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FREE AGENT CLASSIFICATIONS (Courtesy of nhl.com)
Group 2 (Restricted Free Agents) - Subject to compensation and right to match. The following players have been tendered a qualifying offer by their respective clubs and are subject to draft-choice compensation and right to match. The draft choice compensation scale is based on compensation offered by the new club (These are last summer's figures and are meant as a general guideline for compensation. If new figures are released, they will likely be released on July 1, 2011):
$1,034,249 or below - No compensation
Over $1,034,249 to $1,567,043 - Third-round choice
Over $1,567,043 to $3,134,088 - Second-round choice
Over $3,134,088 to $4,701,131 - First-round and Third-round choice
Over $4,701,131 to $6,268,175 - First-Round, Second-round, and Third-round choice
Over $6,268,175 to $7,835,219 - two First-round choices, one second-round choice, and one Third-round choice
Over $7,835,219 - four First-round choices
Group 3 (Unrestricted Free Agents) - The following players have qualified for Group 3 Free Agency (age 27 or older or with at least seven accrued seasons) and are Unrestricted Free Agents.
Group 6 (Unrestricted Free Agents) - The following players qualify for unrestricted free agency, having met the requirements for Group 6 free agency. These players, whose contracts have expired, are age 25 or older, have completed three or more professional seasons, and (i) in the case of a player other than a goaltender, have played less than 80 NHL games (regular season and playoffs), or (ii) in the case of a goaltender, have played less than 28 NHL games (regular season and playoffs).
Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA) - The following players were not tendered a qualifying offer and are therefore unrestricted free agents not subject to a right to match or draft choice compensation.
EVERYTHING FROM HERE ON EXPLAINED BY By Jamie Fitzpatrick
http://proicehockey.about.com/od/nhlfreeagents/a/arbitration.htm
http://proicehockey.about.com/bio/Jamie-Fitzpatrick-8082.htm
Entry-level Contracts
Definition: Players between the ages of 18 and 21 must sign "entry-level" contracts for their first three NHL seasons. Those aged 22-23 are entry-level players for two years, those aged 24 for a single year.Entry-level players are subject to maximum salaries and bonuses. The maximum entry-level salary will rsie to $925,000 per year by the time the current collective agreement expires in 2011.
Unrestricted NHL Free Agents
The 27-or-7 Benchmark
As of 2008, any player whose contract has expired can declare himself an unrestricted free agent if he is at least 27 years old or has at least seven years of service as an NHL player.Between 2005 and 2008, the age of unrestricted free agency declined from 31 to 27..
July 1
The free agency period begins on the first day of July. At that point, an unrestricted free agent is free to negotiate and sign a contract with any NHL team.
No Compensation
Teams losing unrestricted free agents do not receive any compensation.Under the old collective agreement, which expired in 2005, draft picks were awarded as compensation.
Restricted Free Agents
Players who are no longer considered entry-level but do not qualify as unrestricted free agents become restricted free agents when their contracts expire.
Qualifying Offers
The current team must extend a "qualifying offer" to a restricted free agent to retain negotiating rights to that player.Players who earned less than $660,000 in the previous season must be offered 110 percent of last season's salary. Players making up to $1 million must be offered 105 percent. Players making over $1 million must be offered 100 percent.If the qualifying offer is not made, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent. If the player rejects a qualifying offer, he remains a restricted free agent.
Offer Sheets and Restricted Free Agents
The Offer Sheet is a Contract
An offer sheet is a contract negotiated between an NHL team and a restricted free agent on another team.The offer sheet includes all the terms of a standard player contract, including length, salary, bonuses, etc.A player who has signed a qualifying offer or is going to salary arbitration with his original team cannot sign an offer sheet.
Accept or Decline
When an offer sheet is signed, the player’s current (original) team is notified. That team can keep the player under the terms of the offer sheet, or decline and let the player join the new team under those terms.The original team has seven days to make its decision.
No Turning Back
Once an offer sheet has been signed by a player, the original team cannot negotiate a new contract under different terms or trade the player’s rights. It’s only options are to accept or decline the offer sheet.
The No-Trade Clause
If the original team chooses to accept, or match the offer sheet, the player cannot be traded for one year.
