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NHL & Sweden come to new transfer agreement

Image (1) Gustav-thumb-250x166-7859.jpg for post 505

The NHL and Sweden came to a new player transfer agreement this week, that is good through the 2011-2012 season. Risto Pakarinen of The Hockey News reports:

The new agreement will run through the 2011-12 season and according to the deal, the NHL will compensate Elitserien teams $225,000 for players signing with an NHL club. The compensation is up $25,000 from the previous agreement. Players can sign before June 15 and players who’ve been drafted into the NHL the same year can sign until Aug. 15.

“This agreement will generate millions for Swedish hockey,” said Peter Forsberg, vice chairman of the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation (and not that Forsberg).

Also, players under 22 who haven’t been drafted in the first round may return to the Elitserien if they can’t make the NHL club roster.

It’s good to see the NHL continue to work with Sweden and get this new agreement in place. The league has been working well with Finland and it would have been a shame if things didn’t work out with Sweden. Unfortunately the NHL and the IIHF can’t get together on a unilateral deal involving all European countries, as there are issues every season with players facing transfer issues from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and others.

Also: How many Peter Forsbergs are there involved in Swedish hockey?

(H/T to George Malik)