The Anaheim Ducks might be in line for a big fine after players gathered for a practice on Dec. 26. Per the CBA, the team wasn’t allowed to conduct activities on that date and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed that the league is looking into the matter, according to the Orange County Register.
For his part, Ducks general manager Bob Murray said that team captain Ryan Getzlaf arranged the practice and paid for a local youth coach to lead the team in practice. Murray added that the Ducks’ coaching staff and hockey operations personnel weren’t present. That’s important to this case because while teams can’t organize or run a skate during the holiday break, the players are still free to make use of the team facilities or take part in a captain’s practice.
Getzlaf appears to have been motivated by the fact that the Ducks were in danger of not being able to skate on Saturday either because they had to travel to Arizona for a game that started at 6:00 p.m. local time.
It’s not known how many players chose to join Getzlaf for the Friday skate.