NHL reaches final decision on alleged Tyler Bertuzzi-Blackhawks tampering case

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Alexander Cole
December 11, 2024 (8:20)

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Bill Daly and the NHL were reportedly investigating Tyler Bertuzzi and the Chicago Blackhawks for tampering, and now, a final decision has seemingly been reached.

A few weeks ago, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly came out and said that the NHL was going to take tampering a lot more seriously moving forward.

"As Bill Daly told me afterwards, more of a refresher, that the league has not talked about or emphasized the rules around tampering for a few years now and he felt now that it was time and I asked him why it was time and he said that he was, quote, a little uncomfortable with some of the commentary in the media reported heading into July 1st last year and gave them the impression that there's been negotiations before July 1st and he just wanted to remind GMs that you can't do that before July 1st and there are repercussions in terms of fines and/or potential loss of draft picks. So we'll see what impact that conversation from Bill Daly had ahead of next July 1st."

These comments came in the aftermath of numerous dubious signings from the offseason.

One of which involved former Toronto Maple Leafs winger Tyler Bertuzzi who signed with the Chicago Blackhawks.

He was one of many player who signed as soon as Free Agency opened up, which led to suspicions of tampering.

For those who may not be aware, tampering is when a player and a team speak about contract terms prior to the Free Agency period opening up.

NHL has no active tampering cases

It was reported that Tyler Bertuzzi and the Chicago Blackhawks were being investigated for tampering, and now, we have a resolution.

According to a new report from Elliotte Friedman, the NHL has no active tampering investigations going on.

Simply put, it appears as though Bertuzzi and the Blackhawks will not be facing punishment for what went down during the free agency period.

That said, the NHL has sought to put the fear of god into teams and players.

They have announced major fines, expulsions, suspensions, and even loss of draft picks if teams and players get caught tampering.

Only time will tell whether or not teams take these threats seriously.

POLL
DECEMBRE 11 \| 144 ANSWERS NHL reaches final decision on alleged Tyler Bertuzzi-Blackhawks tampering case Do you believe the NHL needs to crackdown on Tampering?
YES	118	81.9 %
NO	26	18.1 %
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