It wasn't when it was Radulov and Sobotka.
Yeah, I understand that's not the league's reasoning here. Here it's just "no new contracts."
To me, it's a difference worth exploring.
If you had a prospect threatening, so to speak, to return for his senior season if he weren't signed for the playoffs (burning a year on a partial performance) it's more legit to sign him than it is to pretend you're pressed when in reality you are at hardly any risk of losing his rights (as in this case). They've held his rights since June 2015... what's the rush now? The league, understandably, would prefer for a bona fide player to be under contract and playing, not using the KHL as leverage against the team that holds his rights.
Again, could the league change this policy in the next month or so, as conditions change, and we gain clarity? Possibly. But it's not like any other season. There was a cessation of play, international travel is mostly suspended, paychecks lost, health risks. Why introduce another wrinkle that harms the NHLPA's interests in creating jobs for its members who have paid into escrow all season AND the league's interests in managing its assets in a timely and fair fashion?
And again, I blame Chuck Fletcher for dithering with this kid for two and a half years when it was always clear he was a special prospect.