European players and agents understand that section 8.6(a) of the NHL CBA entitles Clubs, who draft a player from a North American league, a substantially smaller exclusivity window. This window lasts for a maximum of two years. Further the NHL club must provide a “Bona Fide Offer” to the player in order to enjoy the second year of the window.
Therefore, if a European Player moves to the United States or Canada to play junior hockey, the NHL clubs are required to sign the player to a contract within a two year window; whereas, if the same player were to remain in Europe for his junior hockey, the NHL clubs would not have to extend a contract for up to four years.
Illustrating this further is the case of Gabriel Landeskog who started playing junior hockey in the J20 (under 20 years old) SuperElit league in Sweden. After a year on the junior team Landeskog was promoted to the Elitserien, the top tier league in Sweden, where he played for Djurgardens IF at the age of sixteen. After a season in the Elitserien, Landeskog left Sweden for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), a junior league in Canada. Landeskog played for the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL for two years until he turned the age of 18 and was eligible for the NHL draft. In 2011, Landeskog was drafted 2nd overall by the Colorado Avalanche.
If Landeskog was drafted under the current CBA rules, the Avalanche would enjoy the exclusive rights to Landeskog for a maximum of two years. This is due to the fact that Landeskog left Sweden for the OHL before he entered the draft. However, if Landeskog remained in Sweden, the Avalanche would enjoy a four-year window to sign him.