Compensation
If the original team declines the offer sheet and loses the player, it receives draft picks from the player’s new team as compensation.Compensation for losing a restricted free agent is on a sliding scale, depending on how much the new contract is worth. The exact numbers change every year.The most a team can lose for signing an RFA is four first-round draft picks.For 2011, a team signing a restricted free agent to a contract worth more than $7,835,219 per season loses four first-round picks to the player's old team.For a contract worth $6,268,176 or more per year, the acquiring team gives up two first-round picks, one second rounder, and one third.There are another four levels of compensation, going down to a contract worth up to $1,034,249 per year, for which there is no compensation.
Salary Arbitration
A team or player can file for salary arbitration as a mechanism to settle contract disputes.A team can take a player to arbitration once in his career, and cannot ask for a salary reduction greater than 15 percent. Players can ask for salary arbitration as often as they want.
December 1 Deadline
Restricted free agents must sign NHL contracts by December 1, or they are not eligible to play in the NHL for the rest of the season.
NHL Salary Arbitration Explained-How the NHL salary arbitration process works.
NHL salary arbitration is a tool available to settle some contract disputes. The player and team each propose a salary for the coming season, and argue their cases at a hearing. The arbitrator, a neutral third party, then sets the player's salary.Most players must have four years of NHL experience before they are eligible for salary arbitration (the term is reduced for those who signed their first NHL contract after the age of 20). The process is used by restricted free agents, because it is one of the few bargaining options available to them.The deadline for players to request salary arbitration is July 5, with cases heard in late July and early August. A player and team can continue to negotiate up until the date of the hearing, in hopes of agreeing on a contract and avoiding the arbitration process.Teams can also ask for salary arbitration. But a player can be taken to arbitration only once in his career, and can never receive less than 85 per-cent of his previous year's salary. There are no such restrictions on the number of times a player can ask for arbitration, or the size of the salary awarded.A decision must be made within 48 hours of the hearing. When the decision is announced, the team has the right to decline, or walk away from the award. If the team exercises this right, the player can declare himself an unrestricted free agent.
The evidence that can be used in arbitration cases:
The player's overall performance including statistics in all previous seasons.
Injuries, illnesses and the number of games played.
The player's length of service with the team and in the NHL.
The player's overall contribution to the team's success or failure.
The player's special qualities of leadership or public appeal.
The performance and salary of any player alleged to be comparable to the player in the dispute.
Evidence that is not admissible:
The salary and performance of a comparable player who signed a contract as an unrestricted free agent.
Testimonials, video and media reports.
The financial state of the team.
The salary cap and the state of the team's payroll.
How the NHL Draft Works - Rules and regulations of the NHL Entry Draft.
By Jamie Fitzpatrick, About.com Guide
The NHL Entry Draft consists of seven rounds, with each team assigned one pick in each round. Draft picks can be traded at any time.
Draft Order
The 14 teams that missed the playoffs during the previous NHL season hold the first 14 picks. They draft in order of fewest points to most points, subject to the results of the draft lottery (see below).
The current Stanley Cup champion picks last (30th).
The Stanley Cup runner-up picks 29th.
The other two Conference Finalists pick 28th and 27th.
Regular-season division winners hold the other lowest positions.
Remaining teams draft in order of fewest points to most points from the previous regular season.
The Draft Lottery
The selection order in the first round is subject to a lottery, held among the teams that hold the top 14 picks. There is only one winning team in the lottery. That team moves up a maximum of four places in the draft order. The lottery is weighted to favor the teams with the fewest points. It was introduced to prevent a weak team from deliberately losing to guarantee itself a high draft pick.
Eligible Players
Players who turn 18 by September 15 and are not older than 20 by December 31 are eligible for selection. In addition, non-North American players over the age of 20 are eligible.A North American player who is not drafted by the age of 20 is an unrestricted free agent. All non-North Americans must be drafted before being signed, regardless of age.
Re-entering the Draft
A player not signed by his NHL team within two years of being drafted can re-enter the draft, as long as he is 20 years old or younger at the time of the subsequent draft. Players over 20 become unrestricted free agents.NCAA players are an exception: NHL teams retain the rights to a college player until 30 days after the player has left college.A team that does not sign a first-round draft pick is awarded a compensatory pick in a future draft upon losing the rights to that player.A player who has been drafted a second time cannot re-enter.
Recent Changes
European Players - Prior to 2005, NHL teams retained the rights to a European player until that player turned 31. Drafted Europeans must now be signed within two years, the same as North Americans, or the team loses the rights to the player.
NCAA Players - As of 2004, 18-year-old players from NCAA Division I schools can be drafted and retain their college eligibility as long as they don't play for a pro team or hire an agent. In previous years, an 18-year-old who opted into the draft lost his NCAA eligibility.
