have no fear, the Free Agency is here!
Here are some key dates based on the NHL announcement of a January 13th 2021 start. Should there be any modification, we will adapt the schedule accordingly.
December 23rd (Wednesday - h: 24.00 CET)
Deadline for setting the protected players (up to 16 multiyear non-entry draft running contracts) and the restricted free agents.
December 24th (Thursday - h: 10.00 CET)
Start of the september Free Agency session.
Time spans for different durations of leading offers:
Dec. 24th – Dec 26th -> 72 hrs
Dec 27th – Jan 2nd -> 48 hrs Extended until Jan 5
Jan 3rd – Jan 7th-> 24 hrs Jan 6th - Jan 10th -> 24hrs
Note: for RFAs every offer lasts only 24 hours right from the start
December 28th (Monday- h: 24.00 CET)
Deadline to launch auction bids for the available RFAs and EFAs.
December 31st (Thursday -h: 24.00 CET)
End of the RFA/EFA market.
January 1st (Thursday -h: 24.00 CET)
Deadline to submit undisclosed final offers for RFAs/EFAs whose biddings are still pending after the Dec. 31st deadline. Processed
January 9th (Saturday - h: 24.00 CET)
Deadline to launch auction bids for the available UFAs.
January 10th (Sunday - h: 24.00 CET)
End of all the open biddings for the Dec 2020 / Jan 2021 FA session.
January 11th (Monday - h: 24.00 CET)
Deadline to submit undisclosed final offers for UFAs whose biddings are still pending after the January 10th deadline AND re-opening of trades.
January 12th (Tuesday - h: 24.00 CET)
Deadline to make requests to set players as retired/signed overseas and be able to get them off the cap.
January 13th (Wednesday - h: 24.00 CET)
Deadline to complete off-season buyouts and opening of the in-season free agency. Please note that right after this deadline roster moves will start counting against the limit and eligible players will be again exposed to waivers.
Happy start of the season!
Moreover, considering the circumstances which triggered the abrupt end of the 2019/2020 season, the Commission has decided to award a one-off bonus worth $1M in additional cap space to each of the four conference finalists that were still in play at the moment of the interruption (in alphabetic order: Detroit Roadrunners, Halifax Mooseheads, New York Batteries, Windsor Spitfires).
Happy Free Agency and Merry Christmas,
The Commission
If the GM who designated the RFA decides NOT to match the offer, he will be compensated as per the following table:
RFA Compensation Brackets
>10M : 1st and 2nd round picks of the next Entry draft + 1st round pick of the following Entry draft.
8.6M -10M : 1st and 2nd round picks of the next Entry draft + 2nd round pick of the following Entry draft.
7.1M-8.5M : 1st and 2nd round picks of the next Entry draft.
5.6M-7.0M : 1st and 3rd round picks of the next Entry draft
3.6M-5.5M : 2nd rounder of the next Entry draft
1.5M-3.5M : 3rd rounder of the next Entry draft
