Frequently Asked Questions about the Collective Bargaining Agreement

This section will be updated over the next few months as time permits.  For information on the NHL Entry Draft, go to "Entry Draft" on the menu bar.

1. Definitions in the CBA
2. Term of the CBA  [Article 3; start and end dates]
3. The Entry Draft   [Article 8]
    a. History of the Draft; Setting the Draft Order; The Draft Lottery; Past Lottery Winners
    b. Who's Eligible to be Drafted; Length of Rights to Draft Selections; Compensatory Draft Picks
    -- here's the link to which picks have been traded in the current and future years.
4. Entry-Level Contracts:  How They Work  [Article 9]  [currently under construction]
5. Free Agency [Article 10]
    a. Definitions
    b. Offer Sheets
6. Salary Arbitration:  A Complete Guide  [Article 12]
7. Waivers:  A Currently (in)Complete Guide  [Article 13]
8. Miscellaneous - or, "Everything That Doesn't Fit Somewhere Else Neatly"  [Articles 14-25]
9. Circumventions  [Article 26]
10. Revenue Sharing  [Article 49]
11.  The Salary Cap  [Article 50]
    50.1 - HRR:  What It Is, What It Isn't
    50.2 - Player Salary, Bonuses, Performance Bonuses
    50.3 and 50.4 - Benefits, Players Share, and Escrow
    50.5 - The Salary Cap System
    50.6 to 50.8:  Miscellaneous Items Regarding Contracts
    50.9 - Calculation of the Salary Cap, Buyouts, Recall Waivers
    50.10 - Accounting for Injured Players;  the "LTI" exception 

Questions about the Salary Cap  [updated for the 2008-09 season]
-- Does not answer how the Upper and Lower Limit are set.  A page on this is in progress and is expected to be released on or about July 15, 2008; until then, several of the items listed under "Article 50" above can be answered here.

The current expected RFA compensation table for 2008-09 is:

The actual numbers will be posted when the NHL releases the figures on or about June 30.

LAST UPDATED:  July 2, 2008