- The NHLPA is firing back at Gary Bettman over his no-trade clause comments
- Ron Hainsey says the union sees it as a fight over CBA-negotiated rights
- Read below for Hainsey’s full response and the trade requests that set this off
The NHLPA isn’t letting Gary Bettman’s no-trade clause comments slide.
Ron Hainsey, the union’s assistant executive director, told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that the players see the commissioner’s remarks as the opening shot in a much bigger fight.
Hainsey was asked about Bettman’s view that players have pushed the clauses past their purpose.
“The beginning of this conversation about no-move and no-trade clauses, we do take as an attack on players’ CBA-negotiated rights,” Hainsey said. “And we will treat it as such.”
LeBrun posted his story early Monday:
As for the idea that players are misusing the clauses, the former NHL defenseman isn’t buying it.
“First, we think the no-trade, no-move clause is being used as originally intended,” Hainsey said. “It’s a player’s right to negotiate salary, salary structure, term, as well as a no-move or no-trade with their club if they’re able to do so and bargain in good faith.”
He laid out the union’s position in pretty plain terms, too.
“It’s pretty simple if you’ve negotiated a no-trade,” he said. “Whether it’s 10 teams or 15 or 32, the club isn’t able to trade you to those teams without your consent.”
Bettman lit the fuse last Thursday on Sportsnet’s The FAN Hockey Show. He said the clauses were built to protect a player who signed long-term somewhere he wanted to stay, not to let him demand a trade and then choose his destination. He also said the league would have to take it to the players’ association if it becomes a problem.
Here’s what the commissioner said:
Hainsey doesn’t think there’s anything to discuss.
“From our point of view, there’s no valid reason to even be having this discussion,” he said. “Again, we take it as the beginning of an attack on players’ rights.”
This summer’s trade requests are what put the issue on the table. Brady Tkachuk used his no-movement clause to steer a trade from Ottawa to Florida, while Dylan Larkin asked out of Detroit with a short list of teams he’d accept.
Connor Hellebuyck has also requested a trade from Winnipeg with years left on his deal.
Players pushed back on Bettman before the union did. Brad Marchand called it a “broken system” on Instagram the next morning, pointing out that teams sign players long-term and move them all the time.
Take a look at Marchand’s response:
If this turns into a problem, Bettman said he’d go to the players’ association. Hainsey just told him how that meeting would go.
