NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly Sends a Harsh Message to GM's After Rumors of Tampering
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly sent a warning to teams at the recent general managers meeting after some shady business took place ahead of free agency this past summer.
For years now many fans have questioned how so many deals are signed so quickly on July 1st.
After all, how are teams supposed to negotiate contracts with players in mere minutes as deals are always announced as soon as the deadline passes.
Granted, some players do seek permission to speak with clubs before July and in many cases they are granted, but that almost certainly is no the case for everyone given the sheer number of contracts signed in that single day.
Apparently the NHL is starting to take notice of this themselves.
This is what NHL insider Pierre LeBrun revealed from his discussions with deputy commissioner Bill Daly.
Deals that seemed to be done before July 1st. We reported on some of those deals.
He reminded GMs about those rules that are in place and potential discipline for tampering, anywhere from fines to loss of draft picks. It is really at the discretion of the league how those things play out.
At the end of the day I think this is a reminder that there are ways around all of this.
Agents can ask for permission to speak with other teams about pending UFAs, teams themselves can grant permission.
There are ways around the rules but it certainly sounded like a stern warning to teams about business around July 1st. "
The Score reporter Kyle Cushman added some more context to this conversation, dropping the names of a few players who may have been involved in these questionable signings last summer.
He mentions Tyler Toffoli, who signed in San Jose, Brandon Montour, who signed with the Kraken, Tyler Bertuzzi with the Blackhawks, and Brett Pesce, who signed in New Jersey.
This does not mean that those teams are the only ones who may have bent the rules a little bit.
In fact, it does not prove anything about these teams either as they could have gotten permission before hand, we really do not know.
The fact that these players specifically have been mentioned though does raise concerns about these clubs.
Hopefully, all teams around the league will take this issue seriously and we may very well see widespread changes to how free agency works next summer as a result.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 12 | 181 ANSWERS NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly Sends a Harsh Message to GM's After Rumors of Tampering Do you think the NHL will seriously start to crack down on free agency rule violations next summer? | ||
| Yes | 99 | 54.7 % |
| No | 82 | 45.3 % |
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| Complete stats | ||||
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Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Hurricanes | 18 | 14 | 4 | - | 28 | |
Capitals | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 27 | |
Wild | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 27 | |
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| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||