NHL announces sanctions to Coyotes for violation of League’s Combine Testing Policy

[BlueDragon23]

LOL at this franchise. What a circus they are. First the Chayka drama, their embarrassing exit courtesy of the Avs and now this?
 

 

When it rains it pours...

 

[mll]

Apparently Chayka did not know it was happening: 

 

[RetroCanuck]

16 hours ago, rekker said:

There's an option to pay a fine instead?

Not sure if anyone answered this, but I read on a site that Bettman issued the decision to take draft picks rather then go the monetary route which would have been a fine of $250'000 or more. I believe the article was in TSN and the decision was made, due to Covid reasons and the struggling financial league.

[mll]

10 minutes ago, RetroCanuck said:

Not sure if anyone answered this, but I read on a site that Bettman issued the decision to take draft picks rather then go the monetary route which would have been a fine of $250'000 or more. I believe the article was in TSN and the decision was made, due to Covid reasons and the struggling financial league.

No mention of Covid or financial struggles.

https://www.tsn.ca/arizona-coyotes-forfeit-two-draft-picks-for-violating-combine-testing-policy-1.1514925

 

Quote

NEW YORK — The NHL on Wednesday stripped the Arizona Coyotes of their 2020 second-round pick and 2021 first-round pick for violating the scouting combine policy by conducting physical tests of draft-eligible players.

 

Commissioner Gary Bettman determined the organization broke the rules by physically testing prospects outside of the combine, which is prohibited “to ensure competitive fairness among clubs with respect to evaluating and drafting prospects and to avoid subjecting prospects to repeated and duplicative testing procedures.”

 

Bettman decided to use his powers to take away draft picks rather than impose a fine of $250,000 or more “given the specific circumstances of this case.” The NHL Constitution gives him the ability to deprive a team of draft picks if conduct is found to affect the competitive aspects of the game.

 

The league opted not to discipline any individual members of the organization involved in the situation because Bettman believes it was gross negligence rather than intentional wrongdoing.

 

Losing these picks further handcuffs whoever takes over as Arizona's general manager. The Coyotes already didn't have a first-round pick this year after trading it to New Jersey for winger Taylor Hall, a pending free agent. They gave up their third-rounder 14 months ago to acquire forward Carl Soderberg.

 

Assistant Steve Sullivan was elevated to the role in the interim after the team said GM John Chayka “quit” just prior to the playoffs. Chayka was GM when the NHL launched its investigation in January.

 

“We were advised today of the NHL’s ruling regarding the allegations of physical fitness testing of draft prospects and respect the league’s ruling,” the Coyotes said in a statement. “Under new leadership, we have added thorough internal controls and compliance measures to prevent this type of occurrence from happening again in the future.”

 

Bettman held a hearing Aug. 6 that included testimony from Coyotes and NHL representatives. The league said the club acknowledged at the outset of that hearing that it had violated policy by conducting its own physical testing on players.

 

 

[Crabcakes]

19 hours ago, Dekey Pete said:

I guess this really blows up a lot of the league conspiracy theories eh?  Being that Bettman's non-traditional hockey market teams get special treatment.  It's almost like the league is run by a board of governors consisting of mostly the owners of every single NHL team, and Bettman just carries out their wishes.

That's pretty much the way it works.

 

Same as Aquilini has to agree to the strategic plan for the Canucks and Benning carries it out.  Benning comes up with the plan and so does Bettman but they need approval.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but this sort of mis-conduct is unprecedented.  Did they just make up the punishment or is it all outlined in the fine print of a contract under code of conduct?  I suspect that Gary the lawyer already had guidelines spelled out.

 

Edit:  @mll above has that covered.

 

Curious how Chakya's new employer feels about having a guy in such a position who either doesn't know the rules, disregards the rules or just thinks the rules only apply to the other guys.  This and the way he quit the Coyotes so soon after signing a new contract in good faith really makes one wonder about his ethics.

Edited August 27, 2020 by Crabcakes

[mll]

10 minutes ago, Crabcakes said:

That's pretty much the way it works.