Compensatory Picks - As of 2005, a team that loses a veteran player as an unrestricted free agent is no longer awarded a compensatory pick in a future draft.
A Shorter Draft - The draft was reduced from nine to seven rounds as of 2005.
2012-13 CALENDAR
Apr. 3: Trade deadline at 3pm et/Noon pt
Apr. 27: Last day of regular season
Apr. 29: NHL Draft Lottery
Apr. 30: Stanley Cup Playoffs begin
May 3-19: World Championship -Sweden/Finland
June 30: NHL Draft in Newark, NJ
July 5: Free agency period begins
Realignment plan approved by Board of Governors-Thursday, 03.14.2013 / 12:00 PM / News
By Dan Rosen - NHL.com Senior Writer
The NHL's Board of Governors approved the realignment plan proposed last week.
The new four-division plan, featuring a new-look set-up for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, will go into effect next season.The NHL and NHLPA each had input into the plan to realign the League into an more geographically appropriate two-conference, four-division format that features 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 14 teams in the Western Conference.The Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets are moving to the Eastern Conference to provide them the ability to play the majority of their games against teams in the same time zone. The Winnipeg Jets are moving to the Western Conference for the same reason.The Dallas Stars are staying in the Western Conference, but moving into a division that includes five other teams from the Central time zone.The Stanley Cup Playoffs will still consist of 16 teams, eight in each conference, but it will be division-based and a wild-card system has been added as a new wrinkle.The top three teams in each division will make-up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season points and regardless of division. It will be possible, then, for one division to send five teams to the postseason while the other sends three.
The seeding of the wild-card teams within each divisional playoff will be determined on the basis of regular-season points. The division winner with the most points in the conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the lowest number of points; the division winner with the second-most points in the conference will play the wild-card team with the second fewest points.The teams finishing second and third in each division will play in the first round of the playoffs. The winners of each series will play for berths in the Conference Championship series.The two divisional champions in each conference will then play in the conference finals to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.The divisions will be temporarily referred to as Division A, Division B, Division C and Division D. Permanent names will be assigned later.The Western Conference will house Division A and Division B, while Division C and D will consist of eight teams each and make up the Eastern Conference.
Division A is the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks.
Division B features the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets.
Division C has four Original Six franchises: Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning are also in the division.
The Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals will join the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins in Division D.
The new alignment ensures that all 30 teams play in all 30 arenas at least once per season.
The National Hockey League Players' Association has given its consent to play under the new Alignment and Playoff System for a minimum of three seasons, through the 2015-16 NHL season.
The new alignment:
2013-14 realignment plan
Here is a breakdown of the new schedule matrix created for the new alignment plan:
Western Conference (7-team divisions)
Within Conference (Division): 29 games
* 5 games vs. five teams (3 Home/2 Away vs. two teams, 2 Home/3 Away vs. three teams) AND 4 games vs. one team (2 Home/2 Away). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 5 X 5 =25 games
* 1 X 4 = 4 games
Within Conference (Non-Division): 21 games
* 3 games vs. each team (2 Home/1 Away vs. four teams, 1 Home/2 Away vs. three teams). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 3 X 7 = 21 games
Non-Conference: 32 games
* 2 games vs. each team (1 Home/1 Away)
* 2 X 16 = 32 games
(Exception: one team from each division plays one less game inside Division and one more game inside Conference outside Division)
Eastern Conference (8-team divisions)
Within Conference (Division): 30 games
* 5 games vs. two teams (3 Home/2 Away vs. one team, 2 Home/3 Away vs. one team) AND 4 games vs. five teams (2 Home/2 Away). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 5 X 2 =10 games
* 4 X 5 = 20 games
Within Conference (Non-Division): 24 games
* 3 games vs. each team (2 Home/1 Away vs. four teams, 1 Home/2 Away vs. four teams). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 3 X 8 = 24 games
Non-Conference: 28 games
* 2 games vs. each team (1 Home/1 Away)
* 2 X 14 = 28 games
2013 NHL Draft Lottery and NHL Draft information-All seven rounds of Draft to be held on Sunday, June 30, in New Jersey - Monday, 03.04.2013 / 2:00 PM / 2013 NHL Draft NHL.com
NEW YORK -- The 2013 NHL Draft Lottery, to be held this year on Monday, April 29, will be the first in NHL history where all 14 clubs not qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or the clubs that have acquired the first-round drafting positions of those non-playoff clubs, will have a chance at winning the right to the first overall selection. Under the previous lottery system, only the five teams with the fewest points in the standings had the opportunity to win the first overall selection as rules dictated no team could move up more than four spots.The NHL Draft Lottery is a weighted system to determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the 2013 NHL Draft. Teams finishing with the fewest points during the regular season possess the greatest chance of winning the right to the first pick in the NHL Draft. Fourteen balls, numbered 1 to 14, are placed in a lottery machine. The machine expels four balls, forming a series of numbers. The four-digit series resulting from the expulsion of the balls is matched against a probability chart that divides the possible combinations among the 14 participating clubs.While the top pick can now go to any of the 14 non-playoff clubs, or the team owning the rights to the first pick of a non-playoff club, the odds of winning the lottery are unchanged from previous years. The teams in the drawing are ranked in inverse order of their regular season point totals, with team one being the club with the fewest points, and team 14 being the club with the most points among those outside of the playoffs.
