For no particular reason at all, the NHL has decided that players can't sign contracts for the 2019-20 season. That means, for now, New York Islanders prospect Ilya Sorokin can't sign his one-year ELC for this season.
I understood not signing contracts during the pandemic. It was neither the time nor place and with the season on pause so should some team activities, like signing new deals. But now that things have started to ease and that the NHL has unveiled its return to play plan, it's confusing as to why they haven't dropped the "no-2019-20-contracts" line.