‘We’ve gotten past the way no-trade clauses were intended’: Bettman on NHL players forcing trades
Could we finally see an adjustment to no-trade clauses? NHL commissioner Gary Bettman thinks it could be on the table.
In a hockey world where we’ve seen several players hold their team hostage with a trade request, using their no-trade clauses to force a trade to a select few teams suitable for where they want to play, it may be time to alter that situation. When Bettman was asked about it in an interview on Sportsnet’s The FAN Hockey Show with Matt Marchese and Michael Futa, he said the situation is something the NHL may need to look into.
“It’s something we’re going to keep an eye on, but I think we’ve gotten past the way no-trade clauses were originally intended,” Bettman said.
Bettman pointed out in the interview that no-trade clauses were originally negotiated into the collective bargaining agreement for the purpose of giving a player security with a team when signing a long-term contract. With the player committing for such a long-time in one place or giving a team a hometown discount, having some control over the situation was essential to let players stay where they wanted to be.
However, Bettman believes this new scenario where players are demanding trades and selecting where they want to go to was not part of the original intention of the no-trade clause. While no-trade clauses have always given the players some control over where they do or don’t want to play, that was for the purpose of protecting them from when their team would surprise them with a trade, not when the player themselves were demanding out.
That said, Bettman doesn’t believe one offseason of these situations happening means they have a problem yet. But he added that if players continue to do this, it will be something they have to look into.
This comes in the wake of an offseason which saw several players demand trades to put themselves with certain teams. While Brady Tkachuk got what we asked for when the Ottawa Senators dealt him to the Florida Panthers to play with his brother, the Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets find themselves in more interesting situations as Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck remain with the club amidst their trade requests.
