? What is that?

Isn't all scouting the same? Send out some scouts to watch players during games, evaluate them, rank them, discuss them, wish for them, then have your GM trade for them, sign them...it goes on and on.

Well, technically it's the same, but really it's a lot more involved in a different way than scouting junior or college players.

Each NHL club has a group of knowledgeable hockey people who carry out these assignments and evaluate everything from minor league players in their own systems to making charts and schedules on every other NHL club.

Some of these scouts put their "GM" hat on and try to rank a team's prospects and minor players, searching for talent that might be acquired by trade or on waivers. Some pro scouts watch other teams play and report to the GM and coaches the style of play their future opponent is currently using.

Making notes and looking for every advantage they can find. This is true in the playoffs for sure.

But in the cap era, pro scouting is taking a new meaning. In the past, most NHL teams only had one or two pro scouts, which were former players or other hockey experienced people. Some really didn't employ any. They would assign an amateur scout to cover certain things as they were needed.

The GM was the guy who looked over every teams roster and knew for certain who was playing where. Something that is still in existence today, but with 29 other teams, and another 100 or so other teams in three different minor leagues and countless more teams in Europe, it becomes a huge undertaking. But with the amount of waiver activity today and the need to be "cost certain", teams can pick a valuable player up through waivers.

As Tom Petty sang, "The waiting is the hardest part".

When a player is placed on waivers, he has 24 hours to be offered to all NHL teams in order of the standings, in inverse, at the time of the being waived. Each team has a 23 man roster, and if you select a player off waivers, then you have to waive another to stay at 23 players.

If you have less than this is, it's a bonus as you don't have to waive anyone if you select a player. Once a player clears waivers, he can be re-assigned by his club. When a player is recalled, he has to go through waivers (not all players do; entry level contracts do not have to clear waivers, either going up or down from the minors).

The Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, and this season, the Philadelphia Flyers, work the pro scouting angle to near perfection. Each of these teams use the pro scouting angle in different ways by with the same mind set: Upgrading our team.

The Kings used the waiver wire to select Kyle Quincey last season from Detroit as Wings GM Ken Holland was forced to send Quincey back to Grand Rapids after adequately filling in during a time when the Wings had injuries.  The Kings really needed a defenseman who could move the puck and Quincey went on to have a great year in LA.

Quincey was traded to Colorado this offseason in a deal that brought Ryan Smyth to L.A.

That's where your pro scouting comes into play. Dean Lombardi added a player that not only helped his team immediately, but also later as a component of a trade to improve the club.

The Red Wings use their pro scouting to find players who "fall through the cracks" of other organizations. The Wings also draft very well at the entry draft level, but also complement that by giving other players a new opportunity.

Todd Bertuzzi and Dan Cleary, to name a few, are both players that benefited by coming to Detroit. Like all teams, these players were likely scouted earlier in their careers during their entry draft days. For many reasons, they were either bought out of their contracts or waived as their last team "went in a new direction."

The Red Wings find great players to fill those holes on their roster and support these players. After all, it's to their benefit if they can contribute.

The Flyers have been up against the cap for some time now. With Ray Emery getting hurt and with few options, they selected a goalie off of waivers just as another team was waiving one of there own.

The Carolina Hurricanes lost Cam Ward to injury and signed Manny Legace to a contract. While Ward was out, Carolina GM Jim Rutherford felt it better to stay with Legace once Ward returned, and Michael Leighton was placed on waivers.

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren "jumped" to select Leighton. It was a cost effective move. An experienced NHL goalie to help without having to sign a free agent or make a trade that would force the Flyers to give up something they felt they didn't want to. Again, this player helped this team immediately.

Take some time and read through the daily transactions and you'll see that a few teams have made some good choices using the waiver wire. Once thought of as a place that careers ended, the waiver wire is now a place where teams can upgrade themselves at the expense of other teams.

What are some of your favorite waiver additions by your favorite team, or what are some of your not so favorite waiver moves?