 

Same as Aquilini has to agree to the strategic plan for the Canucks and Benning carries it out.  Benning comes up with the plan and so does Bettman but they need approval.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but this sort of mis-conduct is unprecedented.  Did they just make up the punishment or is it all outlined in the fine print of a contract under code of conduct?  I suspect that Gary the lawyer already had guidelines spelled out.

 

They violated the NHL's combine testing policy - see bolded from the NHL's press release announcing the sanctions:

 

NEW YORK (Aug. 26, 2020) -- The National Hockey League has sanctioned the Arizona Coyotes for violating the NHL’s Combine Testing Policy during the 2019-20 season, directing the forfeiture of the Club’s 2nd-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and 1st-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

 

The sanctions were announced by Commissioner Gary Bettman, who convened a hearing on the matter August 6 that included testimony from representatives of the Coyotes and the NHL. At the outset of the hearing, the Club acknowledged that it had violated the Policy by conducting physical testing on 2020 draft-eligible players prior to the Combine.

 

In reaching his decision, Commissioner Bettman outlined key reasons for the Policy’s prohibition on physical testing prior to the Combine: to ensure competitive fairness among Clubs with respect to evaluating and drafting prospects and to avoid subjecting prospects to repeated and duplicative testing procedures.

 

The sanctions were imposed under Article 6.3 of the NHL Constitution, which authorizes the Commissioner to impose discipline “if he determines . . . that any person . . . has either violated the Constitution, the By-Laws, or any other governing rule or regulation of the League, or has been or is guilty of conduct . . . detrimental to the League or the game of hockey.”

 

Further, Article 6.3 empowers the Commissioner to deprive the offending Club of draft choices “if the conduct in question affects the competitive aspects of the game.”

 

“While the Combine Testing Policy Memoranda reference a fine of “no less than $250,000 for each violation” of the Policy, I exercise my discretion to impose the aforementioned discipline—which I consider to be more appropriate given the specific circumstances of this case,” said Commissioner Bettman.

 

“As for the Club personnel who participated in, or may have contributed to, the Club’s violation of the Policy, I have decided that no discipline shall be imposed on these individuals. While I conclude that certain Club personnel acted in a grossly negligent manner at best, which was conceded by the Club, I ultimately conclude that the record does not establish—to a standard with which I am comfortable—that those individuals engaged in intentional wrongdoing, as opposed to grossly negligent behavior.”

 

The NHL will not comment further on this matter.

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by mll

[peaches5]

11 hours ago, theo5789 said:

No said Sutter has no value. Being able to trade Sutter and get his full 4.2 million off the books is the challenge. Perhaps a team is willing to take him on, but not without some retention. Teams know cap space is a premium right now, so no team is going to take on that much cap that easily. Roussel may be moveable, but it's not enough to fit in 8.5 million dollars. We may have to move a Roussel (and/or buyout Sutter or trade with retention) just to be able to fit Markstrom and Tanev. OEL is an LD which overloads that side if we acquire and puts us short a top 4 RD, while making it tough to re-sign Marky as well.

 

We may have players that other teams want, but that could be someone like Gaudette or Motte for example. He never said there's demand on all of the players on our roster.

 

I'm not concerned about the cap either to be honest, but that's only when it comes to trying to sign Marky and Tanev. Not trying to fit in 8.5 million dollars. If we could work out that much cap, then we may as well try and go after Pietrangelo would would fit our needs better.

You don't really know who JB was referring to but it was geared more towards trading vets for draft picks not trading away young players. There ie beagle too who has shown he still has value to a contender. There are plenty of guys that can be offloaded to make the space to take OEL.

 

You're not going to have Tanev and OEL. Same thing if you signed Pietrangelo it means no Tanev. Or you are trading Myers which I don't see happening. I think you can lose Myers in the expansion draft..but via trade with his contract, and NTC, it will be tough. 

[Dekey Pete]

13 hours ago, Squamfan said:

There moving to Quebec, so it’s a nice screw u gift from BettmAn

actually?