The likelihood of each team gaining the right to the first pick is as follows:
Team 1 25.0%
Team 2 18.8%
Team 3 14.2%
Team 4 10.7%
Team 5 8.1%
Team 6 6.2%
Team 7 4.7%
Team 8 3.6%
Team 9 2.7%
Team 10 2.1%
Team 11 1.5%
Team 12 1.1%
Team 13 0.8%
Team 14 0.5%
No club will move down more than one position as a result of the Draft Lottery. The remaining first round drafting positions are determined by the results of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
2013 NHL Draft
The 2013 NHL Draft will be held Sunday, June 30th, with all seven rounds being conducted on the same day for the first time since 2006. As previously announced, the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center will host the event, the first NHL Draft ever held in the New York City metropolitan area.The draft gets underway at 3 p.m. ET as James Duthie hosts live coverage in Canada on TSN direct from the draft floor along with TSN's panel of experts. RDS will present exclusive French-language coverage throughout Canada. In the U.S., NBC Sports Network presents live coverage starting at 3 p.m. ET, while NHL Network in the U.S. continues live late-round coverage starting at 8 p.m. ET.NHL club executives, scouts and coaches will gather on the NHL Draft floor while more than 10,000 fans and 500 print, television and radio media are expected in attendance to witness the selection of the NHL’s next generation of superstars.Recent overall No. 1 picks include Alex Ovechkin (Washington, 2004), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh, 2005), Erik Johnson (St. Louis, 2006), Patrick Kane (Chicago, 2007), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay, 2008), John Tavares (NY Islanders, 2009), Taylor Hall (Edmonton, 2010), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton, 2011) and Nail Yakupov (Edmonton, 2012).
For more historical information and past draft selections, visit www.nhl.com/draft. Ticket distribution plans and other details pertaining to the 2013 NHL Draft will be announced at a later date.The Philadelphia Flyers will host the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Results of Previous Draft Drawings
Year Selected Effect on Draft order Player selected
1995 Los Angeles Moved from 7th to 3rd D Aki Berg
1996 Ottawa Retained 1st selection D Chris Phillips
1997 Boston Retained 1st selection C Joe Thornton
1998 Tampa Bay Moved from 3rd to 1st via trades C Vincent Lecavalier
1999 Chicago Moved from 8th to 4th RW Pavel Brendl *
2000 NY Islanders Moved from 5th to 1st G Rick DiPietro
2001 Atlanta Moved from 3rd to 1st LW Ilya Kovalchuk
2002 Florida Moved from 3rd to 1st LW Rick Nash **
2003 Florida Moved from 4th to 1st G Marc-Andre Fleury ***
2004 Washington Moved from 3rd to 1st LW Alex Ovechkin
2005 Pittsburgh N/A C Sidney Crosby
2006 St. Louis Retained 1st selection D Erik Johnson
2007 Chicago Moved from 5th to 1st RW Patrick Kane
2008 Tampa Bay Retained 1st selection C Steven Stamkos
2009 NY Islanders Retained 1st selection C John Tavares
2010 Edmonton Retained 1st selection LW Taylor Hall
2011 New Jersey Moved from 8th to 4th D Adam Larsson
2012 Edmonton Moved from 2nd to 1st RW Nail Yakupov
* NY Rangers obtained Chicago's pick in a trade (via Vancouver and Tampa Bay). The Rangers selected RW Pavel Brendl fourth overall.
