Re the "no transfer agreement" rule per the CBA:
Quote:
This Letter Agreement is a supplement to the Collective Bargaining
Agreement ("CBA"), dated as of July 22, 2005, is incorporated therein and sets forth our agreement relating to the NHL's efforts to secure a new Player Transfer Agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation ("IIHF").
1. The parties agree that the NHL's agreement to eliminate "defected
status" for European draftees is necessarily and expressly contingent on its ability to negotiate a satisfactory IIHF Player Transfer Agreement, which is substantially consistent with the terms of past Agreements. In the event the NHL is unable to negotiate a satisfactory successor IIHF Agreement or make other comparable arrangements to allow NHL Clubs the opportunity to sign European players, the changes to "defected status" contemplated in Articles 8 and 10 of the CBA will automatically be tolled, and the parties will consult regarding whether corresponding and resulting changes to the CBA should be made.
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Now while this was part of the 2005 CBA, pages 497 and 498 of the 2013 CBA says this letter will be part of the 2013 CBA.
There is no transfer agreement between Russia and the NHL, therefore by the above if that prevents the Flames from signing Rafikov, all things about the draft (Article 8) including the provision about the number of years they have to sign a draft pick will be tolled.
It is the same rule that allowed the Blues and Capitals keep the rights to Tarasenko and Kuznetsov respectively past the two years that the 2005 CBA said they had to sign them.