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June 2023 Critical Dates Calendar

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There are a maximum of seven games left in the 2022-23 playoffs with the Golden Knights and Panthers kicking off the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday and the offseason activity is soon to begin.  When it does, it will come quickly as June is a particularly busy month on the calendar.  CapFriendly recently provided (Twitter link) an overview of the key dates ahead.  Here’s a rundown of those dates and their importance.

June 1:

4 PM CT: Deadline to sign certain draft picks.  If these players don’t sign by this time, the team who drafted or acquired the player will lose the rights.  If they remain draft-eligible, they’ll go back into the draft.  Otherwise, they’ll become unrestricted free agents.

4 PM CT: Deadline to tender a Bona Fide offer to 2022 draftees.  This one falls under the radar but teams actually have to extend an offer to each player they picked in order to retain their rights.  It only has to be a minimum salary agreement and can be done as a formality quickly after the draft.  Periodically, teams opt not to tender an offer and if that happens, they lose the rights to the player.

June 15:

4 PM CT: Deadline for teams to sign international players under contract for next season.  For example, a team has a European prospect that is signed through 2023-24.  In order to register a valid NHL contract for next season through the transfer agreement, the player must be signed by this time.  This also applies to players that are presently free agents in the NHL.

Later of June 15 or 48 hours after Stanley Cup Final ends:

Opening of the first buyout window.  This could come as late as June 21st if the Cup Final goes the distance.  Teams can execute regular buyouts, paying two-thirds of the remaining salary of the player over two times the remaining length of the contract.  That rate drops to one-third if the player is younger than 26 at the time of the buyout.

Deadline for first club-elected arbitration.  Teams can elect to take a player to arbitration instead of waiting to see if that player opts to file later in the summer.  It would be a way to ensure that a contract is in place instead of running the risk of a holdout.  Players can only be taken to arbitration once in their career and must be arbitration-eligible to do so; they can’t do so with unrestricted free agents.  It’s rare that a team goes this route and even rarer that it’s done at this point.  There is a second window that briefly opens in early July and that’s when the odd club-elected arbitration is announced.

June 28/29

NHL Entry Draft

June 30

4 PM CT – Closure of regular buyout window.  Teams could have a second window open up later in July if they have arbitration filings.

4 PM CT – Qualifying offer deadline.  Any player who doesn’t receive one will become an unrestricted free agent the next day.

6 PM CT – RFA Contact Period.  Players who have been tendered a qualifying offer are eligible to discuss offer sheets with other teams.  No formal offer can be made until free agency officially opens on July 1st at 11 AM CT.

If you’re wondering about a UFA Contact Period, there isn’t one of those anymore.  Officially, teams aren’t allowed to speak to unrestricted free agents until July 1st at 11 AM CT.  Unofficially, we know that rule isn’t exactly being enforced based on the high number of contracts officially announced mere minutes after the market officially opens up.

With more than 200 players joining teams in the draft, quite a few players being non-tendered, and, as things stand at least, more than 300 players set to hit the open market barring them re-signing, the final few days of June and the beginning of July figure to be quite the frenzy.  Between those and the usual increase in trade activity around that time, we’ll be in for a very busy stretch of transactions in the not-too-distant future.

Hockey Canada Releases Initial 2023 World Championship Roster

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Hockey Canada has released the initial complement of 20 players that will represent their country at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships next week in Finland.

It’s a more experienced roster than their American counterparts released, at least in terms of current NHL caliber. In net, they’re likely the most well-set team in the tournament, with projected rookie sensation Devon Levi sharing the crease with Montreal Canadien Sam Montembeault, who had a strong season in a tandem role with Jake Allen.

While 2023 presumptive first-overall selection Connor Bedard won’t join the team, likely to avoid risking injuries prier to his rookie season in the NHL, projected second-overall pick Adam Fantilli will. After capturing the Hobey Baker award in what’s likely his only season at the University of Michigan, Fantilli will join seasoned NHL veterans such as Milan Lucic, Scott Laughton, and Tyler Toffoli as Canada goes for gold at the Worlds.

Their defense is highlighted by MacKenzie Weegar. Although he had a tough season in Calgary, he’s not far removed from being a top 20 defender in the world and should make a significant impact at the tournament. Youngsters Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Justin Barron will also get a chance to shine for the Canadians.

