from Fraser Mackinnon Blair at Offside: A Sports Law Blog,

Although the NHL season has only just begun, some are already looking forward to seeing how the new CBA will effect this summer’s free agent period.

We know that one of the NHL’s main requirements for the new CBA was a term limit on player contracts. The NHL and the NHLPA agreed to impose a general contract limit of 7 years, with the exception that a team may re-sign its own player to an 8 year contract. The rule is there to give teams an advantage in negotiating contracts with their home-grown stars.

However, it’s possible that the contract limits add an additional layer to the new CBA: the sign and trade. The sign and trade is very popular in the NBA. Not so long ago, both Lebron James and Chris Bosh were acquired by the Miami Heat via the ‘sign and trade.’

A sign and trade occurs where a pending free agent signs an extension with his current team on the understanding that he will be immediately traded to another team. It became popular in the NBA as the rules allowed a free agent to sign a longer and more expensive contract extension with his current team than he could with another team.

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