On behalf of the National Hockey League Players’ Association, former defenceman Ron Hainsey blasted NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for his recent comments on potentially tweaking no-trade and no-movement clauses around the league.
Bettman expressed his belief last week that some players are using their no-trade and no-move clauses to force deals to specific locations and he said the possibility existed of approaching the NHLPA to discuss changes in the future.
“First, we think the no-trade, no-move clause is being used as originally intended,” Hainsey, who is the assistant executive director at the NHLPA, told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic. “It’s a player’s right to negotiate salary, salary structure, term, as well as a no-move or no-trade with their club if they’re able to do so and bargain in good faith. It’s pretty simple if you’ve negotiated a no-trade. Whether it’s 10 teams or 15 or 32, the club isn’t able to trade you to those teams without your consent.
“Our position is that the clauses are acting as they were intended to work.”
“The beginning of this conversation about no-move and no-trade clauses, we do take as an attack on players’ CBA-negotiated rights,” Hainsey added. “And we will treat it as such.”
The league saw plenty of players with no-trade clauses moved this summer, with some stars seemingly hand-picking their new teams. Former Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk gave the team a shortlist of options before waiving his no-move clause to join his brother, Matthew Tkachuk, with the Florida Panthers.
Tkachuk, whose request never went public before he was dealt, submitted a list of four preferred destinations in the Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights, per LeBrun, as he informed the Senators that he would not sign an extension once his deal expired at the end of the 2027-28 season. LeBrun added, however, Tkachuk never promised to waive his no-move clause to join any team except the Panthers.
The St. Louis Blues were one team that reached out the Senators about making a deal for Tkachuk, the son of franchise icon Keith Tkachuk, but were turned away.
“With the player that got traded, we knew he was available, we inquired about him, we were told [the Blues] weren’t on [his trade] list, and that’s the end of it,” then-Blues GM Doug Armstrong said in June. “You can’t create something that’s not there.”
Dylan Larkin, who has now been stripped of his captaincy, remains with the Detroit Red Wings after giving the team a list of just three teams he would be willing to waive for. The 30-year-old has since expanded the list, but no trade has come to fruition.
Winnipeg Jets superstar Connor Hellebuyck, who won gold on Team USA with Tkachuk and Larkin at the Olympics in February, is currently sitting out without pay after demanding a trade this summer.
TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston noted in August that Hellebuyck’s request is different from his two Olympic teammates in the sense that he is willing to waive his no-movement clause for a variety of teams. The Jets have been underwhelmed by offers to date and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said last week a timeline on a deal remains “undefined.”
LeBrun argues that Bettman’s comments ignore the players who have used their no-move and no-trade clauses to stay put with the franchises they signed with, often in a quieter fashion.
He points to Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly, who left money on the table when signing his extension in 2021 in order to have peace of mind on his future.
Rielly’s agent J.P. Barry also sounded off on Bettman’s comments and was one of several player agents to reject the idea of making changes to LeBrun.
“Almost every potential negotiation element that other sports use has been eliminated in the NHL over the past several CBAs,” Barry said. “We currently have no performance bonuses outside of rookie contracts, no player or club options, no voidable years, no renegotiation clauses, and the maximum length of contracts has been ratcheted down to six or seven years maximum.
“Players give up significant compensation demands to obtain a no-trade clause. They are ‘purchased’ by the player. If they are going to try to eliminate no-trade clauses, then we should also discuss elimination of the buyout and the hard cap at the same time.”
The NHL’s current collective bargaining agreement runs through Sept. 15, 2030.
