Speculation: Has a team ever signed a free agent with the intention of trading them?

[Djp]

I think I'd still count Devin Setoguchi in that category.
Signing Date: Jun. 23, 2011
Trade Date: Jun. 24, 2011

Granted he was just a part of the Burns trade, but IIRC his having a contract was a requirement.

But Retention WAS NOT done on the new contract signed And team still had his rights as of prior trade deadline

 

[banks]

There's been trades with a contract agreed to beforehand. Havlat to Chicago was a trade and sign.

There's been RFA players that entend, than are immediately traded. Hossa for Heatley.

There's been players that sign, and are instantly claimed on waivers. Sateri to Phoenix from Toronto.

But a UFA signing with a new team only to be instantly traded before playing a game? Never that I know of. You could conceivably plan it out with both teams and the player aware of it beforehand.

 

[AslanRH]

But Retention WAS NOT done on the new contract signed And team still had his rights as of prior trade deadline

I was responding to the post I quoted.

 

[gdsmack267]

Every rebuilding team should always target mid to lower tier free agents to one year deals in hopes they can move them at the deadlines.

Arizona signing Zucker to a 1 year deal is a perfect example. I could see a few playoff teams looking to acquire a guy like him knowing the contract ends this year

 

[Djp]

The one year TDL thing is a common one and it doesn't seem like there's an issue with it.

I think it depends on the scenario going forward. This year was one of the first where we saw sign and voids (Galchenyuk) as well as sign and trade (Tkachuk). As more examples of these show up, I wonder if more teams may find the circumstances to make such a transaction possible.

I think signing a UFA and then trading them rapidly could occur, but I don't think you could get away with it if your intention was to trade immediately and not try to leverage their contract status at the TDL. However, I guess this could be possible if a player suddenly had family they wanted to be around (illness) and it was either retain and trade to a specific location vs the player go on an extended leave of absence. Maybe something like that? (ie: Heart attack of a family member a few weeks after signing as UFA?) But I assume teams would try and ask the league if it's allowed prior to doing it vs just doing it and asking for forgiveness.

a 1 yr rental you sign you can trade at the deadline. If something personal came up like parent cancer diagnosis they might ask to get traded to a closer city or do a contract termination under mutual agreement.

teams aren’t retaining salary for family stuff. They could trade the player.

three league can give waivers on situations where player X who signed a 6+ yr contract with team Y and a wife/child/ parent health issues come up that try can take a leave of absence where the contract is suspended or it comes off the cap for that year they are out. In some ways it’s similar to not getting paid due to a non-hockey injury.

teams are allowed to do long retentions on players they had signed and played for 1+ yr and realize it’s a bad fit. We saw it with OEL, Hayes, and Kessel.

league will step in of the smell test isn’t passed

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

I mean, this happens all the time with teams doing 1 years and then moving players at the deadline.

But if you're talking sign and then immediately trade, not really. (Except when it's their own RFA and the trade is contingent on an extension)

 

[Chainshot]

Just wondering if a team has ever weaponized their cap space in this way? I do this in Chel all the time.

For example, a team with ample cap space signs Patrick Kane to a lucrative one year deal and then immediately flips him with 50% retention to another team.

I know Buffalo did this with Taylor Hall but they did not have the intention at the time of the signing.

The Hall signing though had a mutual aspect - he and they had agreed that if it wasn't going well he would be moved.