Adam Ruzicka, a 24-year-old forward formerly of the Arizona Coyotes, has been released from his NHL contract after clearing waivers.
The Coyotes placed Ruzicka on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination on Feb. 24th after a video that Ruzicka posted on his Instagram story was made public.
Ruzicka was drafted with the 109th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames. Ruzicka had signed a two-year, $1.525 million extension on his rookie contract in September of 2022 and found his way to the Coyotes after they claimed him off waivers in January of this year.
The Instagram story in question is a video that shows a line of a white powder next to a credit card before the camera flips to show Ruzicka swallowing a liquid from a small vial.
The Arizona Coyotes offered little in response when asked by a Sportsnet representative except to say: “We have placed forward Adam Ruzicka on unconditional waivers for purposes of terminating his contract. The club will have no further comment at this time.”
The National Hockey League Players Association also declined to comment.
Ruzicka’s actions are not dissimilar to those of Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov several years ago. In 2019, Kuznetsov was suspended for four years from international hockey competitions after testing positive for cocaine. The suspension came shortly after a video posted online that showed Kuznetsov next to a table with two lines of a white powder, supposedly cocaine. The NHL subsequently suspended Kuznetsov for “inappropriate conduct.” Kuznetsov entered the NHL’s player assistance program on Feb. 6th, 2024 to deal with mental health and substance abuse issues.
While perhaps not the precedent, the Coyotes are likely within their rights to terminate Ruzicka’s contract. According to paragraph 14(a) of the NHL’s “Standard Player’s Contract” Exhibit in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the club can terminate this agreement following a “material breach” of the club’s rules of conduct, of which use of a controlled substance certainly qualifies.
The concern is less about the legality than the message it sends. Kuznetsov, a star player who was coming off two straight seasons of 70+ points and 20+ goals as Alex Ovechkin’s running mate, got off on a virtually identical incident with only a slap on the wrist, comparatively. Not to mention he actually failed a drug test while Ruzicka—at least publicly—hasn’t taken one. As Ruzicka’s contract has been terminated (and therefore no longer a member player of the player’s union) he will no longer have access to the Player Assistance Program’s support that Kuznetsov has been given.
As well, in the wake of the Hockey Canada trials, none of the accused NHL player have been released from their contracts. All four players were put on indefinite leave by their NHL clubs. The Flyers cited “personal reasons” for Carter Hart’s leave, while the Calgary Flames deemed it appropriate to put Dillon Dube on leave for “mental health reasons.” While they haven’t yet been found guilty, releasing a player for conduct reasons—regardless of the legality of the player’s actions—is not without precedent. Corey Perry was released from his contract with the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this year while both Perry and the team assured the public that Perry had done nothing illegal. Brendan Leipsic had his contract terminated by the Capitals in 2020 after vulgar and sexist private messages were leaked.
While there is little to deny Ruzicka’s actions, in the face of precedent and recent events, the Coyote’s actions are questionable.
The NHL Player’s Association will have 60 days to file a grievance against the termination.
