STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s Competition Authority has ruled that a league decision to ban NHL players from the country’s Elitserien during the lockout is illegal, opening the way for an influx of players.
“The hockey league’s decision can be likened to a cartel,” Per Karlsson, senior counsel at the Competition Authority, said in a statement yesterday.
“The decision means that ice hockey clubs that are affiliated to Swedish Hockey AB (Elitserien) must decide themselves if they want to sign contracts with locked-out NHL players or not.” Although the league as a whole had decided to ban NHL players, individual clubs were secretly still keen on snapping up talent on short-term deals.
Dozens of NHL Swedes such as Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers), Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals) and the Sedin brothers Henrik and Daniel (Vancouver Canucks) could now return home during the lockout.
A league-wide lockout was imposed by the NHL at the weekend when the previous labor agreement expired with owners and players at odds over how to divide a $3.3 billion revenue pie.
This is the fourth NHL work stoppage in 20 years but despite previously allowing locked-out players to ply their trade in Sweden, the Elitserien had been the only European league to decide not to recruit NHL players during the dispute.
Sweden opens way for players hit by lockout
Sweden opens way for players hit by lockout
US invests in counter-drone tech to protect FIFA World Cup venues
The US will invest $115 million in counter-drone measures to bolster security around the FIFA World Cup and America’s 250th Anniversary celebrations, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday, the latest sign of governments stepping up drone defenses.
The FIFA World Cup will be a major test of President Donald Trump’s pledge to keep the US secure, with over a million travelers expected to visit for the tournament and billions more watching matches from overseas.
The threat of drone attacks has become a growing concern since the war in Ukraine has demonstrated their lethal capabilities. And recent drone incidents have worried both European and US airports.
“We are entering a new era to defend our air superiority to protect our borders and the interior of the United States,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. Defense companies are developing a range of technologies aimed at countering drones, including tracking software, lasers, microwaves and autonomous machine guns.
The DHS did not specify which technologies it would deploy to World Cup venues. The announcement comes weeks after the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which sits under DHS, said it granted $250 million to 11 states hosting World Cup matches to buy counter-drone technologies.
Last summer, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, called on Trump, a Republican, to bolster federal support for defending against drone attacks.
