NHLPA fires back at Gary Bettman over no-trade clause comments
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Ron Hainsey says the NHLPA sees Gary Bettman's no-trade clause comments as an attack on player rights, and the union plans to respond that way.
The NHL's no-trade clause debate just got a lot more heated.
NHLPA assistant executive director Ron Hainsey made it clear the players' union isn't brushing off Gary Bettman's recent comments, and Pierre LeBrun passed along his message.
Hainsey said the union views even the start of this conversation as an attack on rights players negotiated in the CBA, and the NHLPA will treat it that way.
"The beginning of this conversation about no-move and no-trade clauses, we do take as an attack on players' CBA-negotiated rights. And we will treat it as such.”
- Ron Hainsey
- Ron Hainsey
What Bettman said that set this off
Bettman told Sportsnet 590 The FAN that no-trade and no-movement clauses have moved past how they were originally meant to work.
In his view, the protection was supposed to stop a team from shipping a player out after a long-term signing, not let a player choose his own destination.
He didn't call it a crisis yet, saying one offseason doesn't make a problem, but he warned the league would have to talk with the players' association if it becomes one.
The backdrop is easy to spot.
Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck have both been tied to trade requests, and Brady Tkachuk used his no-movement clause to land in Florida.
Why the union is digging in
Trade protection is a big deal to players, and a huge chunk of the league's roster holds some version of it.
Giving that up, or even watering it down, would be a real loss at the bargaining table.
With the next CBA on the horizon, it's easy to see why the NHLPA wants to draw a line now instead of later.
Hainsey's response suggests the union isn't interested in a slow, polite negotiation over this one.
Bettman may have meant it as a casual observation about a few high-profile cases.
The union clearly heard something bigger, and this conversation looks like it's only getting started.
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