ARTICLE 1 - IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

The following list of definitions are not a complete list of those found in the CBA, and are not replicated word-for-word from Article 1; they are presented in an easy-to-understand form that still present the main information one should understand.  Where necessary, examples are presented.  Where words have obvious definitions [example: Player, Playoffs, and Regular Season], they are not listed here.

    ACCRUED SEASON - a season of service used for the purposes of determining eligibility for unrestricted free agency.  A player earns an accrued season if he is on his club's Active Roster for at least 40 regular-season games [30 if a goalie]; if a player suffers a hockey-related injury while on the Active Roster, the games missed due to such injury also count as games on the Active Roster to a maximum of the season in which the injury occurred and one (1) additional season.

EXAMPLES:
1. A player injured in a game early in the season who spends most of the season on Injured Reserve and only plays 22 regular-season games would get credit for an Accrued Season;
2. Alexei Zhamnov [who was injured in the 2005-06 season] would get credit for an Accrued Season in 2005-06 and 2006-07, but not in 2007-08.

    ACTIVE ROSTER - the group of players signed to a SPC and who are not on the Injured Reserve List, Injured Non Roster, designated Non-Roster, or Loaned; includes players who are on a Conditioning Loan and players who are suspended.  The Active Roster exists from the day before the start of the Regular Season, and expires at the end of the team's last NHL Game in a League Year, and has a minimum size of 20 players and a maximum size of 23 players.

    AVERAGE LEAGUE SALARY - the League average salary for a given League Year; approximately equal to a weighted average of the salaries of players who played in the NHL in a given League Year according to the number of days the player was eligible to receive his Paragraph 1 Salary and Bonuses.  A good estimate of this number is the weighted average of salaries [including team-paid bonuses] paid to players who played in the NHL in a given year with the weighting based on the percentage of the season the player was on the NHL roster.

    BUY-OUT - the process by which a team may relinquish its rights to a player through a negotiated settlement to the player, thus making the player an unrestricted free agent.  Also referred to as "Ordinary Course Buy-Out."

    BUY-OUT PERIOD - the time frame during which teams may negotiate a buy-out of a SPC.  Except for the period specifically designated, no team may execute a buy-out of any player.  This period runs from June 15 or 48 hours after the end of the Finals [whichever is later] to June 30 at 5:00pm Eastern.

    CLUB - A team in the National Hockey League

    CONDITIONING LOAN - the assignment of a player on a team's Active Roster for conditioning reasons; does not remove the player from the team's Active Roster.

    INJURED NON-ROSTER - a subsection of the Reserve List used for players who are unable to pass their training camp physical due to injury or illness, and who did not finish the prior season on Injured Reserve due to the same injury or illness.

    INJURED RESERVE LIST (IR) - the list of players who are not able to play for their team due to injury or illness.  Players designated for IR must be on for a minimum of seven (7) days; assignments to IR can be made retroactively.

    JUNIORS - the Canadian Hockey League; currently comprised of the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.  Also referred to as Major Juniors.

    LEAGUE YEAR - the period from July 1 of one calendar year to June 30 of the immediately following calendar year.

    LOAN - the transfer of a player from a team's Active Roster, Non-Roster, Injured Non-Roster, or Injured Reserve List to the roster of a club outside the NHL.

    MINORS – the American Hockey League [AHL].  Does not refer to the East Coast Hockey League [ECHL] or any other professional hockey league.

    NHL GAMES - Regular Season and Playoff Games played between teams in the National Hockey League.

    NHL SEASON - the time period covering the NHL Regular Season and the NHL Playoffs.

    NON-ROSTER LIST - a subsection of the Active Roster for players designated by their team to be unavailable to play for reasons other than injury, illness, or suspension.

    OFFER SHEET - a contract offer to a Restricted Free Agent by a team not currently holding the player's rights, which the player's current team has the right to match or receive compensation as stated in Article 10.

    PARAGRAPH 1 SALARY - the salary payable to a player, depending on where plays; given the name because it is stated in Paragraph 1 of the Standard Player Contract [SPC].  When referring to a player's salary for playing in the NHL, it is his "Paragraph 1 NHL Salary."  When referring to a player's salary for playing in the minors, it is his "Paragraph 1 Minor League Salary."

    PLAYING ROSTER – the members of a Club’s Active Roster which are dressed to play for a game [NHL, exhibition, or international]

    PROFESSIONAL GAMES - includes NHL games played, all minor league regular season and playoff games, and any other professional games played.  Includes [but is not limited to] games played in any European league or any other league outside North America by a player signed to a valid SPC.

    QUALIFYING OFFER - a contract tendered to a Restricted Free Agent that offers a guaranteed NHL salary [and if applicable, AHL salary] for the following League Year as a means of retaining the rights to that player.  The player has the sole discretion in deciding whether to accept or reject the offer - but if accepted, immediately becomes a binding SPC on both the player and the team.

    RECALL - the transfer of a player from the roster of a team outside the NHL to a Club's Active Roster.

    RESERVE LIST - the list of all players to which a Club has rights.  Includes all players signed to a SPC [whether playing in the NHL or not] and unsigned draft picks.  Limited to 90 players, of which no more than 50 players may be signed to a SPC; players age 18 or age 19 returned to Juniors and who have not played 11 NHL games in one season are exempt from the 50-player limit.  [Teams must always have at least 24 players and 3 goalkeepers signed to a SPC.]

    ROOKIE - for the purposes of consideration for the Calder Trophy, any player age 26 or younger who has never (A) played more than 25 NHL games in any one prior season, and (B) who has not played 6 or more games in each of any two prior seasons.  Otherwise, refers to any player who has never signed an SPC.

    STANDARD PLAYER CONTRACT (SPC) - the standard form contract used for all player signings.  Exhibit 1 in the CBA.

    SYSTEM ARBITRATOR - the person authorized to hear and resolve specified disputes as set forth in Section 48.5(a) of the CBA.

    TRADE - the transfer of a player and his SPC or rights from one Club's Reserve List to another Club's Reserve List and/or the rights to a draft choice in the Entry Draft by means other than a claim by Waivers.

    TRADE DEADLINE - the latest date in the Regular Season which teams may make trades.  This is forty (40) days prior to the end of the Regular Season in every League Year covered by the current CBA.  [For the 2007-08 season, this is February 26, 2008.]