[theo5789]

37 minutes ago, peaches5 said:

You don't really know who JB was referring to but it was geared more towards trading vets for draft picks not trading away young players. There ie beagle too who has shown he still has value to a contender. There are plenty of guys that can be offloaded to make the space to take OEL.

 

You're not going to have Tanev and OEL. Same thing if you signed Pietrangelo it means no Tanev. Or you are trading Myers which I don't see happening. I think you can lose Myers in the expansion draft..but via trade with his contract, and NTC, it will be tough. 

No one knows, but you can't spot pick players and think it'll be easy to just unload cap in this current cap world. Perhaps players that teams may have taken a chance on prior to covid thinking the cap will go up are now no longer an option without retention. If it was that easy to unload cap, then why are there so many discussions regarding who to keep between Tanev, Marky and Toffoli? Why not keep all three since it's so easy to do? So like I said, you may find a suitor for Sutter, but it is very unlikely we save his entire cap hit either through retention or taking on a contract back or if we add a sweetener which is also something Benning has been trying to avoid. The more bodies you move, you start depleting the depth of the roster.

 

I am well aware that we wouldn't have both OEL and Tanev, but that's exactly my point. OEL is an LD, so by adding him and not retaining Tanev, you're leaving a gaping hole on the right side. Not a smart use of the cap. And I know we wouldn't have Tanev if we signed Pietrangelo, but my point is if it's so easy to open up cap space (which I don't believe), then might as well target a position of need. Adding either OEL (while giving up picks/prospect for quality cheap depth to fill the gaps) or Pietrangelo means no Toffoli, no Tanev and more challenging to sign Marky. Even if it's possible to move out players to fit in Marky and one of those guys, then you're taking out depth that needs to be filled (eg lose Beagle, you lose a valuable faceoff guy, while losing Sutter on top of this would weaken us at center greatly).

 

You have to consider the negatives as well of adding someone like OEL or Pietrangelo.

[peaches5]

1 minute ago, theo5789 said:

No one knows, but you can't spot pick players and think it'll be easy to just unload cap in this current cap world. Perhaps players that teams may have taken a chance on prior to covid thinking the cap will go up are now no longer an option without retention. If it was that easy to unload cap, then why are there so many discussions regarding who to keep between Tanev, Marky and Toffoli? Why not keep all three since it's so easy to do? So like I said, you may find a suitor for Sutter, but it is very unlikely we save his entire cap hit either through retention or taking on a contract back or if we add a sweetener which is also something Benning has been trying to avoid. The more bodies you move, you start depleting the depth of the roster.

 

I am well aware that we wouldn't have both OEL and Tanev, but that's exactly my point. OEL is an LD, so by adding him and not retaining Tanev, you're leaving a gaping hole on the right side. Not a smart use of the cap. And I know we wouldn't have Tanev if we signed Pietrangelo, but my point is if it's so easy to open up cap space (which I don't believe), then might as well target a position of need. Adding either OEL (while giving up picks/prospect for quality cheap depth to fill the gaps) or Pietrangelo means no Toffoli, no Tanev and more challenging to sign Marky. Even if it's possible to move out players to fit in Marky and one of those guys, then you're taking out depth that needs to be filled (eg lose Beagle, you lose a valuable faceoff guy, while losing Sutter on top of this would weaken us at center greatly).

 

You have to consider the negatives as well of adding someone like OEL or Pietrangelo.

I have considered the negatives and losing Roussel, Beagle, Sutter, Tanev and bringing in a bonafide number 1 dman is well worth that trade off. The fact Beagle can win faceoffs and still play a very competitive gritty game gives him value. A playoff team with cap space that struggles in the faceoff circle would definitely look at adding him. Sutter is generally good in the face/off circle too although lately he is been a tad under 50%. There are teams out there that want these guys. If you can't trade Sutter then trade Beagle. Trade Roussel. Defense is way more important to this team than those guys. We need better defense and we can hope we can fill those positions with youngers guy stepping up like Gaudette. 

