Coyotes Terminate Contract of Adam Ruzicka After Incriminating Video Leaks

The Arizona Coyotes are placing forward Adam Ruzicka on unconditional waivers today for the purpose of terminating his contract hours after a video leaked that shows him posing with large amounts of what appears to be drugs.

Adam Ruzicka placed on unconditional waivers by the #Coyotes and will have his contract terminated.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 23, 2024

Ruzicka had posted an incriminating video on his Instagram Thursday night showing him posing with large amounts of an "unidentified" white powdery substance, which many assume is cocaine, though there is no official confirmation of this. The video was only up for a few minutes before being taken down, but a screen recording of it began to surface and go viral in all corners of social media on Friday morning, and the Coyotes acted swiftly and emphatically.

This video is from Adam Ruzicka's story on Instagram. He is a member of the Arizona Coyotes. But it might not be for a long time. Credit to: @kamil_schreiber. pic.twitter.com/oSICPSltwz

— Andy & Rono (@ARHockeyStats) February 23, 2024

Whether Arizona was already in the process of preparing to waive Ruzicka is unknown at this time, but he has seen scarce playing time for the Yotes since they claimed him off waivers from the Calgary Flames on Jan. 25th. Work Visa issues for the 24-year-old Slovakian were the first problems for him after the Coyotes' waiver claim, and that was followed by a number of healthy scratches. He played in three games in Arizona, averaging just eight minutes of ice time, recorded no points, a minus-1 rating and six penalty minutes. 

He's played 117 games in his NHL career since being a 4th-round draft choice by the Flames in 2017, and recorded 14 goals and 40 points.

As a UFA now, he might not be subject to further discipline by the league, taking into account the NHL's 2019 decision that cocaine—if that is indeed what was pictured in the video with Ruzicka, not yet confirmed—is only considered a "drug of abuse" and not a prohibited substance under the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.

However, finding a new team to take him on may be an extremely difficult task.

Photo: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports