"The League actively monitored each stage of this dispute from the time of the initial contract termination to the point at which the case was settled, during which time we were in frequent contact with both the Club and the NHLPA. If the settlement was simply a disguised way to get favorable Cap treatment, we certainly would have considered it to be a circumvention and acted accordingly. But this wasn't that. Far from it. There is absolutely zero concern that anything that transpired here could in any way be considered a 'circumvention' of the CBA. Anyone who believes to the contrary is clearly not privy to the facts."

-Bill Daly, NHL Deputy Commissioner, on the Mike Richards settlement. More from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.