Another dispute between the two major leagues...what else is new?
This time, the KHL has claimed that the Los Angeles Kings have illegally signed two prospects (Vjateslav Voinov and Andrei Loktionov) who were supposedly under contract to KHL teams. Bill Daly has claimed that no such violation occured, that the two players were indeed available to sign.
Now, here's my thinking: if the player really is under contract to a KHL team, and is signed by an NHL team, one thing should be checked—was the player in question drafted by said NHL team? If so, then the signing should be legal, because so far, there has been no rule against NHL teams drafting players who are under contract in other leagues. And by my understanding, once that NHL team has drafted that player, the team is free to sign the player at any time because the player is drafted property.
Perhaps if the KHL really wants to keep their players away from the NHL, they should consider the KHL protected against the NHL draft, and vice-versa if the KHL has a draft.
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