New CBA Provision Regarding CHL-AHL Eligibility Rules

[Brawndo]

 

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, Brawndo said:

 

Just in time for the NEXT rebuild.  😢 

[LGR4GM]

Oh thank God. I was worried about where we were gonna put Roobroeck

[LGR4GM]

They also changed the AHL/NHL transaction rules. 

 

 

[Taro T]

28 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

They also changed the AHL/NHL transaction rules. 

 

 

Any word if this is also going to apply to trade deadline day transactions?

Would expect they'd make an exception to that so the players that get moved down on paper will be able to play in the AHL playoffs when the parent team's season is done.  But, without seeing the actual paragraph from the CBA, don't know for certain.

[TheAud]

So Benson Year 1 could not be in the AHL but after a year in the NHL he would have been eligible to play in the AHL in year 2?

 

[Taro T]

Just now, TheAud said:

So Benson Year 1 could not be in the AHL but after a year in the NHL he would have been eligible to play in the AHL in year 2?

 

Provided the Amerks that year didn't have any other 19 year olds who'd been eligible to be in the CHL, yes, apparently.

[LGR4GM]

26 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Any word if this is also going to apply to trade deadline day transactions?

Would expect they'd make an exception to that so the players that get moved down on paper will be able to play in the AHL playoffs when the parent team's season is done.  But, without seeing the actual paragraph from the CBA, don't know for certain.

Unsure. My first thought is no but maybe there's a carve out. 

[French Collection]

I think with the NCAA as an option there may be fewer teenagers stagnating in the CHL once they have hit their junior ceiling.

I believe the CHL teams will become weaker as their top players move on earlier to NCAA or pro. They are a development league but  selling tickets with kids like McKenna is more profitable.

[oddoublee]

This is great news! Now everyone, hear me out. I've got an idea...

First, we start simple...we go back in time. 

Then, we let Benson play in the minors one more year knowing we can get him to Rochester the following year.

Then...we bring him up this year...and he's ready for his first taste of NHL action and competes for rookie of the year.

I think this can work. 

[shrader]

11 hours ago, French Collection said:

I think with the NCAA as an option there may be fewer teenagers stagnating in the CHL once they have hit their junior ceiling.

I believe the CHL teams will become weaker as their top players move on earlier to NCAA or pro. They are a development league but  selling tickets with kids like McKenna is more profitable.

I can’t wait for the fun time when someone has two high end CHL guys and then need to pick which one goes to the AHL. Situations like the islanders having 3 first round picks come to mind. They won’t have to worry about it,  it in the future it may influence how teams make those picks. 

[Mango]

11 hours ago, French Collection said:

I think with the NCAA as an option there may be fewer teenagers stagnating in the CHL once they have hit their junior ceiling.

I believe the CHL teams will become weaker as their top players move on earlier to NCAA or pro. They are a development league but  selling tickets with kids like McKenna is more profitable.

 

10 minutes ago, shrader said:

I can’t wait for the fun time when someone has two high end CHL guys and then need to pick which one goes to the AHL. Situations like the islanders having 3 first round picks come to mind. They won’t have to worry about it,  it in the future it may influence how teams make those picks. 

The resources at the NCAA level are much higher than juniors. Let juniors be actual juniors and let kids develop in college like every other sport.

A strong NCAA hockey league is much better for the NHL than a junior league.

I'm a big proponent of taking this a step further. If a player is too young to play in the AHL, they're too young to be drafted. The only reason it's a thing is to protect the juniors leagues revenue.

Edited Friday at 01:32 PM by Mango

[shrader]

1 hour ago, Mango said:

 

The resources at the NCAA level are much higher than juniors. Let juniors be actual juniors and let kids develop in college like every other sport.

A strong NCAA hockey league is much better for the NHL than a junior league.

I'm a big proponent of taking this a step further. If a player is too young to play in the AHL, they're too young to be drafted. The only reason it's a thing is to protect the juniors leagues revenue.

This isn’t going to create a strong NCAA.  The Big10 is going to buy a bunch of players, creating a bigger talent gap. 

[LGR4GM]

1 minute ago, shrader said:

This isn’t going to create a strong NCAA.  The Big10 is going to buy a bunch of players, creating a bigger talent gap. 

That's exactly what happened in College Football. The SEC and Big10 added teams and buy all the good players. A few of the historically good schools outside of that realm will compete but everyone else is picking up scraps. The strong got stronger. 

1 hour ago, Mango said:

 

The resources at the NCAA level are much higher than juniors. Let juniors be actual juniors and let kids develop in college like every other sport.

A strong NCAA hockey league is much better for the NHL than a junior league.

I'm a big proponent of taking this a step further. If a player is too young to play in the AHL, they're too young to be drafted. The only reason it's a thing is to protect the juniors leagues revenue.

There aren't enough NCAA College Hockey programs for this to work that way. Canadian Jrs and AHL will still be strong places to play. We have to remember a lot of the Canadian Jr kids won't be NCAA eligible until they are 18, 19, or 20 depending on the their schooling. It also means there are more spots in these other leagues for late bloomers to get ice. As others have said, my big concern would be USHL and NTDP. 

[French Collection]

Just now, LGR4GM said:

That's exactly what happened in College Football. The SEC and Big10 added teams and buy all the good players. A few of the historically good schools outside of that realm will compete but everyone else is picking up scraps. The strong got stronger. 

