For years now many fans have questioned how so many deals are signed so quickly on July 1st.
After all, how are teams supposed to negotiate contracts with players in mere minutes as deals are always announced as soon as the deadline passes.
Granted, some players do seek permission to speak with clubs before July and in many cases they are granted, but that almost certainly is no the case for everyone given the sheer number of contracts signed in that single day.
Apparently the NHL is starting to take notice of this themselves.
This is what NHL insider Pierre LeBrun revealed from his discussions with deputy commissioner Bill Daly.
The Score reporter Kyle Cushman added some more context to this conversation, dropping the names of a few players who may have been involved in these questionable signings last summer.
He mentions Tyler Toffoli, who signed in San Jose, Brandon Montour, who signed with the Kraken, Tyler Bertuzzi with the Blackhawks, and Brett Pesce, who signed in New Jersey.
This does not mean that those teams are the only ones who may have bent the rules a little bit.
In fact, it does not prove anything about these teams either as they could have gotten permission before hand, we really do not know.
The fact that these players specifically have been mentioned though does raise concerns about these clubs.
Hopefully, all teams around the league will take this issue seriously and we may very well see widespread changes to how free agency works next summer as a result.
G | A | PTS | ||
Mikko Rantanen | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
Nathan MacKinnon | - | 3 | 3 | |
Nick Bjugstad | 2 | - | 2 | |
Adrian Kempe | 2 | - | 2 | |
Patrick Kane | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Artturi Lehkonen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Mitch Marner | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
William Nylander | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Aliaksei Protas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
John Tavares | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Michael Kesselring | - | 2 | 2 | |
Anze Kopitar | - | 2 | 2 | |
Brett Leason | - | 2 | 2 | |
Trevor Moore | - | 2 | 2 | |
Shea Theodore | - | 2 | 2 | |
Anthony Beauvillier | 1 | - | 1 | |
Jonatan Berggren | 1 | - | 1 | |
Pavel Dorofeyev | 1 | - | 1 | |
Simon Edvinsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
Tomas Hertl | 1 | - | 1 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 16 | 15 | 1 | - | 30 | |
Devils | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 24 | |
Wild | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 23 | |
Panthers | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 23 | |
Hurricanes | 14 | 11 | 3 | - | 22 | |
Kings | 17 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 21 | |
Capitals | 14 | 10 | 4 | - | 20 | |
Golden Knights | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 20 | |
Maple Leafs | 17 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 20 | |
Rangers | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 19 | |
Conference | Cumulative |