Contracts of Seven Former NHL Players Suddenly Terminated, Raising Questions

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Daniel Lucente
October 17, 2024 (3:22 PM)

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In a shocking and unexpected move in the KHL, seven former NHLers had their contracts terminated without explanation by Barys Astana.

Several former NHL players have had their contracts swiftly terminated in the KHL by Barys Astana, and Michael McLeod is one of five men who are charged in relation to an incident involving Team Canada's 2018 World Juniors team. With the legal process pending, McLeod and his NHL alum counterpart Dillon Dube both opted to extend their careers with Barys Astana of the KHL. But in a surprise move, McLeod was one of seven players to have his contract nullified by the club, however, Dillon Dube was not part of this terminated group.

It came as something of a shock when Barys Astana decided to cut almost all of their foreign players. There was little warning, if any, and it simply leaves the hockey world to speculate as to why the move was made. For most of those players affected, going back to North American leagues such as the AHL or ECHL is a plausible option. But things are more complicated for McLeod, whose ongoing court case has greatly reduced his chances of landing a new contract in North America.

That doesn't appear to be the case with how McLeod has played this season. In 16 games with Barys Astana, he has three goals and six points in total, which are decent statistics for a player in his role. It seems that there could be other factors that have led to his release, as well as the other foreigners, perhaps financial or administrative in nature, but no reason has been given up to this point.

The sudden release of several contracts by an embattled KHL team leaves more questions than answers. One can only speculate on whether internal problems within Barys Astana or outside forces were responsible for the en masse release of their imports. Whatever the reasons, this left a bunch of former NHLers in search of new employment.

The unsolved mystery has more than likely been closed, as the affected players will find new teams in leagues around the world. For Michael McLeod, though, his immediate future in professional hockey appears an awful lot more complicated with legal and career hurdles in the way.