Tampering? How do you manage this legal cartwheel?
I can’t believe the players association will be happy. Oh well. Glad the caps free!
It's not a loophole or something the PA will be upset about. Here is the (simplified) step by step of how we got here:
1: He signed a contract that did not contain a NMC, which would prevent us from putting him on waivers and assigning him to the AHL
2: We put him on waivers (allowed by the contract)
3: No one claimed him on waivers
4: We assigned him to the AHL (allowed by the contract)
5: He informed the team that he would not report to the AHL (breach of the contract)
6: We told him that we aren't going to keep paying him if he doesn't come to work
7: Either he or the team suggested terminating the contract.
8: The other side agreed
9: The player and team sign termination paperwork and send it to the league
10: All 31 other teams will have another chance to claim him and attempt to enforce the contract
11: Assuming no one claims him on his 2nd pass through waivers, he will become an unrestricted free agent
The player chose to forfeit the remaining money owed on his deal instead of coming to work. He decided that avoiding the AHL (and trying to find a lower paying NHL job) was worth the money he would lose. The team chose to walk away from the contract (and the cap hit) instead of suspending him and trying to force him eventually come back to work. Both sides had the opportunity to enforce the contract and decided that terminating the contract was preferable.
The NHL allows for contract termination when both sides want to move on. That is the overwhelming norm for contracts across all industries. From a legal standpoint, there is no aggrieved party here. It is what the player and team wanted. In addition, all 31 other NHL teams had the opportunity to take the player (and the contract) and declined.
