Article 10 is also relevant - under the Defected Players section.
I have posted my interpretation on my blog -- but I'm not sure if it's 100% correct. Please inform me if you see any issues.
http://emulehockey.blogspot.com/
Emule
Mostly right - a couple of comments.
The bona fide offer claue (8.6(d)) was also in the old CBA. A team making a bona fide offer (a min salary ELS offer) before the next June 1 retained draft rights for a second year, until the following June 1.
Under the old CBA, unsigned Euro draftees are treated as "Defected Players" under Article 10.2(b)(i)(B). They were treated as Group iV RFAs (Right of First Refusal, but no Compensation) - the team that drafted them effectively held them indefinitely. The same langauge is in the new CBA with a big caveat described below.
In the new CBA, the exception in 8.6(a)(iii) that a 20 yo draftee who re-enters the draft at 22 only has his draft rights held for a year (and cannot be extended by a bona fide offer) does not apply to players drafted from outside North America.
In the new CBA, the exception in 8.6(b)(iii) for a 19 yo draftee who leaves Major Juniors in the first year after the draft - the team owns his draft rights for 3 years, but can extend that to 4 years by making a bona fide offer.
Under the new CBA, the rules on "Defected Players" and Group IV RFA status are the same as under the old CBA, with one very big BUT - there is a letter agreement between the NHL and NHLPA to abolish the "Defected Player" status if a satisfactory IIHF Player Transfer Agreement is signed - effectively making European draftees treated the same as North American Juniors - the team will hold their rights for two years instead of indefinitely.
1. The parties agree that the NHL's agreement to eliminate "defected
status" for European draftees is necessarily and expressly contingent on its ability to
negotiate a satisfactory IIHF Player Transfer Agreement, which is substantially consistent
with the terms of past Agreements. In the event the NHL is unable to negotiate a
satisfactory successor IIHF Agreement or make other comparable arrangements to allow
NHL Clubs the opportunity to sign European players, the changes to "defected status"
contemplated in Articles 8 and 10 of the CBA will automatically be tolled, and the parties
will consult regarding whether corresponding and resulting changes to the CBA should
be made.
2. The CBA provisions pertaining to "defected status" will be maintained
"as is" in the CBA, but the understanding of the parties is that such provisions will have
no further force or effect in the new CBA upon the completion of a new IIHF Player
Transfer Agreement. Only in the event that no such replacement Player Transfer
Agreement is successfully completed, shall such provisions have potential application on
a basis to be negotiated by the parties.
It is uncertain if the current IIHF PTA approved by all countries except Russia meets the criteria of that letter, and whether the suspension of the Defected Player status is in effect, in effect for players other than from Russia, or not in effect at all.
Also, the status of "Defected Player" unsigned pre-lockout draftees is defined in Exhibit 16.2(n). The defected player status of those draftees expires by deadlines set by draft year. If unsigned, those draftees would become UFAs, but still subject to ELS Salary Limits.