** Columbus obtained Florida's pick in a trade. The Blue Jackets selected LW Rick Nash first overall.
*** Pittsburgh obtained Florida's pick in a trade. The Penguins selected G Marc-Andre Fleury first overall.
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FREE AGENT CLASSIFICATIONS (Courtesy of nhl.com)
Group 2 (Restricted Free Agents) - Subject to compensation and right to match. The following players have been tendered a qualifying offer by their respective clubs and are subject to draft-choice compensation and right to match. The draft choice compensation scale is based on compensation offered by the new club (These are last summer's figures and are meant as a general guideline for compensation. If new figures are released, they will likely be released on July 1, 2011):
$1,034,249 or below - No compensation
Over $1,034,249 to $1,567,043 - Third-round choice
Over $1,567,043 to $3,134,088 - Second-round choice
Over $3,134,088 to $4,701,131 - First-round and Third-round choice
Over $4,701,131 to $6,268,175 - First-Round, Second-round, and Third-round choice
Over $6,268,175 to $7,835,219 - two First-round choices, one second-round choice, and one Third-round choice
Over $7,835,219 - four First-round choices
Group 3 (Unrestricted Free Agents) - The following players have qualified for Group 3 Free Agency (age 27 or older or with at least seven accrued seasons) and are Unrestricted Free Agents.
Group 6 (Unrestricted Free Agents) - The following players qualify for unrestricted free agency, having met the requirements for Group 6 free agency. These players, whose contracts have expired, are age 25 or older, have completed three or more professional seasons, and (i) in the case of a player other than a goaltender, have played less than 80 NHL games (regular season and playoffs), or (ii) in the case of a goaltender, have played less than 28 NHL games (regular season and playoffs).
Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA) - The following players were not tendered a qualifying offer and are therefore unrestricted free agents not subject to a right to match or draft choice compensation.
EVERYTHING FROM HERE ON EXPLAINED BY By Jamie Fitzpatrick
http://proicehockey.about.com/od/nhlfreeagents/a/arbitration.htm
http://proicehockey.about.com/bio/Jamie-Fitzpatrick-8082.htm
Entry-level Contracts
Definition: Players between the ages of 18 and 21 must sign "entry-level" contracts for their first three NHL seasons. Those aged 22-23 are entry-level players for two years, those aged 24 for a single year.Entry-level players are subject to maximum salaries and bonuses. The maximum entry-level salary will rsie to $925,000 per year by the time the current collective agreement expires in 2011.
Unrestricted NHL Free Agents
The 27-or-7 Benchmark
As of 2008, any player whose contract has expired can declare himself an unrestricted free agent if he is at least 27 years old or has at least seven years of service as an NHL player.Between 2005 and 2008, the age of unrestricted free agency declined from 31 to 27..
July 1
The free agency period begins on the first day of July. At that point, an unrestricted free agent is free to negotiate and sign a contract with any NHL team.
No Compensation
Teams losing unrestricted free agents do not receive any compensation.Under the old collective agreement, which expired in 2005, draft picks were awarded as compensation.
Restricted Free Agents
Players who are no longer considered entry-level but do not qualify as unrestricted free agents become restricted free agents when their contracts expire.
Qualifying Offers
The current team must extend a "qualifying offer" to a restricted free agent to retain negotiating rights to that player.Players who earned less than $660,000 in the previous season must be offered 110 percent of last season's salary. Players making up to $1 million must be offered 105 percent. Players making over $1 million must be offered 100 percent.If the qualifying offer is not made, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent. If the player rejects a qualifying offer, he remains a restricted free agent.
Offer Sheets and Restricted Free Agents
The Offer Sheet is a Contract
An offer sheet is a contract negotiated between an NHL team and a restricted free agent on another team.The offer sheet includes all the terms of a standard player contract, including length, salary, bonuses, etc.A player who has signed a qualifying offer or is going to salary arbitration with his original team cannot sign an offer sheet.
Accept or Decline
When an offer sheet is signed, the player’s current (original) team is notified. That team can keep the player under the terms of the offer sheet, or decline and let the player join the new team under those terms.The original team has seven days to make its decision.
No Turning Back
Once an offer sheet has been signed by a player, the original team cannot negotiate a new contract under different terms or trade the player’s rights. It’s only options are to accept or decline the offer sheet.
The No-Trade Clause
If the original team chooses to accept, or match the offer sheet, the player cannot be traded for one year.
