NHL Policy on Interviewing Coaches Under Contract?

Buffaloed

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Feb 27, 2002
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Is their any requirement that a team must grant permission to interview requests if the new position is a promotion?
eg: assistant to head coach, ahl head coach to nhl head coach?

The only information I found is this article about the NHL ending the policy of draft pick compensation for hiring fired coaches. It says that permission is always required and says nothing to indicate that permission must be granted if the position being interviewed for is a promotion.

NHL to end coach and executive compensation policy
Now the League will return to the previous policy, which requires teams to grant permission to its coaches and executives under contract to interview with other teams. If permission is granted and the coach or executive changes teams, there will no longer be any compensation to the team losing personnel.

Please don't speculate or post hearsay eg: "it is rumored that team x was denied permission". That will just cloud the issue more.
 

LadyStanley

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Sep 22, 2004
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I'm guessing its standard (boilerplate) in coaches and GMs contracts (of which I've never seen one) that prohibits them from seeking any other position while under contract. May also be for scouts and other hockey (ops) as well.
 

LeHab

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Aug 31, 2005
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If we are to believe Denver Post, permission is required:

Other coaches the Avs appear to have interest in looking at, but aren’t necessarily limited to, include Washington Capitals assistant Lane Lambert, New York Rangers associate head coach Scott Arniel and another AHL coach, Travis Green of the Utica Comets.
NHL rules require the Avalanche to receive permission to talk to those four, plus any other coaches under contract, for the upcoming season.

Avalanche about to begin interviewing candidates, Jared Bednar among the mix – The Denver Post

Similar requirements for GMs quoting those involved:

Rangers haven’t granted B’s permission to interview assistant GM Gorton
Julien BriseBois - La Presse+ (French only, Yzerman asked Habs to interview Julien Brisebois then with AHL)

Wonder how this would stand from a labour law point of view. Unlike players CBA where some rights can be collectively bargained away there is not such thing for Management.
 

Ted Hoffman

The other Rick Zombo
Dec 15, 2002
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Wonder how this would stand from a labour law point of view. Unlike players CBA where some rights can be collectively bargained away there is not such thing for Management.
It's totally valid and would stand up to a court challenge, barring something like material breach of contract by the team. I remember seeing a contract for an NHL head coach circa 2006, and my recollection is that while it cites that the person is hired for a given position [such as head coach], the contract language allows for the team to alter the person's duties to the team at the team's discretion, provided that the contracted salary is still paid. It also did not contain a release clause that allows a person reassigned out of the originally contracted position to negotiate with other teams in the event of a reassignment.

"But what if the coach chooses to reject the salary so he can negotiate with other teams?" That would be material breach of contract by the coach because the coach didn't receive permission to talk to other teams; there's penalties spelled out for it - and they're intentionally not cheap. [You can probably thank Mike Keenan for that.]
 

BattleBorn

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Feb 6, 2015
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Is their any requirement that a team must grant permission to interview requests if the new position is a promotion?
eg: assistant to head coach, ahl head coach to nhl head coach?

The only information I found is this article about the NHL ending the policy of draft pick compensation for hiring fired coaches. It says that permission is always required and says nothing to indicate that permission must be granted if the position being interviewed for is a promotion.

NHL to end coach and executive compensation policy


Please don't speculate or post hearsay eg: "it is rumored that team x was denied permission". That will just cloud the issue more.
It's going to be tough to get information like this that isn't rumor since teams that were denied permission to interview someone and then hired someone else aren't likely to say they were denied permission to talk to someone they may have wanted more.

That being said, there was a lot of tweets a few years ago from big name hockey reporters that said the Caps weren't letting Florida or Buffalo interview (then Asst Coach/current HC) Reirden for their head coach positions, though they had supposedly asked for permission to do so.

If I had to guess, asking permission to interview a team's employee isn't really asking permission as much as it's testing the waters for whether a team would release a coach/exec from their current employment contract. It makes sense for teams to grant permission most/almost all of the time because it seems like talented hockey folks are less likely to come to your team for assistant positions if they think they're locked in without chance for advancement.
 

LeHab

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Aug 31, 2005
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It's totally valid and would stand up to a court challenge, barring something like material breach of contract by the team. I remember seeing a contract for an NHL head coach circa 2006, and my recollection is that while it cites that the person is hired for a given position [such as head coach], the contract language allows for the team to alter the person's duties to the team at the team's discretion, provided that the contracted salary is still paid. It also did not contain a release clause that allows a person reassigned out of the originally contracted position to negotiate with other teams in the event of a reassignment.

