[News] NHL takes away 2020 2nd and 2021 1st from Arizona for combine testing violations

[sureLoss]

https://media.nhl.com/public/news/14263

NEW YORK (August 26, 2020) -- The National Hockey League has sanctioned the Arizona Coyotes for violating the NHL's Combine Testing Policy during the 2019-20 season, directing the forfeiture of the Club’s 2nd-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and 1st-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.



The sanctions were announced by Commissioner Gary Bettman, who convened a hearing on the matter August 6 that included testimony from representatives of the Coyotes and the NHL. At the outset of the hearing, the Club acknowledged that it had violated the Policy by conducting physical testing on 2020 draft-eligible players prior to the Combine.



In reaching his decision, Commissioner Bettman outlined key reasons for the Policy’s prohibition on physical testing prior to the Combine: to ensure competitive fairness among Clubs with respect to evaluating and drafting prospects and to avoid subjecting prospects to repeated and duplicative testing procedures.



The sanctions were imposed under Article 6.3 of the NHL Constitution, which authorizes the Commissioner to impose discipline "if he determines . . . that any person . . . has either violated the Constitution, the By-Laws, or any other governing rule or regulation of the League, or has been or is guilty of conduct . . . detrimental to the League or the game of hockey."



Further, Article 6.3 empowers the Commissioner to deprive the offending Club of draft choices "if the conduct in question affects the competitive aspects of the game."



"While the Combine Testing Policy Memoranda reference a fine of “no less than $250,000 for each violation” of the Policy, I exercise my discretion to impose the aforementioned discipline—which I consider to be more appropriate given the specific circumstances of this case," said Commissioner Bettman.



"As for the Club personnel who participated in, or may have contributed to, the Club’s violation of the Policy, I have decided that no discipline shall be imposed on these individuals. While I conclude that certain Club personnel acted in a grossly negligent manner at best, which was conceded by the Club, I ultimately conclude that the record does not establish—to a standard with which I am comfortable—that those individuals engaged in intentional wrongdoing, as opposed to grossly negligent behavior."



The NHL will not comment further on this matter.

[dino7c]

good, a league with the balls to actually punish cheaters

[devo22]

yikes

[Gaudreau is a Ninja]

Ouch!

[Red_Baron]

That is a pretty costly penalty. Surprised Bettman came down that hard after trying to make things work there for so long.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Wow, that is significant. Good for the NHL.
Waiting on Jordan to decry the unfairness of it all...

[dino7c]

If you don't come down hard teams are going to keep pushing...look at baseball

[Vinny01]

Wow that stings

[ComixZone]

That organization is screwed.

[sureLoss]

As things sit now the Coyotes won't draft until the 4th round of the 2020 draft.

This is a significant punishment. What the Coyotes did in physically testing draft eligibles is an even bigger advantage over other teams when you consider that the draft combine was cancelled this year so there would not have been an opportunity for other teams to get that same information.

[Ashasx]

Wow. Even I think a 1st is too harsh.

[browna]

Costly for trying to figure out ahead of the game if some players were fit or recovered fully from an injury etc. Wonder if this gives the Arizona owners more fodder against the GM who wants to go work with the Devils. It was said at the time of that coming to light that it had nothing to do with this, but we will see.

Good on the league for sending the message.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

Wow. Even I think a 1st is too harsh.

If it were a minor penalty teams would just do it and ignore the rules

they thought it didn't apply to them? there is no excuse

[d_phaneuf]

Lol chakya came in and just cheated constantly, then left before the punishment came

[circle]

It's a very good sign that the NHL is punishing a cheating team accordingly. This is a huge setback for the Coyotes considering that they are a middling team that will likely be in lottery contention again next year. Nice to see a precedent being set by the NHL.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Chayka should get some form of punishment too.

How he gets to just screw his team over and then just leave it kind of pisses me off.

[MolsonInBothHands]

They may be receptive to getting a pick for negotiating rights to hall now.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by MolsonInBothHands

They may be receptive to getting a pick for negotiating rights to hall now.

Or may try even harder to re-sign him because they simply can't be bad next season.

[Flamenspiel]

That explains the whole Chayka scandal.

[nik-]

tough penalty.