Compensation
If the original team declines the offer sheet and loses the player, it receives draft picks from the player’s new team as compensation.Compensation for losing a restricted free agent is on a sliding scale, depending on how much the new contract is worth. The exact numbers change every year.The most a team can lose for signing an RFA is four first-round draft picks.For 2011, a team signing a restricted free agent to a contract worth more than $7,835,219 per season loses four first-round picks to the player's old team.For a contract worth $6,268,176 or more per year, the acquiring team gives up two first-round picks, one second rounder, and one third.There are another four levels of compensation, going down to a contract worth up to $1,034,249 per year, for which there is no compensation.
Salary Arbitration
A team or player can file for salary arbitration as a mechanism to settle contract disputes.A team can take a player to arbitration once in his career, and cannot ask for a salary reduction greater than 15 percent. Players can ask for salary arbitration as often as they want.
December 1 Deadline
Restricted free agents must sign NHL contracts by December 1, or they are not eligible to play in the NHL for the rest of the season.
NHL Salary Arbitration Explained-How the NHL salary arbitration process works.
NHL salary arbitration is a tool available to settle some contract disputes. The player and team each propose a salary for the coming season, and argue their cases at a hearing. The arbitrator, a neutral third party, then sets the player's salary.Most players must have four years of NHL experience before they are eligible for salary arbitration (the term is reduced for those who signed their first NHL contract after the age of 20). The process is used by restricted free agents, because it is one of the few bargaining options available to them.The deadline for players to request salary arbitration is July 5, with cases heard in late July and early August. A player and team can continue to negotiate up until the date of the hearing, in hopes of agreeing on a contract and avoiding the arbitration process.Teams can also ask for salary arbitration. But a player can be taken to arbitration only once in his career, and can never receive less than 85 per-cent of his previous year's salary. There are no such restrictions on the number of times a player can ask for arbitration, or the size of the salary awarded.A decision must be made within 48 hours of the hearing. When the decision is announced, the team has the right to decline, or walk away from the award. If the team exercises this right, the player can declare himself an unrestricted free agent.
The evidence that can be used in arbitration cases:
The player's overall performance including statistics in all previous seasons.
Injuries, illnesses and the number of games played.
The player's length of service with the team and in the NHL.
The player's overall contribution to the team's success or failure.
The player's special qualities of leadership or public appeal.
The performance and salary of any player alleged to be comparable to the player in the dispute.
Evidence that is not admissible:
The salary and performance of a comparable player who signed a contract as an unrestricted free agent.
Testimonials, video and media reports.
The financial state of the team.
The salary cap and the state of the team's payroll.
How the NHL Draft Works - Rules and regulations of the NHL Entry Draft.
By Jamie Fitzpatrick, About.com Guide
The NHL Entry Draft consists of seven rounds, with each team assigned one pick in each round. Draft picks can be traded at any time.
Draft Order
The 14 teams that missed the playoffs during the previous NHL season hold the first 14 picks. They draft in order of fewest points to most points, subject to the results of the draft lottery (see below).
The current Stanley Cup champion picks last (30th).
The Stanley Cup runner-up picks 29th.
The other two Conference Finalists pick 28th and 27th.
Regular-season division winners hold the other lowest positions.
Remaining teams draft in order of fewest points to most points from the previous regular season.
The Draft Lottery
The selection order in the first round is subject to a lottery, held among the teams that hold the top 14 picks. There is only one winning team in the lottery. That team moves up a maximum of four places in the draft order. The lottery is weighted to favor the teams with the fewest points. It was introduced to prevent a weak team from deliberately losing to guarantee itself a high draft pick.
Eligible Players
Players who turn 18 by September 15 and are not older than 20 by December 31 are eligible for selection. In addition, non-North American players over the age of 20 are eligible.A North American player who is not drafted by the age of 20 is an unrestricted free agent. All non-North Americans must be drafted before being signed, regardless of age.
Re-entering the Draft
A player not signed by his NHL team within two years of being drafted can re-enter the draft, as long as he is 20 years old or younger at the time of the subsequent draft. Players over 20 become unrestricted free agents.NCAA players are an exception: NHL teams retain the rights to a college player until 30 days after the player has left college.A team that does not sign a first-round draft pick is awarded a compensatory pick in a future draft upon losing the rights to that player.A player who has been drafted a second time cannot re-enter.
Recent Changes
European Players - Prior to 2005, NHL teams retained the rights to a European player until that player turned 31. Drafted Europeans must now be signed within two years, the same as North Americans, or the team loses the rights to the player.
NCAA Players - As of 2004, 18-year-old players from NCAA Division I schools can be drafted and retain their college eligibility as long as they don't play for a pro team or hire an agent. In previous years, an 18-year-old who opted into the draft lost his NCAA eligibility.
