CBA School: Article 22 – Competition Committee
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoWay, way back in 2012, the NHL’s players felt they weren’t part of the development of the league. Wanting to be engaged as partners, one of the things that came out of the 2012-13 lockout was the development of the Competition Committee.
We delve into the particulars in Article 22: Competition Committee.
What it is
The purpose and function of the Competition Committee is laid out in Section 22.1:
The NHL and NHLPA will establish a Player/Club Competition Committee (the “Competition Committee”) for the purpose of examining and making recommendations associated with issues affecting the game and the way the game is played. The issues to be considered by the Competition Committee will include: (1) the development, change, and enforcement of Playing Rules; (2) Player equipment regulations and standards; (3) Player dressing room and in-arena facility standards; (4) the scheduling of games played outside a team’s home arena and facility standards relating to said games (e.g., “outdoor” games, neutral site games, etc.); and (5) issues relating to schedule, compression and start times for games. By mutual agreement the NHL and NHLPA can expand the issues to be considered by the Competition Committee.
Thinking out loud: I’m legitimately curious if the Competition Committee or its members are ever consulted with arena builds. Seattle is building right now, with Calgary and the NY Islanders pending.
Composition
The Competition Committee has 10 voting members. Five active players are appointed by NHLPA. Five club officials are appointed by NHL. The committee is co-chaired by NHL representative Colin Campbell and NHLPA representative Mathieu Schneider.
At this summer’s meetings, the NHLPA representatives were Ron Hainsey (Toronto), Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg), Connor McDavid (Edmonton), John Tavares (Toronto), and James van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia). The NHL was represented by Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold and General Managers David Poile (Nashville), Ken Holland (Edmonton), Doug Wilson (San Jose) and Steve Yzerman (Detroit).
How it works
14 days before a planned Competition Committee meeting, the NHL and NHLPA put together an agenda. Typically it includes things that have been discussed at past General Managers or Board of Governors meetings, but that’s not a requirement. If two-thirds of the voting members approve of an item it moves onto the GMs and the Board of Governors for approval.
In past CBAs, the NHLPA had no formalized involvement in shaping the game. This is their mechanism. If the Competition Committee approves something and the Board of Governors adopts it, the NHLPA can’t protest the change after the fact.
CBA School | Article 1 (Definitions) | Article 8 (Entry Draft) | Article 9 (Entry Level Compensation) | Article 10 (Free Agency) | Article 11 (Rules Governing Standard Player’s Contract) | Article 12 (Salary Arbitration) | Article 13 (Waivers and Loan of Players to Minor League Clubs) | Article 15 (Training Camp) | Article 16 (League Schedule, Playing Roster, Reserve Lists, Practice Sessions) | Article 18 (Supplemental Discipline for On-Ice Conduct) | Article 18-A (Commissioner Discipline for Off-Ice Conduct) | Article 19 (Per Diem) & 20 (Game Tickets)
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