According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the National Hockey League will fine the Dallas Stars organization for violating certain terms in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA. The NHL hasn’t directly confirmed the punishment but the Stars organization is expected to pay a $100K fine.
The punishment was warranted because Dallas held an ’optional’ practice on December 26th. The CBA strictly prohibits practice and travel for their terms on certain days during the holidays of the regular season so no team has a competitive advantage over another.
This isn’t the first time a team has been fined for violating the CBA over a holiday break. Two years ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs were fined $100K for a similar infraction. Toronto left one day early from 2022’s holiday freeze for a game against the St. Louis Blues. Outside of Toronto’s example, the last time a team was fined for a similar event was in 2015 when the Philadelphia Flyers left a day earlier than allowed.
There’s no evidence the Stars deliberately attempted to circumvent the CBA, as they may have reasonably believed making the practice optional would limit the league’s concern. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes the CBA’s language is fairly black and white saying, “There are rules about what you’re not allowed to do. You’re not allowed to practice, you are not allowed to provide ice to players. The Stars had some kind of skate on Boxing Day, and that has gotten the league’s attention.“
Ironically enough, The Dallas Stars are coached by an attorney.
Objection! Relevance.
Bill Belichick says this is fine. Tom Brady agrees.
Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong also concur.
AJ Hinch and Alex Cora don’t see the big deal here.
If you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying