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allC€he68 In Pro-AmMONTREAL (CP)-The National Hockey League and the Canadian Amateur Hockey As*, sociatioa Thursday agreed to several sweeping changes in the pro-amateur ’ agreement.The changes wilt completely eliminate sponsorship of amateur teams by professional hockeyi do away .with signing of various forms which cover options on. an amateur player’s pro services and . allow the CAHA to handle , disbursement of pay meats which are made when a pro team drafts. an amateur player.Announcement of the agreements, which are major departures from the present agreement between, professional and amateur hockey, was made by NHL president Clarence Camp*N...bell and CAHA president Fred Pago, following a .meeting between. the relations committee of the two. groups.It is understood the agreement will cover a period of five years starting July 1, 1967- The present agreement terminates June SO, 1967. •At last year’s annual meeting in Victoria, the CAHA voted to end the agreement now in force, iHowever, the contract contained * a clause' which called Tor two years' notice of termination by either parly, thus holding the CAHA to the agreement until June of next-year,At this year’s annual meeting here, the CAHA executive asked permission of the general membership to submit proposals to th NHL with an • eye to renegotiation.The agreements reached Thursday on the major changes will end what the CAHA has contended is unwarranted interference by pro hockey in the amateur sphere of influence. ‘ ■ The NHL offer to eliminate completely the sponsorship of amateur teams Will return tothe CAHA the responsibility to help finance and administer the affairs of amateur, leagues and teams.: “AH existing contractual obligations which professional teams . have with sponsored amateur teams will be fulliiled for the coming season. No new sponsorships will be undertaken and all other commitments will be phased out,” Campbell said.Campbell said that if a spon-!sored team had the rights to aplayer , before today’s agreement, the team would continue to have these rights and coqtd exercise them fully. He said the situation is that no new playercan be registered with any sponsored team according to today's agreemnt.. The. departure opens the way for an annual over-ige universal draft of amateur players at the time they complete theirjunior eligibility.Vll is • the intent of profesr sional hockey that In the futureprofessional teams will acquire amateur players only through a universal draft, except, in the case of over-age players not selected in the draft procedure, inwhich, case they can be signed directly by standard player’s contracts,” the NHL president said.The \ age limit for protection against premature . signing ofamateur players was worked out by the two groups. It was announced that an amateur can be signed by a professional team only during the year in which he reaches bis 20th birthday. ' ; •The NHL president viewed the major a g r e e m e n t s as !a. ‘tremendously i mpor tanfc boost” to the league's six new i member clubs, which will begin operating in the. 1967*68 season.The six new NHL clubs are Los Angeles, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh.* “The main purpose of the universal draft so far as the NHL is concerned is to place our six new member clubs on, a fully competitive basis as soon as possible,” Campbell .said.“We , feel under this new agreement, our six new teams will be able to build a competitive level within . four years.”The CAHA will start to administer draft payments with the amateur draft to be held in June, 1967. None of the finan-c i a 1 arrangements was disclosed. -Page, speaking for the CAHA relations committee,, said his group is “pleased with this important progress.”Page said Chat not all the details have been ironed out but he added that the two groups reached mutual agreement on all the, major points “which represent the greatest potential impact on the I u t ii r e of hockey.”'Attending the meeting for the NHL were C. Stafford Smythe, president, of Toronto Maple Leafs; Weston W. Adams, president of Boston Bruins; Sam Pollock, general; manager of Montreal Canadiens; and Mr: ■ Campbell.The CAHA. was represented by Gordon Jpckes, secretary-:manager of the association; ■ Lie yd Pollock, the group’s first vice - president; Earl Dawson, the CAHA’s second vice-president; and Page.THERE ARE HONDREDSOF SATISFIED CUSTOMERS
Newspaper Details
Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA
Fri, Aug 19, 1966
Page 22
Full Page
Clipped by
Jason P.
USA 25 Apr 2019
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