Examining A Key Change In The NHL’s Transfer Agreement With Sweden

Earlier this month, the NHL and the Swedish Hockey Association reached a new Player Transfer Agreement.  SportExpressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom has the details of the agreement, some of the highlights being as follows:

• A more than 45% increase in the money paid to Swedish teams whose player signs an NHL contract;
• The signing deadline for previously-drafted and free agent players is June 15th each year;
• The regular signing deadline for players drafted in the current year is July 15th with a $100K penalty being added if they wait until August 15th;
• It’s an eight-year agreement with both sides having an option to open it up after four years.

However, there is one significant change that warrants a closer look.  Under the old agreement, players drafted in the second round or later that are also signed in Sweden had to be at least 21 before they could be sent to the AHL.  If they were younger than that, they had to be returned to their Swedish team.  In the new agreement, that threshold has been increased to 24.  Any player from Sweden who signs an NHL contract will now be subject to the new agreement while anyone that signed before the announcement will be under the old rules.

The intention of this provision is to have players stay and play in Sweden until they’re ready to play in the NHL.  It’s one thing for players to make the jump to the NHL and this agreement doesn’t prevent that from happening.  But it has now become a bit more difficult to get those players into the minor leagues.

NHL teams understandably want to get their prospects into their farm system and work with their development coaches so this is something that probably isn’t going to sit well with teams as now, they will effectively be limited to development and rookie camps with the latter likely to be frowned upon as Sweden’s season gets underway at the time that NHL rookie camps are held in mid-September.

Also, as there is a signed transfer agreement in place, NHL teams have four years to sign players to an entry-level contract which hasn’t changed from before.  If the drafted player is 18, that means he’d be 22 at the end of that stretch and signing a two-year contract.  For the duration of that agreement, teams could effectively face an NHL or Sweden situation depending on the players’ contractual situation in Sweden and the deal will count against the 50-contract limit during that time even if they’re returned overseas.

It’s worth noting that there are no changes to the rule for first-round picks.  If a Swedish player is picked in the first round, the NHL team can send the player to the minors without requiring the approval of his team in Sweden.

Now, with the extended restriction for those picked after the opening round, it will be interesting to see if that has any effect on the draft.  Do teams consider slightly reaching for a player at the end of the first round that might be rated a bit lower on their list to the ability to have full control of their development?  And as the draft progresses, might teams be more hesitant to draft players from Sweden knowing it will be more difficult to get them into their farm system?  We’ll find out the answer to those questions three months from now.