- Bill Daly says there is concern around the league about players forcing their way out
- The deputy commissioner does not expect any change before the next CBA in 2030
- Read below for Daly’s full comments and how players are defending the trend
The NHL has noticed that its stars keep forcing their way out of town. It just has no plans to do anything about it until 2030.
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly met with reporters at the Player Media Tour on Sept. 9 and was asked where the league stands on the wave of trade requests. His answer, published this week by Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin, put the issue squarely on the radar and nowhere near the front of the line.
“Certainly there’s some sentiment in the league that has concerns with respect to the way things are evolving. There are several separate but somewhat related elements to that in our collective bargaining agreement. And depending on how this trend evolves, perhaps at some point in collective bargaining, they’ll have to be addressed in a different way than they’re being addressed now.”
Then came the part that actually matters. Daly pointed out the current CBA has four years to run and said he does not expect the trade-request question to be touched before the next agreement, which kicks in for 2030.
Plenty has piled up in the meantime. Quinn Hughes told Vancouver he had no interest in signing long term and landed in Minnesota last December.
Brady Tkachuk pushed his way out of Ottawa in late June to play alongside his brother in Florida. Bowen Byram informed Buffalo he would not negotiate an extension and got dealt to Chicago.
Dylan Larkin asked out of Detroit in June and is still sitting there. Catch him refusing to go anywhere near the subject at Red Wings camp:
Connor Hellebuyck went public with his request last month, then skipped training camp and got suspended by Winnipeg for it:
Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has held the line that nobody is rushing him, which is the whole point of Daly’s answer. A request is not an obligation:
Players have no problem defending any of it. Jack Eichel, whose 2021 exit from Buffalo hinged on a disk-replacement surgery the Sabres would not sign off on, described it as looking out for yourself.
“It’s important for guys, players, for us to be the commander of your own ship. We only get a crack at this career one time. Sometimes you’re your biggest advocate in those situations.”
Hellebuyck and the Red Wings captain each have five seasons left on their deals. That is the number owners keep circling, and Daly just told them it can wait four more years.