There aren't enough NCAA College Hockey programs for this to work that way. Canadian Jrs and AHL will still be strong places to play. We have to remember a lot of the Canadian Jr kids won't be NCAA eligible until they are 18, 19, or 20 depending on the their schooling. It also means there are more spots in these other leagues for late bloomers to get ice. As others have said, my big concern would be USHL and NTDP. 

Tier 2 Jr. A in Canada will suffer, many NCAA bound players used to play in the BCHL, AJHL and OJHL. Guys like Makar would now play WHL instead. Those leagues will turn into feeder leagues for the CHL.

[Mango]

6 hours ago, shrader said:

This isn’t going to create a strong NCAA.  The Big10 is going to buy a bunch of players, creating a bigger talent gap. 

That won't happen. As somebody who has done a lot of college recruiting, other major sports colleges will chase internationals.

[shrader]

1 hour ago, Mango said:

That won't happen. As somebody who has done a lot of college recruiting, other major sports colleges will chase internationals.

Penn State is currently buying half a roster. 

[Mango]

12 hours ago, shrader said:

Penn State is currently buying half a roster. 

Right, other schools and conferences will adjust. Penn State won't be the only one for very long.

[LGR4GM]

 

 

[Mango]

On 7/11/2025 at 10:55 AM, LGR4GM said:

That's exactly what happened in College Football. The SEC and Big10 added teams and buy all the good players. A few of the historically good schools outside of that realm will compete but everyone else is picking up scraps. The strong got stronger. 

There aren't enough NCAA College Hockey programs for this to work that way. Canadian Jrs and AHL will still be strong places to play. We have to remember a lot of the Canadian Jr kids won't be NCAA eligible until they are 18, 19, or 20 depending on the their schooling. It also means there are more spots in these other leagues for late bloomers to get ice. As others have said, my big concern would be USHL and NTDP. 

Canadian kids don't have to take 5 years they can graduate in 4. It's super common, and basically the norm these days. American students have the same options with prep schools as well.

The USHL and CHL only exist in the way they do today because there wasn't enough college investment like other sports. And now that it seems there is some increased college investment people are clutching their pearls that the junior leagues might suffer.

I think there is an important place for juniors. But I think it's demoted.

The potential ceiling for development and conglomeration of skill is way higher at the NCAA than the NA junior leagues.

That doesn't mean I love everything about NCAA football and basketball. And frankly I don't think that's a concen for hockey (at the moment).

If the NCAA can get the best 18-24 year olds in the world playing together, working at real facilities, with professional full-time trainers before they are drafted and not living on shirty greyhound buses, playing in empty arenas then I am all for it.

 

 

 

[Taro T]

Didn't read the entire document.  (Have real work to do today.)

But 2 items that did catch my eye.

1st - contracts can still have money retained 2 times - so a club can end up only having to pay 25% of a player's nominal salary by being the 2nd team to get the player with retention included in the trade.  BUT there is a 75 day waiting period before a player's contract can be traded with salary retained from a prior trade.  So, the Anaheims of this world will no longer be able to be 3rd party intermediaries on contracts unless all 3 teams are willing to play a "long game" and have the player stick with that intermediary for about 40% of the season.  So, looks like the Sabres missed their chance to be an intermediary team in a 3 party trade used to cut a guy's salary down 75% to the team ultimately ending up with him.

2nd - the emergency goalie will be a player that never made the NHL and has at most 3 years professional experience.  He also must be available for all home AND away games.  So, look for the EG to be someone working for the team in some sort of capacity that it makes sense for them to be travelling with the team to perform their day job.

[Taro T]

They're also capping how much of a typical player's contract can be converted to a signing / roster bonus (60% as the cap for that) so guys won't be able to get almost all of it up front in any given year like they can now.  (EDIT: it might be that they can still get a larger percentage in an individual year as a signing/roster bonus but the entire contract can't have more than 60% total as such.  Need to look at that one more closely.)

They made a minor tweak to the injured veteran bonus eligibility; 400 game players that have missed significant time can still qualify for one, but they have to either miss 100 days of the last season or the final 70 days of that season and they can't have played in more than 2 playoff games that last year of the contract either.

Will try to look at the playoff LTIR provisions tonight.  Expect they'll have some convolution to them.

And the new CBA kicks in next year and runs for 4 years.  It can run past September 2030 provided neither side opts out 120 before the date it is set to terminate.  Meaning it extends year to year until one side or the other wants changes to it.

Edited 7 hours ago by Taro T

[French Collection]

Just now, Taro T said:

So, look for the EG to be someone working for the team in some sort of capacity that it makes sense for them to be travelling with the team to perform their day job.

Isn’t the home team responsible for the EBUGs? There shouldn’t be a need to travel.

I can see an ex ECHL goalie getting a small salary to attend every home game and have a few perks like practice time, tickets etc…

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, French Collection said:

Isn’t the home team responsible for the EBUGs? There shouldn’t be a need to travel.

I can see an ex ECHL goalie getting a small salary to attend every home game and have a few perks like practice time, tickets etc…

In the current system, that is correct.  With the new MOU, each team needs to have a EBUG available for each game home AND away.

[French Collection]

Just now, Taro T said:

In the current system, that is correct.  With the new MOU, each team needs to have a EBUG available for each game home AND away.

Wow, that is better than Bryson’s job.