The full 20-player roster is as follows:

F Cody Glass
F Jack McBain
F Milan Lucic
F Peyton Krebs
F Scott Laughton
F Jack Quinn
F Jake Neighbours
F Lawson Crouse
F Tyler Toffoli
F Sammy Blais
F Joe Veleno
F Adam Fantilli

D Pierre-Olivier Joseph
D Justin Barron
D MacKenzie Weegar
D Tyler Myers
D Ethan Bear
D Jake Walman

G Devon Levi
G Sam Montembeault

Sam Lafferty Fined For Cross-Checking

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs may have escaped their first game in Tampa Bay this series with a stunning overtime victory, not all of their players will leave last night’s game entirely unscathed.

Bottom-sixer Sam Lafferty, a trade acquisition this season from the Chicago Blackhawks, has been fined just over $3,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

Lafferty follows Michael Bunting (who earned a three-game suspension for a dangerous high hit on Lightning blueliner Erik Cernak) as the second Toronto player to receive supplemental discipline these playoffs.

Lafferty’s fine is for cross-checking Tampa Bay forward Ross Colton during last night’s game. Late in the second period, with the Lightning up three-to-two, a frozen puck from Ilya Samsonov prompted a relatively regular net-front scrum between Colton and Lafferty. They gave each other a shove as they jostled for position before Colton turned around and Lafferty delivered a cross-check to his head area.

The 28-year-old Maple Leaf received a minor penalty last night in addition to today’s fine. Under contract through next season, Lafferty has scored seven points in 22 total games for Toronto and served as an important defense-first role player. He’ll look to put this fine behind him and help Toronto take a commanding 3-1 series lead on Monday.

Ty Dellandrea Fined For Goaltender Interference

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The NHL Department of Play Safety announced a fine for Dallas Stars forward Ty Dellandrea in response to his interference with New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin in yesterday afternoon’s game. Dellandrea was fined $2,333.33, the maximum allowable under the CBA

The incident happened towards the end of the first period, as the Rangers moved the puck out from behind the net, Dellandrea cut in front of the net, ultimately leading to his right leg sweeping out Shesterkin’s left leg. Shesterkin was brought down and was slow to get up, but did stay in the game. Dellandrea was assessed a two minute penalty for the hit on Shesterkin, as well as an additional two minutes for roughing, for which an identical penalty was called on Rangers forward Artemi Panarin.

It appears Shesterkin has avoided injury, allowing the Rangers to breathe a sigh of relief in regards to their Vezina Trophy winning netminder. Dellandrea, 22, was playing in just his 36th career NHL game, though in his third season in the Stars organization. Thankfully for Dellandrea and Dallas, the player was able to avoid suspension, but this fine will go on his record for future consideration should he have to face discipline again.

NHLPA Begins Search For New Executive Director

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While the seasons of many NHL clubs end tonight, the work for the NHLPA is just beginning. The Players’ Association has announced that their Executive Board has voted to form a search committee to begin the process of finding a new executive director of their union. The union released a statement to go along with their announcement:

The many players who have played in the NHL over the last eleven years greatly appreciate the significant accomplishments under the leadership of Don Fehr.  Don joined the NHLPA after a long and successful career as Executive Director of the MLBPA and quickly stabilized the union following a very difficult period.  He led the NHLPA through the owners’ 2012-13 lockout and negotiated a new CBA that created a defined benefit pension plan which will greatly benefit players for generations to come. Don played an important role in reviving the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. After Covid-19 forced the suspension of the 2019-20 season, Don led the bargaining that resulted in an extension of the CBA in July 2020 and allowed for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs to be played. We look forward to continuing to work with Don as we go through the succession process.

While this news comes at an unexpected time, it is not entirely out of the blue. Fehr’s future was already under scrutiny, with Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff previously reporting that there was a level of discontentment regarding Fehr’s leadership that could necessitate a change. The timeline of this move is a bit shocking, though, as many believed the process would be left for the summer, including TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.

But as is made obvious by this announcement, the NHLPA decided now was the time to make a change. While Fehr’s role may not put him into the attention of most NHL fans, his job is one of major importance. As the leader of the NHLPA, he is the highest-level executive who represents the players as a whole, and he leads their charge in any contentious labor negotiations with the league. There will undoubtedly be many who will vie for this coveted position, and who the players choose could signal the direction they go in their future negotiations with the league. The NHL has been lucky to avoid a lockout similar to the one Major League Baseball faced this winter, so perhaps one major priority for the players will be finding a candidate who can maintain labor peace, but of course, only time will tell.

