Gary Bettman and the NHL Threaten GM's With Harsh Penalties for Tampering
Following a series of suspicious deals, Gary Bettman and the NHL have delivered a stern warning to league employees caught tampering.
General Managers in the NHL have been known to do whatever they can do to get one step ahead in creating the team they believe will give them the greatest chance at success.
However, while most are expected to follow the same set of regulations, others may have taken a back door not allowed by the league.
During mid-November, NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun revealed on TSN that the league is taking a more serious look at tampering, keeping the topic on their agenda in GM meetings.
LeBrun added that NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly shared his concerns over reports in the lead-up to July 1st, during which several signings occurred just moments after free agent discussions were permitted.
While acknowledging the existence of methods around the non-discussion period. LeBrun gave a preview of what sort of consequences teams can face if caught tampering.
them, and in asking Bill Daly about it after the meeting today, Gino, what Bill Daly said is that he was 'uncomfortable,' to use his words, about some of the reports that he saw last year leading into July 1st, as far as deals that seemed to be done before July
1st.
You know, obviously, many of us reporting on those deals, and so Daly said he reminded GMs of the rules that are in place and also the potential discipline for tampering; anywhere from fines to loss of draft picks, really at the discretion of the league[...]
There are mechanisms in place to get around some of this, but it certainly sounded like a stern warning from Bill Daly to GMs today when it comes to July 1st."
Despite such a recent notice from Bill Daly, it was made clear that the NHL has no intention of backing down from pursuing tampering violation penalties.
During his recent appearance on Sportsnet's Saturday Headlines, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that since addressing the topic in GM meetings, the league has issued statements to each team detailing the punishments those caught can expect.
Individuals involved could face a seven-figure bill and dismissal, while teams could face a fine up to five times the cost, in addition to contract terminations and several forms of asset forfeiture.
They didn't like how July 1st went last year with a bunch of signings announced right afternoon, and also they warned about not only players, but teams' employees, like coaches, and managers; other people who worked in the front office, and they said they reminded everybody these are the potential tampering penalties if you are caught for teams or individuals, so they are trying to tell people 'If you get caught, we are going to punish you.'"
The NHL has not provided any names of those facing these penalties, but provided these numerous recent announcements, viewers can likely expect some action to be taken soon.
Should no proof be found, however, hopefully, this stern warning is enough to prevent individuals from breaking the same rules to which every team is subject.
| POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 1 | 128 ANSWERS Gary Bettman and the NHL Threaten GM's With Harsh Penalties for Tampering Will the NHL issue any tampering violation penalties to teams or employees this season? | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Matthew Tkachuk | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jordan Kyrou | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Lucas Raymond | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Tage Thompson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Yanni Gourde | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dylan Holloway | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Martin Necas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Logan O'Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jaden Schwartz | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Suzuki | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Robert Thomas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mikael Backlund | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Matthew Beniers | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jesper Boqvist | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Calvin de Haan | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Simon Edvinsson | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Blake Lizotte | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Scott Perunovich | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Wild | 25 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 38 | |
Capitals | 25 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 36 | |
Jets | 26 | 18 | 8 | - | 36 | |
Devils | 28 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 36 | |
Golden Knights | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 35 | |
Hurricanes | 25 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 33 | |
Stars | 24 | 16 | 8 | - | 32 | |
Maple Leafs | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 32 | |
Panthers | 26 | 15 | 9 | 2 | 32 | |
Kings | 25 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 31 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||