But the commissioner was also asked about the possibility of forming an NFL development league and he said something unexpected: maybe. The entrenched system is still a very long way from crumbling, but it is at least a tremor. Both sides are happy with the arrangement; the CHL clubs have free labour, minus a monthly stipend, in their “student-athletes” and the NHL doesn’t have to worry about those players until they are drafted at 18 years old. This is the point at which we find out if the CHL has been full of, er, it. And the argument to sustain that system mostly comes down to: this is the way we have always done it.

Source: National Post February 08, 2017 15:54 UTC