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Emily Kaplan, Senior NHL InsiderDec 29, 2024, 05:47 PM ET
- Emily Kaplan is ESPN’s national NHL reporter.
The NHL will fine the Dallas Stars for violating CBA rules by holding an optional practice during the league’s holiday break, a league source told ESPN on Sunday.
The NHL and NHLPA agreed upon rules stipulate that all teams must be completely dark between December 24 and 26. However Stars coach Peter DeBoer revealed on Friday ahead of a game against the Minnesota Wild that several Stars players were at the rink on Thursday, Dec. 26.
“I was at the rink yesterday,” DeBoer told reporters on Friday. “We had an optional, and of course the young guys all show up for the optional like, you know, they’re supposed to do.”
The NHL launched an investigation after DeBoer’s comments. According to sources, the Stars fully cooperated with the investigation.
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The NHL reminded teams in a memo on December 23 of the rules, including that teams are not allowed to travel nor offer players ice during the break.
There is some recent precedent. In 2022, the Toronto Maple Leafs were fined $100,000 for having players travel on December 26 for a game in St Louis on December 27. The Philadelphia Flyers had a similar infraction in 2015, where they were also fined. The league sees this as a competitive disadvantage as teams that play on December 27 are expected to travel the morning of the game. Such a fine typically goes toward the NHL Foundation.
The NHL also institutes a trade freeze over the holidays, which was lifted at 12:01 am on December 28.
The NHL source said it was unclear whether the Stars had been notified yet on Sunday afternoon. Dallas plays the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night.
