NHL working with NHLPA to add no-trade documentation to contract registry

MANALAPAN, Florida -- The NHL is working with the NHL Players' Association on a requirement for no-trade clause documentation to be filed simultaneously with new contracts to NHL Central Registry, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said following the conclusion of the General Managers' meetings Tuesday.

The NHL and NHLPA will work with teams and player agents to create a database of no-trade clauses in existing contracts.
"We've drafted a letter of agreement, which we will share with the Players' Association probably later today, so I expect a resolution," Daly said. "We have to negotiate that with the Players' Association as well, at least what we're proposing, so I expect to continue that dialogue. I don't anticipate it being a problem getting to what we need."
The proposed requirement to file no-trade clauses to Central Registry is in response to the NHL cancelling a trade that would have sent forward Evgenii Dadonov from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Anaheim Ducks on March 21.
The NHL determined that Dadonov's contract included a limited no-trade clause that was not reported to Central Registry at the time of the trade call. The Ducks were on Dadonov's no-trade list.
"At the end of the day, Central Registry didn't have a copy of the no-trade list," Daly said. "I'm not going to go beyond that, but that's what happened."
In other news Tuesday, Daly told the general managers that the salary cap for next season is projected to rise to $82.5 million, a $1 million increase from this season.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said hockey-related revenues for this season are projected to be more than $5 billion.
Projections for the salary cap and HRR will meet the projections provided to the NHL Board of Governors in December.
The general managers also had a 30-minute discussion about whether there should be any restrictions upon the return during the playoffs of players who were on the Long-Term Injured Reserve list at the end of the regular season.
During the season, players on LTIR do not count against the salary cap. In the playoffs the cap does not apply, allowing teams in certain situations with players returning from injuries to use lineups that would not be salary cap compliant during the regular season.
No concrete action was taken Tuesday.
"It was a good discussion because I believe overwhelmingly the view of the managers is this hasn't been a problem for the last 17 years," Commissioner Bettman said. "It's more perceptional. Nobody thinks it's been abused. There are always adjustments that people would like to make to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. This is something that would be nice to adjust to change the perception, but I don't think it's viewed that it's been a problem, because it hasn't."
Commissioner Bettman said the NHL investigative process involving players on LTIR is thorough.
"It's no secret that around every trade deadline we reach out to the clubs and understand their injury situation and get a sense of projected dates of return," Daly said. "Whenever LTIR is being used and the projected date of return is around the start of the playoffs, we look into it. We deal with the clubs, we get their medical records, we employ an independent medical expert, and we make sure of the bona fides of the injury. We've never had any issues that stem from that, but it's a thorough process."
Said Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving: "You can't just put somebody on [LTIR] and that's your cap without the League going through that with a fine-tooth comb. So there's been legitimate injuries. The way the system is set up, you can do certain things. I don't necessarily look at it as being abusive. Are there areas that maybe need to be tightened up? Maybe."
To make changes to LTIR procedures would require an agreement by the NHL and the NHLPA to amend the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
"In some ideal world maybe that would be a good change," Commissioner Bettman said. "The roster situation is different in the playoffs, but it's not anything that's going to get addressed as a front-burner issue any time soon."
An update on a potential World Cup of Hockey in 2024 was given by Daly, who said the plan is to have only national teams compete.
In the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Team North America [a team of players from Canada and the United States age 23-and-under], and Team Europe [players from countries in Europe not represented by their national teams] were added to the competition.
Commissioner Bettman said the national teams involved in the 2024 World Cup have not been decided. When and where the tournament will be played is being discussed as well.
"We're still in the embryonic stage," Commissioner Bettman said.