Compensatory Picks - As of 2005, a team that loses a veteran player as an unrestricted free agent is no longer awarded a compensatory pick in a future draft.
A Shorter Draft - The draft was reduced from nine to seven rounds as of 2005.
2012-13 CALENDAR
Apr. 3: Trade deadline at 3pm et/Noon pt
Apr. 27: Last day of regular season
Apr. 29: NHL Draft Lottery
Apr. 30: Stanley Cup Playoffs begin
May 3-19: World Championship -Sweden/Finland
June 30: NHL Draft in Newark, NJ
July 5: Free agency period begins
Realignment plan approved by Board of Governors-Thursday, 03.14.2013 / 12:00 PM / News
By Dan Rosen - NHL.com Senior Writer
The NHL's Board of Governors approved the realignment plan proposed last week.
The new four-division plan, featuring a new-look set-up for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, will go into effect next season.The NHL and NHLPA each had input into the plan to realign the League into an more geographically appropriate two-conference, four-division format that features 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 14 teams in the Western Conference.The Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets are moving to the Eastern Conference to provide them the ability to play the majority of their games against teams in the same time zone. The Winnipeg Jets are moving to the Western Conference for the same reason.The Dallas Stars are staying in the Western Conference, but moving into a division that includes five other teams from the Central time zone.The Stanley Cup Playoffs will still consist of 16 teams, eight in each conference, but it will be division-based and a wild-card system has been added as a new wrinkle.The top three teams in each division will make-up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season points and regardless of division. It will be possible, then, for one division to send five teams to the postseason while the other sends three.
The seeding of the wild-card teams within each divisional playoff will be determined on the basis of regular-season points. The division winner with the most points in the conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the lowest number of points; the division winner with the second-most points in the conference will play the wild-card team with the second fewest points.The teams finishing second and third in each division will play in the first round of the playoffs. The winners of each series will play for berths in the Conference Championship series.The two divisional champions in each conference will then play in the conference finals to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.The divisions will be temporarily referred to as Division A, Division B, Division C and Division D. Permanent names will be assigned later.The Western Conference will house Division A and Division B, while Division C and D will consist of eight teams each and make up the Eastern Conference.
Division A is the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks.
Division B features the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets.
Division C has four Original Six franchises: Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning are also in the division.
The Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals will join the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins in Division D.
The new alignment ensures that all 30 teams play in all 30 arenas at least once per season.
The National Hockey League Players' Association has given its consent to play under the new Alignment and Playoff System for a minimum of three seasons, through the 2015-16 NHL season.
The new alignment:
2013-14 realignment plan
Here is a breakdown of the new schedule matrix created for the new alignment plan:
Western Conference (7-team divisions)
Within Conference (Division): 29 games
* 5 games vs. five teams (3 Home/2 Away vs. two teams, 2 Home/3 Away vs. three teams) AND 4 games vs. one team (2 Home/2 Away). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 5 X 5 =25 games
* 1 X 4 = 4 games
Within Conference (Non-Division): 21 games
* 3 games vs. each team (2 Home/1 Away vs. four teams, 1 Home/2 Away vs. three teams). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 3 X 7 = 21 games
Non-Conference: 32 games
* 2 games vs. each team (1 Home/1 Away)
* 2 X 16 = 32 games
(Exception: one team from each division plays one less game inside Division and one more game inside Conference outside Division)
Eastern Conference (8-team divisions)
Within Conference (Division): 30 games
* 5 games vs. two teams (3 Home/2 Away vs. one team, 2 Home/3 Away vs. one team) AND 4 games vs. five teams (2 Home/2 Away). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 5 X 2 =10 games
* 4 X 5 = 20 games
Within Conference (Non-Division): 24 games
* 3 games vs. each team (2 Home/1 Away vs. four teams, 1 Home/2 Away vs. four teams). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 3 X 8 = 24 games
Non-Conference: 28 games
* 2 games vs. each team (1 Home/1 Away)
* 2 X 14 = 28 games
2013 NHL Draft Lottery and NHL Draft information-All seven rounds of Draft to be held on Sunday, June 30, in New Jersey - Monday, 03.04.2013 / 2:00 PM / 2013 NHL Draft NHL.com
NEW YORK -- The 2013 NHL Draft Lottery, to be held this year on Monday, April 29, will be the first in NHL history where all 14 clubs not qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or the clubs that have acquired the first-round drafting positions of those non-playoff clubs, will have a chance at winning the right to the first overall selection. Under the previous lottery system, only the five teams with the fewest points in the standings had the opportunity to win the first overall selection as rules dictated no team could move up more than four spots.The NHL Draft Lottery is a weighted system to determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the 2013 NHL Draft. Teams finishing with the fewest points during the regular season possess the greatest chance of winning the right to the first pick in the NHL Draft. Fourteen balls, numbered 1 to 14, are placed in a lottery machine. The machine expels four balls, forming a series of numbers. The four-digit series resulting from the expulsion of the balls is matched against a probability chart that divides the possible combinations among the 14 participating clubs.While the top pick can now go to any of the 14 non-playoff clubs, or the team owning the rights to the first pick of a non-playoff club, the odds of winning the lottery are unchanged from previous years. The teams in the drawing are ranked in inverse order of their regular season point totals, with team one being the club with the fewest points, and team 14 being the club with the most points among those outside of the playoffs.