"But what if the coach chooses to reject the salary so he can negotiate with other teams?" That would be material breach of contract by the coach because the coach didn't receive permission to talk to other teams; there's penalties spelled out for it - and they're intentionally not cheap. [You can probably thank Mike Keenan for that.]

Yeah I am aware of coaches/GMs getting fired but remaining with orgs for the duration of the contract in lesser functions. In NFL, an employee who voluntarily retires/resign from a position still requires permission for the duration of the previous contract (unless otherwise negotiated):

(e) Employee’s Resignation/Retirement. The following rules shall apply in cases where employees, such as head coaches, general managers, or other “high level” employees, “resign” or “retire” before completing their contracts:
(1) Prior Club’s Consent Required. An employee under contract (including a head coach, general manager, or other “high level” employee) who voluntarily resigns or retires prior to the expiration of his contract is prohibited from discussing or accepting employment with another NFL club without the consent of his prior club. This rule applies for the full remaining term of the employee’s prior contract. If the prior club wishes to consent to such discussions and the possible acceptance of employment with the new club, the prior club may condition its consent upon receiving appropriate compensation from the new club. After an employee’s contract has expired, the employee is free to seek employment with any other NFL club, assuming the parties have fully complied with the Anti-Tampering Policy.
Express Agreements. A club and its employee may, through individual negotiation, address the issue of future NFL employment opportunities in the event the employee resigns or retires, as the parties may agree. However, absent an express written agreement to the contrary, the rules stated in Section 4(e)(1) above shall apply.

Full NFL Anti-tampering Policy describing all different scenarios including promotions is available here: https://nflcommunications.com/Documents/2018 Policies/7-2018 Anti-Tampering Policy-Clean Version.pdf

Even Colleges are to be asked permission when NFL teams want to interview college coach candidates.

Wouldn't be surprised if NHL rules overall are similar to NFL.
 
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LeHab

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Aug 31, 2005
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It's going to be tough to get information like this that isn't rumor since teams that were denied permission to interview someone and then hired someone else aren't likely to say they were denied permission to talk to someone they may have wanted more.

NHL By-Law section 15 appears to be dealing with tampering. A while ago portions of NHL by-laws were published as part of a lawsuit but links to that pdf are dead.
 

Ted Hoffman

The other Rick Zombo
Dec 15, 2002
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Back to a point from the OP which is going to get overlooked: is permission required if it would result in a lateral move? No idea. My guess is "yes" but there might be league rules that overrule contract terms in that case. It isn't covered in the by-laws, so it would have to be in some set of administrative rules given to all trams that none of us have seen.
 

tony d

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I think permission has to be granted, I'm also thinking that a player or pick may have to be traded to the other team if something like this occurred.
 

LadyStanley

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I think permission has to be granted, I'm also thinking that a player or pick may have to be traded to the other team if something like this occurred.

Used to be that 2nd/3rd would be swapped for personnel. NHL eliminated that and no longer allows it.
 

StreetHawk

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Sep 30, 2017
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I’ve heard teams deny another teams request to interview assistant GMs. Executive level people I can see why if they have a succession plan in place. But, the person you are keeping has to be ok with it as well as he could resent not getting an opportunity. Everyone in these business signs contracts so you may need to let the contract run out.

Coaches, I can’t recall many guys who got denied a chance. Again, likely tied to a succession plan if there is a chance the current coach will get fired if the team falls short of expectations.
 

LadyStanley

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Coaches, I can’t recall many guys who got denied a chance. Again, likely tied to a succession plan if there is a chance the current coach will get fired if the team falls short of expectations.

Detroit's Jeff Blashill, before promotion to replace Babcock while with AHL Grand Rapids, was one.
 

Dilderon

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Nov 29, 2018
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It's totally valid and would stand up to a court challenge, barring something like material breach of contract by the team. I remember seeing a contract for an NHL head coach circa 2006, and my recollection is that while it cites that the person is hired for a given position [such as head coach], the contract language allows for the team to alter the person's duties to the team at the team's discretion, provided that the contracted salary is still paid. It also did not contain a release clause that allows a person reassigned out of the originally contracted position to negotiate with other teams in the event of a reassignment.

"But what if the coach chooses to reject the salary so he can negotiate with other teams?" That would be material breach of contract by the coach because the coach didn't receive permission to talk to other teams; there's penalties spelled out for it - and they're intentionally not cheap. [You can probably thank Mike Keenan for that.]
Yep
 

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