[mll]

32 minutes ago, Dekey Pete said:

actually?

No.  Meruelo confirmed that he intends to keep the team in Arizona.  He believes that there is a lot of growth potential and is targeting the fairly untapped Hispanic market. 

[theo5789]

20 minutes ago, peaches5 said:

I have considered the negatives and losing Roussel, Beagle, Sutter, Tanev and bringing in a bonafide number 1 dman is well worth that trade off. The fact Beagle can win faceoffs and still play a very competitive gritty game gives him value. A playoff team with cap space that struggles in the faceoff circle would definitely look at adding him. Sutter is generally good in the face/off circle too although lately he is been a tad under 50%. There are teams out there that want these guys. If you can't trade Sutter then trade Beagle. Trade Roussel. Defense is way more important to this team than those guys. We need better defense and we can hope we can fill those positions with youngers guy stepping up like Gaudette. 

Like I said, I haven't said those players have no value, but to think it would be easy to unload them and we get back the entire cap hit of these players is a pipe dream at best. So you're looking at moving out a bunch of depth to fill a position where we currently have Hughes and Edler (who took on a favourable contract for us to stay) taking on the top 4 duties.

 

Defense may be important, but it's RD that we need more help with. I have no problem moving on from Sutter, but I highly doubt we can move his entire cap without a sweetener (while giving up a bunch already to potentially acquire OEL) or retention. Beagle is an important player for us currently and we don't have a viable replacement for him yet. Roussel may be the best bet to unload his cap, but we may to do this regardless of whatever happens.

 

Like I've said before, it's not that simple to just trade out cap. There are many teams in the same boat, it'll be a buyer's market with the cap flat.

[KoreanHockeyFan]

Just move to Quebec City already. They deserve an NHL franchise. 

 

Move Columbus or Detroit back to the West.

[Ghostsof1915]

1 hour ago, KoreanHockeyFan said:

Just move to Quebec City already. They deserve an NHL franchise. 

 

Move Columbus or Detroit back to the West.

No chance Detroit moves back west. Columbus maybe.

[c00kies]

1 hour ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

No chance Detroit moves back west. Columbus maybe.

Yeah Detroit waited forever to finally get their wish to move out East.

 

Columbus maybe. Is there another team that is more central?

[khay]

22 hours ago, Tortorella's Rant said:

Proves trying to manage a team largely based on statistics doesn't work. We've seen it before. You may get lucky for a while but in the end it fails. 

He's not a statistician by any measure though. Maybe a statistician wannabe? Or pretender? 

 

Agree that managing a team based on statistics alone doesn't work, but it should be used in every decision making process to corroborate your conclusions.

[KoreanHockeyFan]

2 hours ago, c00kies said:

Yeah Detroit waited forever to finally get their wish to move out East.

 

Columbus maybe. Is there another team that is more central?

If Arizona did relocate and one of them had to move, I think it'd be easier now given the 4-division format the league has now instead of the two conference one.

[UKNuck96]

Not having followed this much, is this a Arizona thing or are they being made examples of and its really the tip of the iceberg?

[UKNuck96]

1 hour ago, khay said:

He's not a statistician by any measure though. Maybe a statistician wannabe? Or pretender? 

 

Agree that managing a team based on statistics alone doesn't work, but it should be used in every decision making process to corroborate your conclusions.

Agree - people who rely on stats don’t know stats or proper analytics. It’s designed to be a complimentary tool, can be used to create some predictions/models but in the world of sport it really does need to be interpreted correctly. 
 

 

[khay]

21 minutes ago, KoreanHockeyFan said:

If Arizona did relocate and one of them had to move, I think it'd be easier now given the 4-division format the league has now instead of the two conference one.

Agree. Detroit/CBJ can move to Central division without looking like they are out of place.

 

Personally, I would love to get Detroit back in the Western conference. It would bring back/revive some old rivalries from when they were the powerhouse in the 90's and 2000's.