The likelihood of each team gaining the right to the first pick is as follows:
Team 1 25.0%
Team 2 18.8%
Team 3 14.2%
Team 4 10.7%
Team 5 8.1%
Team 6 6.2%
Team 7 4.7%
Team 8 3.6%
Team 9 2.7%
Team 10 2.1%
Team 11 1.5%
Team 12 1.1%
Team 13 0.8%
Team 14 0.5%
No club will move down more than one position as a result of the Draft Lottery. The remaining first round drafting positions are determined by the results of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
2013 NHL Draft
The 2013 NHL Draft will be held Sunday, June 30th, with all seven rounds being conducted on the same day for the first time since 2006. As previously announced, the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center will host the event, the first NHL Draft ever held in the New York City metropolitan area.The draft gets underway at 3 p.m. ET as James Duthie hosts live coverage in Canada on TSN direct from the draft floor along with TSN's panel of experts. RDS will present exclusive French-language coverage throughout Canada. In the U.S., NBC Sports Network presents live coverage starting at 3 p.m. ET, while NHL Network in the U.S. continues live late-round coverage starting at 8 p.m. ET.NHL club executives, scouts and coaches will gather on the NHL Draft floor while more than 10,000 fans and 500 print, television and radio media are expected in attendance to witness the selection of the NHL’s next generation of superstars.Recent overall No. 1 picks include Alex Ovechkin (Washington, 2004), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh, 2005), Erik Johnson (St. Louis, 2006), Patrick Kane (Chicago, 2007), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay, 2008), John Tavares (NY Islanders, 2009), Taylor Hall (Edmonton, 2010), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton, 2011) and Nail Yakupov (Edmonton, 2012).
For more historical information and past draft selections, visit www.nhl.com/draft. Ticket distribution plans and other details pertaining to the 2013 NHL Draft will be announced at a later date.The Philadelphia Flyers will host the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Results of Previous Draft Drawings
Year Selected Effect on Draft order Player selected
1995 Los Angeles Moved from 7th to 3rd D Aki Berg
1996 Ottawa Retained 1st selection D Chris Phillips
1997 Boston Retained 1st selection C Joe Thornton
1998 Tampa Bay Moved from 3rd to 1st via trades C Vincent Lecavalier
1999 Chicago Moved from 8th to 4th RW Pavel Brendl *
2000 NY Islanders Moved from 5th to 1st G Rick DiPietro
2001 Atlanta Moved from 3rd to 1st LW Ilya Kovalchuk
2002 Florida Moved from 3rd to 1st LW Rick Nash **
2003 Florida Moved from 4th to 1st G Marc-Andre Fleury ***
2004 Washington Moved from 3rd to 1st LW Alex Ovechkin
2005 Pittsburgh N/A C Sidney Crosby
2006 St. Louis Retained 1st selection D Erik Johnson
2007 Chicago Moved from 5th to 1st RW Patrick Kane
2008 Tampa Bay Retained 1st selection C Steven Stamkos
2009 NY Islanders Retained 1st selection C John Tavares
2010 Edmonton Retained 1st selection LW Taylor Hall
2011 New Jersey Moved from 8th to 4th D Adam Larsson
2012 Edmonton Moved from 2nd to 1st RW Nail Yakupov
* NY Rangers obtained Chicago's pick in a trade (via Vancouver and Tampa Bay). The Rangers selected RW Pavel Brendl fourth overall.
** Columbus obtained Florida's pick in a trade. The Blue Jackets selected LW Rick Nash first overall.
*** Pittsburgh obtained Florida's pick in a trade. The Penguins selected G Marc-Andre Fleury first overall.
