Lander and the Swedish transfer agreement

[Fourier]

I am hoping for some clarity wrt the rights of Anton Lander and the Swedish transfer agreement.

There are some on the Oiler board that think he must be signed this year or he goes back in the draft. I am niot sure that this is the case and I'll give you two words why I think this is up in the air: Jesper Samuelsson

I am sure we are all more than familiar with the case of young Jesper.

But just so I am clear. He was drafted in 2008 by the Red Wings and is of yet not signed. He is however still listed as a Red Wing prospect. The reason I think this is ok is because at the time he was drafted there was no transfer agreement in place with Sweden. By playing in Sweden he would have fallen under the defector status in the previous CBA. Now the defector status was technically eliminated in this CBA under the condition that the NHL sign an appropriate transfer agreement with the IIHF.

Here is where this simple tale gets a little murky as no such agreement has been signed. The NHL did sign a transfer agreement in 2010 (after Lander had been drafted) with the SIHF, but at the time as far as I know there was no word what so ever on whether the relevant clauses in this agreement would apply to players who had been drafted prior to its signing.

Enter young Jesper. He has not yet signed with the Wings AFAIK but remains Red Wing property. This in a nutshell is why I say I am unsure of what must be done with Lander.

There are a fair number of other Swede's drafted in 2008 that have not yet signed but are still listed as prospects on the sites of teams that drafted them.

So my question is: How does Lander, who was drafted in 2009 fit into this mess?

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[kdb209]

I am hoping for some clarity wrt the rights of Anton Lander and the Swedish transfer agreement.

There are some on the Oiler board that think he must be signed this year or he goes back in the draft. I am niot sure that this is the case and I'll give you two words why I think this is up in the air: Jesper Samuelsson

I am sure we are all more than familiar with the case of young Jesper.

But just so I am clear. He was drafted in 2008 by the Red Wings and is of yet not signed. He is however still listed as a Red Wing prospect. The reason I think this is ok is because at the time he was drafted there was no transfer agreement in place with Sweden. By playing in Sweden he would have fallen under the defector status in the previous CBA. Now the defector status was technically eliminated in this CBA under the condition that the NHL sign an appropriate transfer agreement with the IIHF.

Here is where this simple tale gets a little murky as no such agreement has been signed. The NHL did sign a transfer agreement in 2010 (after Lander had been drafted) with the SIHF, but at the time as far as I know there was no word what so ever on whether the relevant clauses in this agreement would apply to players who had been drafted prior to its signing.

Enter young Jesper. He has not yet signed with the Wings AFAIK but remains Red Wing property. This in a nutshell is why I say I am unsure of what must be done with Lander.

There are a fair number of other Swede's drafted in 2008 that have not yet signed but are still listed as prospects on the sites of teams that drafted them.

So my question is: How does Lander, who was drafted in 2009 fit into this mess?

AIUI, the Oilers will retain his rights as a defected player.

The CBA retained all of the Defected Player and Group 4 RFA terms of the old CBA - but there was a separate letter agreement between the NHL & NHLPA which tolled those terms:

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.

That agreement is unclear on what happens if a "satisfactory successor IIHF Agreement" is negotiated and then lapses. The NHL did sign an IIHF PTA in 2005 and 2007 - but that 2007 PTA was terminated in 2008.

The League's position was that the Defected Player rules went back into force. The NHLPA filed a grievance and an arbiter ruled in favor of the NHL's interpretation. After losing arbitration, the NHLPA filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB. I have never seen anything on the NLRB making any ruling - so I believe that the NHL's position is still in force.

Under the Defected Player rules of Article 10.2(b), the Oilers will hold Landers rights until 30 days after his SEL contract with Timra expires. After that he will become a Group IV RFA - he will be free to sign an Offer Sheet with any team (subject to ELS limits), but the Oilers will retain the Right of First Refusal to match (although there is no compensation if they elect not to match).

The only gray area is whether a separate PTA with the SEL would have any effect on his status. I would assume not - at least not unless the NHLPA files a grievance and an arbiter rules in their favor.

 

[Fourier]

You sir are the man!!!!

I really pays to know the right people.

Thanks!!!!