Maple Leafs Slapped With Hefty Fine By NHL For Travel Issue
News: The @MapleLeafs have been fined $100,000 by the NHL related to the team's travel to St. Louis on Dec. 26. Article 16.5(b) of the CBA mandates that Dec. 26 is an "off-day for all purposes, including travel."
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) December 28, 2022
The NHL’s collective bargaining agreement states that Dec. 24-26 are to be free of all team activities, declared “off-days for all purposes, including travel.”
The Leafs had a game in St. Louis on Dec. 27th, and chose to fly in the night before, as teams usually do. But that's a no-no according to Article 16.5 (b) of the CBA.
Here's the relevant CBA section the #leafs violated. It sounds like the players wanted to follow a typical schedule and travel in the night before the game.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) December 28, 2022
Something similar happened with the #flyers on Dec. 26, 2014 and they were also fined $100,000 by the NHL. pic.twitter.com/C3M4PBJWam
In addition to the no-fly zone of those days, teams are also not allowed to request a player's consent to practice anytime between Dec. 24-26.
The alternative to leaving at 10:30pm as they did on the 26th, was a 5:00am flight the next morning.
This is the violation. The team argued that, because STL is a 90-minute/two-hour flight, it would be better to go at night and get in then (as players are accustomed to), rather than go at 5 am. I’ve asked a couple of sources if players agreed, and preliminary replies are yes…
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 28, 2022
The Leafs' illegal travel plans, however, paid off in a good night's sleep in St. Louis, and a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory over the Blues the next day.
As noted by NHL Insider Chris Johnson, the Philadelphia Flyers pulled the same taboo travel schedule on Dec. 26, 2014 and they too were hit with a $100,000 fine back then. At least the Leafs were able to avoid inflation.
Photo: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
