Quoting: F50marco
Ok so I'm not going to act like I understand the CBA 100% because that is insane so let me know If I missed something but players can be signed to 1 year deals and then get traded. There is nothing against that. It was literally done last year, just not in preseason and not before a player played a game for that team yet. Which may be the thing that dictates whether or not its considered cap circumvention or not but to my knowledge, that is not what is written in the CBA so how can it be enforced? Maybe I missed something though?
Andrew Cogliano signed a 1 year deal with SJ last year and then was traded at the TDL to Colorado with retention (50%). Taylor Hall signed a 1 year deal in Buffalo and then was traded to Boston with retention later that year.
So the question is, at what point is it no longer cap circumvention then? Maybe Klingberg plays 1 game with the Habs and then is shipped off to EDM? Would that still be cap circumvention? If so, then its that the player must play at least one game first but if that's the case, that is not what is stated in the CBA. Neither is it stated a trade can't happen before the season starts either. It just says they can't do cap circumvention. (Once again, too my understanding)
Calling it a "sign and trade" is not a legal term either. Its just describing the action. Its used to describe the player signing a contract and then directly being traded right after wards but if you remove the "directly" and replace it with "later then was traded", is it still a sign and trade? If so, at what point does this hypothetical Klingberg deal become similar to the two trades I mentioned above? There has to be a specific point in time where it can no longer be cap circumvention and that is where i don't know if the CBA actually identifies that.
Because I mean if team could simply hold onto the guy for 1 game and then trade him with retention, that wouldn't be a huge hurdle to get around for teams.
The thing is, the league purposely added wording to the effect that they have final say on what is and is not cap circumvention. Signing a player to a contact designed to circumvent the cap (get that player at a lower cap hit) is covered in these paragraphs
Circumventions.
(a) No Club or Club Actor,
directly or indirectly, may: (i)
enter into any agreements,
promises, undertakings, representations, commitments, inducements, assurances of intent, or
understandings of any kind,
whether express, implied, oral or written, including without
limitation, any SPC, Qualifying Offer, Offer Sheet or other transaction, or (ii) take or fail to take
any action whatsoever,
if either (i) or (ii) is intended to or has the effect of defeating or
Circumventing the provisions of this Agreement or the intention of the parties as reflected by the
provisions of this Agreement, including without limitation, provisions with respect to the
financial and other reporting obligations of the Clubs and the League, Team Payroll Range,
Player Compensation Cost Redistribution System, the Entry Level System and/or Free Agency.
(i) Any act by a Club Actor that, if committed by the Club would constitute a
Circumvention, shall be imputed to the Club and shall be deemed to be a
Circumvention by the Club.
(b) No Player or Player Actor, directly or indirectly, may: (i) enter into any
agreements, promises, undertakings, representations, commitments, inducements, assurances of
intent, or understandings of any kind, whether express, implied, oral or written, including
160
ARTICLE 26 26.3-26.3
without limitation, any SPC, Qualifying Offer, Offer Sheet or other transaction, or (ii) take or fail
to take any action whatsoever, if the Player knows or reasonably should have known (measured
by the objective standard of the "reasonable Player under the circumstances") that either (i) or (ii)
is intended to and has the effect of defeating or Circumventing the provisions of this Agreement
or the intention of the parties as reflected by the provisions of this Agreement, including without
limitation, provisions with respect to the Team Payroll Range, the Entry Level System and/or
Free Agency.
(c) Such knowledge or knowledge imputed under Section 26.3(c)(i) of a Player
applies to all references to Players set forth in Sections 26.1, 26.3 and 26.5, i.e., a Player has not
engaged in a Circumvention unless the Player knew or reasonably should have known that the
conduct at issue was intended to have and did have the effect of defeating or Circumventing the
provisions of this Agreement or the intention of the parties as reflected by the provisions of this
Agreement, including without limitation, provisions with respect to the Team Payroll Range, the
Entry Level System, and/or Free Agency
Here is the Key paragraph
if either (i) or (ii) is intended to or has the effect of defeating or Circumventing the provisions of this Agreement or the intention of the parties as reflected by the
provisions of this Agreement, including without limitation, provisions with respect to the financial and other reporting obligations of the Clubs and the League, Team Payroll Range,
Player Compensation Cost Redistribution System, the Entry Level System and/or Free Agency.
This states that if there is intent (remember the league gets to define what intent is) to circumvent the cap (in this case getting a player at a lower cap hit by means of an agreement with a rival team to sign said player to a higher hit then flip him with retention), knowing full well that that player is worth the higher hit
and only negotiating with one team (in other words not having the player available to all clubs) makes this circumvention. it is a way to purposely defeat the salary cap.
Edit** now IF the signing team made said player available to all teams not just the Oilers in this case, that would likely not be considered circumvention.