Colton Sissons, Evander Kane Earn Fines

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The NHL Department of Player Safety has handed out a pair of fines today, deciding against suspensions for both Nashville Predators forward Colton Sissons and Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane.

Kane has earned a $5,000 fine for kneeing Los Angeles Kings defenseman Sean Durzi in last night’s game, the maximum allowable under the CBA. The incident in question took place in the second period, with Kane extending his leg to get a piece of Durzi as the puck was sent up ice. The Oilers forward received a two-minute minor penalty for the hit and will now lose a bit of cash as well.

Sissons meanwhile has earned a $2,500 fine for spearing Ottawa Senators forward Josh Norris in last night’s match. That amount is notably not the maximum, and Sissons did not receive a penalty from the on-ice officials.

While they’ve avoided suspensions this time, both incidents will go on the record for Kane and Sissons, meaning any future transgressions could be penalized more harshly. Still, given how important every game is down the stretch, being available for their teams is obviously the most important thing.

NHL GM Meetings Roundup: Salary Cap, LTIR, No Trade Clause, Russian Draft Picks, Officiating, Revenue

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With the conclusion of this year’s NHL GM Meetings, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly gathered for media availability earlier today to discuss the meetings, including their thoughts on certain hot topics, potential changes to rules, and the overall state of the game.

One change reported earlier was that the salary cap is expected to increase by $1MM next year to $82.5MM. Although the salary cap is expected to remain flat through 2024-25, Bettman clarified that a $1MM increase on the cap is still in-line with a flat cap. Albeit a small change, the extra space could stand to benefit some teams who are already dangerously close to the cap ceiling and project to be in the same position next year. Bettman did add that after 2024-25, he expects that the cap would increase more substantially.

  • On the much-discussed LTIR situation in the NHL, Bettman and Daly did not express much concern, a relay of the feelings of the 32 teams. Bettman did acknowledge the situation, but said that it was “not going to be addressed as a front-burner issue anytime soon.” In regards to teams who have players return right at the start of playoffs, a seemingly convenient occurrence, Daly clarified the NHL’s process of handling these issues, noting that the league, when a player is placed into LTIR, requests the projected date of return, and if that date is around the start of the playoffs, they do look deeper into it and may even use an independent medical expert to verify the proposed timetable.
  • Touching on no-trade and no-movement clauses in light of the Evgenii Dadonov non-trade, Daly said that the league has already had discussions with the NHLPA about the possibility of having a rule requiring all such clauses to be filed with both the NHL Central Registry and the NHLPA. Ultimately, a new software that the two sides could share to store and access the clauses, appeared to be an idea on the table for the league. To get the process started, Daly added that a draft letter agreement had been written and the league was planning on sharing that with the NHLPA today in hopes of jumpstarting negotiations.
  • When asked about any possible restrictions on Russian players in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, Daly did not anticipate any restrictions, but did qualify that the state of the world could be much different at that time.
  • On the topic of officiating, Bettman explained that he thought the officiating meeting went well, with the topic of the meeting being merely an update, and that it was otherwise uneventful. Bettman also appeared surprised that anyone thought the meeting could be construed as contentious and did not share those beliefs when asked.
  • One last topic that many hockey fans may gloss over, is revenue. Bettman mentioned that the league expects revenue to once again hit the $5B mark this year, notwithstanding the attendance restrictions and movement of games in the Canadian markets in late 2021 and early 2022.

NHL General Managers Could Discuss Closing LTIR Playoff “Loophole”

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Next week holds in store an NHL general managers’ meeting in Manalapan, Florida, and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the agenda may include a discussion around altering the long-term injured reserve “loophole” used by teams to build legal, but non-salary-cap-compliant rosters for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

As it stands, teams are allowed to gain cap relief from players on injured reserve for the end of the regular season before the salary cap disappears for the playoffs, then bringing those players back once healthy for playoff runs. It theoretically allows teams to exceed the hard cap by several millions of dollars during the playoffs due to the salary cap not being in effect at the end of the regular season. Seravalli says at least one general manager has requested that this be included on the meeting’s agenda, with that GM believing “strongly that wasn’t the intended spirit of the CBA when it was written.” It’s a rule that’s been taken advantage of by multiple Stanley Cup-winning teams in the past, including the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021 with Nikita Kucherov and the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015 with Patrick Kane.

