Can an NHL draft pick refuse to sign their contract with a team?

The NHL Draft is coming soon, which means it is almost time for the brightest young stars in hockey to find their next stops. Some might immediately join the team that selects them, while others might spend time in a lower league before they're ready to play in the NHL.

Are there others who will do neither? It's rare. Can an NHL Draft pick refuse to sign? Yes.

The team does still retain the rights, but the contract is key. There are plenty of examples of players refusing to sign with the NHL team that drafts them. Just a couple of years ago, Cutter Gauthier refused to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers. After a long holdout, the forward was eventually traded away.

That's a better outcome than some teams have had. Many of them have outright refused and left their team with few options. The return on anyone in that scenario is not as valuable as a player they could have selected instead of the one they drafted, but anything back is nice. It just doesn't happen all that often.

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NHL Draft picks who refused to sign with their teams

Cutter Gauthier, now with the Anaheim Ducks, is one of the most recent examples of a player refusing to sign with the team that drafted him. However, it is not a new phenomenon in the NHL.

Connor Gauthier refused to sign at the NHL Draft

In fact, the most notable example is from 1991. The Quebec Nordiques were set to draft Eric Lindros, who outright said he would not sign with them. They called his bluff by drafting him, but he stuck to his word. He returned to the OHL and was eventually traded in 1992.

In 2016, Adam Fox was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the second round. He refused to sign and was thus traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. Ironically, Fox didn't want to play there, either. Eventually, he was traded again to the New York Rangers, a team he's been with ever since.