Signing bonuses, however, cannot exceed 10% of the contract’s total cap hit-the maximum being $925,000 until 2022-thus allowing a player to have a signing bonus that does not exceed $92,500. Slightly confusing, but hey, lawyers write these rules.ĮLCs can include signing and performance bonuses. Therefore, in theory, an 18-year-old could sign an ELC, but in terms of the NHL CBA, he will be considered to have signed his ELC at age 19. Those players that sign from 25 to 27 are subject to a one-year ELC.Ī key aspect of the CBA is that a player’s signing age will be determined by his age on September 15 of his signing year. The exception to the 25 or older rule is for players that were drafted outside of North America. Players 25 or older as of September 15 of the year in which they sign their first NHL contract do not sign entry-level deals. 18- to 21-year-olds sign for 3 years 22- and 23-year-olds sign for 2, and 24-year-olds sign for 1 year. The length of entry-level contracts is dependent on age. However, Year 1 of his ELC would be burned. This means that if Tammela cannot find a spot in the Crunch’s lineup this year, he can be sent back to Peterborough of the OHL so that he plays. Therefore, his ELC can only slide one year, which it did in the 2016-17 season. He signed his ELC at age 18, but due to the fact that he turned 19 by September 15 of his signing year, he is considered to have signed his ELC at age 19. His contract now runs from 2017-18 to 2019-20, unless he is sent back to juniors again after training camp this September, in which case his ELC would slide by one year again.Īn interesting case is that of Jonne Tammela. This was the case for Mikhail Sergachev, who played in 4 NHL games with the Canadiens last season before being returned to Windsor of the OHL-his junior club. Slides are most common for Juniors players, but can also happen with some European players that are eligible for the AHL as an 18 or 19 year old. A player can play in Juniors or the AHL and have their ELC slide. A neat feature of the CBA is the ability to “slide” the beginning of an entry-level contract if a player does not play at least 10 games in the NHL during his age-18 or age-19 seasons.Ī player’s age is determined by their age on December 31st of that season for purposes of sliding a contract. So, the age at which a player signs his entry-level contract, or ELC, also plays a role in determining waiver eligibility. However, it is very rare nowadays for a goaltender to play in the NHL before the age of 20. Such skaters will become waiver eligible after 3 years, as opposed to 5, with the same decrease in years will occur for goalies-from 6 to 4. One minor caveat that will reduce the amount of seasons until a player is waiver eligible occurs only with 18- or 19-year-olds who play in 11 NHL games or more. Netminders who sign their entry-level contract at 18 will become waiver eligible after playing 80 NHL games or after 6 seasons of being under contract.īelow is a table to help simplify things: If a skater signs his entry-level contract at 18, he will become waiver eligible after playing 160 NHL games or after 5 seasons of being under contract, whichever comes first.įor goaltenders, that number is slightly adjusted. In addition, waiver eligibility is split into two subgroups: skaters (forwards and defensemen) and goaltenders. In a nutshell, to determine whether a player is waiver eligible, one must analyze when said player was signed, played his first professional game, and how many NHL games that he has played. Nowadays, a player only has to clear waivers if re-assigned to the AHL, unless they are exempt.Īnd that brings me to my main point: waiver rules and exemptions. This used to be in effect for players recalled to the NHL. For example, re-entry waivers were removed from the playing field. However, both the NHL and NHLPA have the right to terminate the agreement in September 2019. The current CBA is set to expire after the 2021-22 season-more specifically on September 15, 2022. The NHLPA membership followed on January 12. On January 9, the NHL's Board of Governors ratified the new deal. On January 6, 2013, after a long labor dispute, an agreement was reached to implement a new CBA after 510 regular season games had been cancelled as part of the abbreviated 2012-13 lockout. In an attempt to help explain the possibly confusing verbiage of the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, or CBA, I’ve decided to write a piece detailing the odds and ends regarding waivers, entry-level contract slides, and other tidbits that are seen as fine print by some in this deal.
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