Editing Reserve clause (section)

==Hockey==
The reserve clause was the basis for the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL)'s injunction against the large number of players who had signed with the rival [[World Hockey Association]] in 1972, with all but one—against [[Chicago Blackhawks|Chicago Black Hawks]] star [[Bobby Hull]]—ultimately thrown out by lower courts. The appellate court, however, sided strongly with the WHA and Hull, calling the NHL's business practices monopolistic, conspiratorial, and illegal. While the reserve clause was not explicitly struck down, the court did effectively block any further injunctions based on the reserve clause, meaning the NHL could not use it to maintain a monopoly on talent. The WHA, meanwhile, voted at its founding to not include any form of the reserve clause. The courts' refusal to enforce the reserve clause between leagues in hockey remains a significant part of the WHA's legacy, and it ultimately contributed to the evolution of the NHL's modern free agency system.

Nevertheless, the reserve clause remained in effect within the NHL itself. One notorious feature of the NHL version of the clause was that it remained enforceable notwithstanding whether a player was offered a new contract or not, as either way teams retained the NHL "rights" to no-longer-wanted players and could demand whatever compensation they saw fit in exchange for allowing such players to sign for another NHL team. Perhaps the most egregious example involved [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] veteran [[Dave Keon]], who had developed a highly contentious relationship with Leafs owner [[Harold Ballard]]. Despite making it clear there was no place for Keon on the Leafs, Ballard insisted on an unreasonable compensation "price," including among other concessions at least one first round draft pick, and as such effectively blocked Keon from signing with any other NHL team. Keon was ultimately able to continue his career in the WHA, due to Ballard's aforementioned inability to enforce the reserve clause against the rival league.

The highly contentious negotiations between NHL owners and players that led to a [[2004–05 NHL lockout|lockout]], wiping out the entire [[2004–05 NHL season]], were in part about free agency; the previous system precluded unrestricted free agency before the player reached 31 years of age. Most younger hockey free agents were restricted free agents whose teams could retain them by matching an offer from another club or making a "qualifying offer", which usually consisted of a ten percent raise above the pay in the former contract.

Following the 2004-05 lockout, owners eventually agreed to phase in a much lower age for unrestricted free agency (27 years of age or 7 years in the NHL, whichever comes first) in exchange for the players meeting owners' principal demand in the new [[NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement]]&mdash;an overall [[salary cap]]. Nevertheless, the league demanded the re-imposition of the 31-year-old threshold for free agency in the [[2012–13 NHL lockout|most recent lockout]], but when union responded by threatening to disclaim interest and file antitrust suits against the league, the owners backed down.