Quote:
Originally Posted by cam_calderon
He didn't enter the player assistance program, so surely when he left the continent the club could have ripped up his contract.
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That's kind of my point. I don't believe he was officially in any NHL program with direct supervision or timelines. I think Seravalli said in a Twitter post that he was, but I don't think he had his facts straight. Typically when players enter the NHL assistance program, it shows up as official transaction and it is announced. With Kylington, it never showed up as a transaction nor was it announced by the team. The Flames publicly stated that he was taking a personal leave and the conditions and schedule for his return were on the player's own terms without pressure.
Similar to Texier in Columbus, but in that case the team suspended him to get the contract off the books, while still morally supporting the player and leaving the door open to return. That seems to be the typical way these things are handled. Players have a choice, they can enter a program with the intention to get them back into action as soon as possible under the supervision of NHL approved specialists and still get paid. Or they can take a leave and go home to deal with matters on their own (like Texier and Kylington did), but in those cases, the team usually suspends them to get the contract off the books.
Kylington's situation was even more awkward because he took one leave of absence, then signed a brand new contract and took another leave before even playing a game under the new contract. The Flames did what they did under their own volition and because they are a good organization. The least Kylington could have done was follow the rules and wait until July 1st to start listening to other offers. I don't think that is asking too much.