The anonymous general manager cited in the article doesn’t think a complex solution is required to fix this inequity, however. While they don’t advocate for overall financial roster limits, they put forth a proposal that the 20-man roster on the ice for each team during a playoff game can’t exceed the salary cap. This would provide a boost to essentially all playoff teams, considering that during the regular season, any healthy scratches or players on regular injured reserve count against the salary cap as well. It gives teams flexibility, allowing them to make roster decisions freely during the playoffs among healthy players within the constraint of a combined $81.5MM cap hit for the on-ice lineup.

However, as Seravalli notes, any modification to this rule requires negotiation with the NHLPA, as it constitutes a “material change” to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

While no surefire playoff team this season is taking advantage of this loophole in earnest, it was widely assumed the Vegas Golden Knights’ playoff lineup would benefit from this ability due to captain Mark Stone’s long-term back injury that’s expected to keep him out through the regular season. Now, with additional injuries continuing to pile up for the Knights, it’s feasible the team misses the playoffs entirely.

NHL Announces More Postponements

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The NHL has officially announced the temporary formation of taxi squads and three additional postponements. The following games will be rescheduled for later in the season:

  • Columbus Blue Jackets at Chicago Blackhawks, December 28
  • Pittsburgh Penguins at Toronto Maple Leafs, December 29
  • Boston Bruins at Ottawa Senators, December 29

The other games scheduled for Tuesday are set to play as originally planned, though there will be continued testing that could change that. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff writes that more players are expected to be placed in the COVID protocol tomorrow when test results have been confirmed.

In addition to the postponements, the league has officially revealed the new taxi squad rules. As previously reported, they will be in place from today through each team’s final game prior to the All-Star Break. It will have a maximum of six players at any time, will be subject to normal waiver requirements and no player may spend more than 20 cumulative days on the taxi squad.

There have also been temporary modifications to the CBA, allowing some salary cap relief for clubs dealing with COVID absences. Roster Emergency Exception recalls are now allowed to be players with a cap hit of up to $1MM (previously it had been limited at $850K). Teams can now recall a goaltender under emergency conditions–i.e. if they have fewer than two goaltenders on the active roster–without playing a game short. That means we won’t continue to see EBUGs pop up around the league (or at least not as often).

The full changes can be found here.

Gary Bettman: Olympic Participation “Ultimately A Players’ Decision”

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The NHL has more than a few concerns about participating in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Speaking with the media, including CBC’s Joshua Clipperton, following the conclusion of Friday’s Board of Governors meeting, Commissioner Gary Bettman didn’t shy away from expressing his hesitations either:

We have real concerns on a whole host of issues… We have concerns, and we’ve expressed those to the players’ association… Our concerns have only been magnified… I actually find it difficult to believe that a player would want to go…. I don’t think that this is going to be the ideal Olympic experience in terms of the lockdowns in the Olympic Village and everything else that’s going on.

The league’s apprehension is based mostly on the continued issues with the spread of the Coronavirus, not only across the league but on a global basis, China included. The NHL has seen the majority of its teams impacted by COVID-19 already this season, including at the cost of some games. Olympic participation would mean sending its biggest stars off, out of the protection of the league’s protocols and to the origin point of the virus and to protocols that have yet to be finalized and announced. In that same vein, Bettman discussed the possibility that China could mandate a three-week quarantine for any athletes who test positive for COVID and stated that he would be surprised if any NHLer would risk an additional three weeks in the country in order to play at the Olympics. Beyond the COVID conversation, there are also a number of political red flags as the governments of both Canada and the United States have become more vocal of late about the human rights violations taking place in China.

Yet, with all that said, Bettman is standing by his word. Barring a joint decision between the NHL and NHLPA – with Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly stating his expectation that the two sides would be on the same page should it reach this point – to disallow participation, the final decision will lie with the players themselves:

We made a promise to the players, and I’m going, to the best of our ability, adhere to it, understanding that there may be consequences that nobody’s gonna like… It’s not like we haven’t expressed our concerns. But in the final analysis, subject to some caveats, with all of the issues that are being raised… the players, for the most part, seem to continue to be saying they want to go… ultimately, this is going to have to be a players’ decision.

A return to the Olympics was in fact collectively bargained when the NHL and NHLPA agreed to a new CBA last year. The players have right to compete for gold if they so choose, though it is obvious that the league would rather they not. Bettman does note that more players have expressed their concerns of late, but will it be enough? That remains to be seen with time ticking away before the opt-out deadline of January 10 and the opening of the tournament in two months.

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