Quote:
Originally Posted by Parallex
Because they could have (and should have) convinced him to let them be one of the teams.
I'm not gonna shed any tears for teams that can't or won't. These organizations are supposed to be in competition with one another, they're supposed to look for that extra edge.
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You are pretty much arguing against the reason drafts exist in professional sports. They are there to ensure the fair distribution of new talent to all teams. It is not about which team a prospect wants to go to or is willing to do stuff for.
Anyways the NHL has always maintained that independent testing by NHL teams was against the rules. The fine was insignificant and it was mostly overlooked when teams invited small groups of players until Buffalo basically re-did the whole combine after the NHL held theirs.
edit:
Just to be clear, I am not against other teams going for an extra edge when it comes to drafting. What it comes down to for me is that physical testing behind closed doors provides only a few teams with potentially advantageous information because a prospect can only be physically tested a limited number of times. An edge becomes an unfair advantage, unless every team has the opportunity to gain the same "edge". If every team has an opportunity to get that edge but for whatever reason doesn't pursue it, then that is their own fault.