In a new antitrust lawsuit filed yesterday in New York federal court, the plaintiffs allege the CHL, its major junior leagues, the NHL and member clubs are systematically exploiting “teens pursuing their dream of playing in the NHL.”
Plaintiffs include the World Association of Ice Hockey Players Unions North America division, as well as former WHL players Tanner Gould and Isaiah DiLaura.
In a press release, the plaintiffs allege players “were denied the freedom to choose where they played hockey, were paid only a collusively determined $250 a month for their hockey services, and were separated from their families at a vulnerable age and traded against their wishes — all to maximize profits for the NHL, the major junior hockey leagues, and each of their member clubs.”
Among the other allegations are the inability of CHL teams to compete for players outside their geographic regions, specifically “once they had been involuntarily drafted by another team,” and that players’ rights are then owned by those teams, ensuring “players cannot move teams or leagues unless they can be sold, usually for cash.”
Restrictive negotiating rights for players and lack of compensation for the use of a player’s name, image, and likeness. And now, we see the tie in for arguments being made by Canadians regarding the NIL rights of NCAA athletes.
The CHL regularly sells the NIL rights for video game production and television rights that capitalize on these players NIL. These items are huge profit centers for the CHL and its member clubs.
The NHL is also accussed of several actions that limit the athletes ability to earn a living wage while being forced back to the CHL after being drafted. The NHL-CHL transfer agreement will face a tough test in the United States based on its restrictive clauses for players. Particularly players who were drafted and did not sign any contract but are restricted from joining another team in another CHL league.
The United States has very strong anti trust laws and they are written in such a way as to favor those that make complaints who have been, or allege to have been victimized, or experienced losses of income because of agreements made by other parties. In general, in the United States, restrictions of employment must be included in all contracts, and any restrictions of movement regarding employment are generally seen as being too restrictive and thrown out of court.
In the United States, if a player is drafted in the USHL, that same player may be drafted in the NAHL, NCDC or CHL, and the player has a right to choose where he plays. In an employment contract, non compete clauses are limited in duration as well as by geography. These protections allow the company to move forward while allowing the former employee to also continue working in his field. The CHL contratcs do not address these issues.
Filing this lawsuit in New York State is also very important. There are no CHL teams in New York, and the NHL offices are located there. New York is seen as being very progressive toward workers rights, and no lobby from the CHL will be effective there.
TJHN will update this story as more information becomes available.
