Four NHL players have been charged with sexual assault related to an alleged incident in London, Ontario when they were members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior hockey team. Carter Hart of Philadelphia Flyers, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils, and Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames have been charged after surrendering to police. Former NHL player Alex Formenton has also been charged.
In light of the sexual assault charges, many are asking if NHL teams will terminate or void the contracts of the four players.
Put another way, will teams fire the players for cause and not pay them out what is still owed on their deals?
The answer is no. Don’t expect the teams to terminate the players.
Typically, when a player is facing only allegations of criminal wrongdoing, that player will be placed on administrative or paid leave pending the disposition of the criminal matter.
If the players were suspended without pay or terminated at this juncture, the NHLPA would respond almost immediately with a grievance.
In fact, the four players have all been granted leave by their teams. That suggests they are on paid leave.
As well, the NHL CBA at Article 18.5 A contemplates suspensions within the context of ongoing criminal proceedings. This section of the CBA provides that the league “may suspend the Player pending the League’s formal review and disposition of the matter where the failure to suspend the Player during this period would create a substantial risk of material harm to the legitimate interests and/or reputation of the League.”
So this language contemplates suspensions and not terminations.
After the criminal matter has concluded, and the league has completed its own investigation, it could at that time discipline the players as it sees fit. Indeed, Gary Bettman as Commissioner has broad discretionary powers conferred upon him by the CBA.
Typically, merely being charged would not be considered a material breach.
Now let’s be clear: a player who is only charged but not convicted can still be terminated. In that case, though, there would need to be clear and convincing evidence that there was criminal wrongdoing (like a graphic video of an assault). Termination is the exception and not the rule.
No Point In Terminating The Contracts
All four players are either in the final year of their deals or on one year deals. Hart and Dube are on 3-year deals that will end at the end of the season. They’re worth $11.9 million and $6.9 million, respectively. McLeod is on a 1-year $1.4 million deal and Foote is on a 1-year $800,000 deal.
So these four players are not under contract next season. Teams are 48 games or so into their season so they are well past the halfway point. The legal proceedings will of course extend well beyond this season.
So there really isn’t a sense of contractual urgency to cut these players now.
The course of action is to place the players on leave, and at the end of the season, elect not to re-sign them. There is no legal obligation to give the players new contracts.
And if teams want to rid themselves of the players now, they could just buy them out. Given the deals, it’s not a substantial amount.
So the players will stay on paid leave, and when their contracts expire at season’s end, the teams may well just walk away. And depending on how the criminal proceedings unfold, the players may subsequently be disciplined by the NHL.
