hockey's business and legal

Hockey’s Business and Legal Updates February 5 through 11 with Tavares Tax Battle

Alec Roberson

It’s that time again when we take a look at what’s been happening in hockey’s business and legal world. Once a week we cover the big and not so big stories in this arena. We also include a featured story of the period. Let’s take a look at what has been happening this period.

Hockey’s Business and Legal News

Evgeny Kuznetsov Enters Player Assistance Program

Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. This program assists players who may be dealing with personal issues including mental or emotional struggles as well as substance abuse. While the reason for Kuznetsov’s entrance is not apparent, he will be able to return to play when cleared by the program administrators.

Noah Corson, Son of Former NHLer Shayne Corson Found Guilty of Sexual Assault

Noah Corson was found guilty of sexually assaulting someone who was under age 16 when he was 18. Corson was never drafted into the NHL but did play for the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL. Corson is the son of former NHLer Shayne Corson.

CHL and NCAA May Be Talking Eligibility

It has virtually always been the rule that if a player decides to go play in the CHL they become ineligible to play NCAA hockey. This has to do with the rules on amateurism that the NCAA has. We previously took a look at this in an article here. Because the CHL players are paid to play (even though they are exempt from the legal requirements for employees), this negates their NCAA eligibility. Meanwhile, the design of other junior leagues such as the BCHL and USHL maintains its players’ NCAA eligibility.

As discussed in the last two periods’ hockey’s business and legal updates, the BCHL decided to go independent from Hockey Canada and has drawn other teams into its league. Following these actions, the CHL and NCAA may be discussing the possibility of CHL players retaining NCAA eligibility. It would likely take some time for this to come to fruition, if it even does. But the ripple of effects from this move could be interesting.

Time is Ticking in Arizona

The Arizona Coyotes are still playing at Mullet Arena – a college arena they share with Arizona State. NHLPA director Marty Walsh expressed his frustration with the Coyotes as we discussed in last period’s hockey’s business and legal updates. Now the NHL says that an indication on the future of the Coyotes in Arizona could be coming soon. Even though they have missed two “deadlines” to present plans for a new arena to the NHL, they are still hanging on. But the increased pressure and frustrations from the NHL and NHLPA may lead to different results. This is combined with Salt Lake City’s strong push for an NHL team.

However, in response to all of this, the Coyotes have reportedly entered into a land deal in North Phoenix that should be completed in three months. Will this work out? Only time will tell.

London Police Hold Press Conference on 2018 WJC Sexual Abuse Scandal

Following the major revelations from the 2018 WJC sexual abuse scandal over the last few weeks, including five NHL and former NHL players coming forward to face criminal charges, the London, Ontario police held a press conference to speak on the investigation and charges. While the press conference provided a lot of information, the charges presented included one charge of sexual assault against Alex Formenton, Cal Foote, Carter Hart, and Dillon Dube while Michael McLeod has two counts. The extra for McLeod is that he assisted someone else in completing the sexual assault. In addition, the London police chief also added that new evidence surfaced in 2022 related to this incident and is what paved the way for the case to be reopened.

Hockey Canada Speaks on 2018 WJC Sexual Abuse Scandal

After the London police’s press conference on the 2018 WJC sexual abuse scandal, Hockey Canada released its own statement. In addition to stating that Hockey Canada has fully cooperated with the police, they stated that all players from the 2018 WJC team are suspended from participation in any Hockey Canada sanctioned programs until the completion of an appeal of a review by an independent panel on the determination of which players from that team violated Hockey Canada’s Code of Conduct. This will not include the NHL/NHLPA 2025 4 Nations Face-Off. If the suspensions remain in 2026, the Olympics may be questionable.

NHL Clarifies Cap Effect on Teams Releasing Players Related to 2018 WJC Sexual Abuse Scandal

The NHL stated that teams with the four players taking leaves of absences due to the 2018 WJC sexual abuse charges would receive cap relief due to those players’ absences. It was previously provided that under the CBA those players taking leaves of absences would not count against the teams’ roster limits. Even though the NHL was quiet before, multiple reports now indicate cap relief due to these absences.

Bill Guerin Named Team USA GM

In preparation for the upcoming, recently announced, 2025 NHL/NHLPA 4 Nations Face-Off and 2026 Olympics, Team USA named former NHLer and current Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin as the team’s GM. He was named the GM for Team USA in 2022 but didn’t end up serving due to the NHL’s decision to not participate that year. He will have a tall task ahead to organize the coaching staff and team but USA has the potential to be a top team at both tournaments.

Anthony Duclair Giving Back in Florida

San Jose Sharks forward Anthony Duclair, through his foundation the Anthony Duclair Foundation, recently broke ground on a synthetic ice rink in South Florida. This rink will be at Boyd Anderson High School in Ft. Lauderdale. Duclair established this foundation to grow the sport and promote diversity and inclusion. This project will promote hockey in South Florida. The NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund also supported this project.

Fox, Warner Bros. and Discovery to Create Sports Streaming Service

Fox, Warner Bros. and Discovery announced a new sports streaming service launching later this year. Each company will own one-third of the new venture. Current ESPN+, Hulu and Max subscribers will have access. While these streaming services currently provide NHL games, this new service may become a new option for subscribers.

Kasperi Kapanen Fined in Finland for Drunk Driving Incident

In a previous hockey’s business and legal updates, we provided that St. Louis Blues forward Kasperi Kapanen had been charged with aggravated drunk driving in Finland. Kapanen has now been found guilty of that charge and assessed a $117,000 fine. Neither the NHL nor the Blues announced any supplemental discipline.

Hockey’s Business and Legal Updates Featured Story: John Tavares is Battling the Canada Revenue Agency

In this period’s hockey’s business and legal updates featured story, we take a look at Toronto Maple Leafs Captain John Tavares in a tax battle against the Canada Revenue Agency. This situation could actually have significant impacts on Canadian teams’ bargaining powers with top players.

At a high level, Tavares argues that the CRA should have taxed his $15.3 Million USD signing bonus at 15%. The CRA taxed it at 38%. This represents an $8 Million USD difference. Since the CRA already assessed the tax against Tavares, he filed an appeal in the Tax Court of Canada last week. Tavares’s argument is that the bonus should be taxed at 15% under a provision of the United States-Canadian tax treaty providing that the lower tax rate shall apply for “inducements,” such as signing bonuses, paid to athletes. The CRA has not filed a response yet.

The final holding in this case could prove to be a major one for athletes participating in sports with cross border teams. Specifically, it may make Canadian teams less attractive for free agents. This would include the NHL, MLB and NBA. Stay tuned on this one.

Post image attribution: By Quintin Soloviev, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alec Roberson

Alec Roberson grew up in coastal North Carolina, taking a somewhat unconventional path to hockey. With hockey being almost nonexistent in that area, Alec found his passion for the game following the success of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2001 and 2006 and later played club hockey in college. After going through law school and practicing for some time, he now continues his love for the game through writing. Find him on twitter @roberson_alec

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