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Articles
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Article 4
Article 5
Article 6
Article 7
Article 8
Article 9
Article 10
Article 11
Article 12
Article 13
Article 14 |
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Article 5
Free Agency
- 5.1 Unrestricted Free Agents.
- (a) Group III Players and Free Agents.
- (i) For the 1999/2000, 2000/01 and 2001/02 League Years, any
player who is 31 years of age or older as of July 1 of the end of the
1999/00, 2000/01 and 2001/02 League Year, as the case may be, and has
five Accrued Seasons (defined below) or more on July 1 of the end of
the applicable League Year, shall, if his Player Contract has expired,
become an Unrestricted Free Agent. Such player shall be completely
free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club, and any
Club shall be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract
with such player, without penalty or restriction, or being subject to
any Right of First Refusal, Draft Choice Compensation or any other
compensation or equalization obligation of any kind.
(ii) An Unrestricted Free Agent shall not be subject to any
limitations on the period of time before which he may qualify as an
Unrestricted Free Agent again, or to any limitations on the number of
times he may become an Unrestricted Free Agent, except for a Group V
Player, who may only elect to become a Group V Player once, but who
may qualify to be another type of Unrestricted Free Agent in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
"Accrued Seasons" means any League Year during which a player was on a
Club's Playing Roster for 40 (30 if the Player is a goaltender) or
more regular season MFHL games, provided that, for the purposes of
calculating an Accrued Season under this Agreement, games missed due
to a hockey-related injury incurred while on a Club's Playing Roster
shall count as games played for purposes of calculating an Accrued
Season but only during the League Year in which the injury was
incurred and a maximum of one additional season.
- (b) Group V Free Agents.
Any Group V Player shall be entitled at the expiration of his Player
Contract to elect to become an Unrestricted Free Agent by notifying
the League and his Prior Club of such election on or before July 1
(or such other date as may be agreed in an applicable critical date
calendar agreed to by the League and the MFHLPA) of the League Year
in which such player qualifies to become a free agent pursuant to this
subsection. Upon making such election, such player shall be
completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with with any
Club, and any Club shall be completely free to negotiate and sign a
Player Contract with such player without penalty or restriction, or
being subject to any Right of First Refusal, Draft Choice Compensation
or any other compensation equalization obligation of any kind.
Group V players are potential Group III free agents who :
- (i) are age 30 as the Free Agent period commences
(ii) earned less than the ALS (Average League Salary) and
(iii) received a qualifying offer.
- (c) Group VI Free Agents.
Any Group VI Player shall, at the expiration of his Player Contract,
become an Unrestricted Free Agent and shall be completely free to
negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club, and any Club shall
be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with such
Player without penalty or restriction, or being subject to any Right
of First Refusal, Draft Choice Compensation or any other compensation
or equalization obligation of any kind.
Group VI players are age 25 or older, have completed three or more
professional seasons and in the case of a player other than a
goaltender have played fewer than 80 NHL games (regular-season and
playoff), or in the caseof a goaltender have played fewer than 28 NHL
games (regular-season and playoff).
(e) Draft Related Unrestricted Free Agents.
- (i) Any Player not eligible for claiming in any future Entry
Draft pursuant to this Agreement and not on a Club's Reserve List
shall be an unrestricted free agent. Further, any player eligible for
claim in the Entry Draft but who was unclaimed shall be an
unrestricted free agent subject to the provisions of section 3.4.
(ii) Each player referred to in subsection (d)(i) above shall, during
the period of his free agency in accordance with Section 3.4, if
applicable, be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract
with any Club and any Club shall be completely free to negotiate and
sign a Player Contract with such player without penalty or restriction
subject to provisions of Article 4, if applicable, and without being
subject to any Right of First Refusal, Draft Choice Compensation or
any other compensation or equalization obligation of any kind.
- 5.2 Restricted Free Agents.
- (a) Group II Players and Free Agents.
- (i)
- (A) Any player who meets the qualifications set forth in the
following chart and (1) is not a Group I Player or a Group IV Player,
and (2) is not an Unrestricted Free Agent, shall be deemed to be a
"Group II Player" and shall, at the expiration of his Player Contract,
become a Restricted Free Agent. Any such player shall be completely
free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club, and any
Club shall be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract
with any such player, subject to the provisions set forth in this
Section.
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First Contract Signing Age |
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Eligibility for Group II Free Agency |
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18-21
22-23
24 and older |
3 years professional experience
2 years professional experience
1 year professional experience |
For the purposes of this Section 5.2(a), a player aged 18 or 19 earns
a year of professional experience by playing twenty five or more MFHL
games (regular season) in a given season, and a player aged 20 or
older earns a year of professional experience by playing twenty five
or more professional games under MFHL contract in a given season.
(B) Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a Group II Player requests
salary arbitration pursuant to Article 7 such a player will not be
eligible to negotiate with any Club other than his Prior Club or sign
an Offer Sheet pursuant to this Article 5 except as provided in
Section 7.5.
(ii) In order to receive a Right of First Refusal or Draft Choice
Compensation (at the Prior Club's option) with respect to a Restricted
Free Agent, the Prior Club of a Restricted Free Agent must tender to
the player, no later than July 1 of the final year of a player's
Player Contract, a Player Contract for one League Year which is
subject to salary arbitration (if such player is otherwise eligible
for salary arbitration in accordance with Section 7.1)(a "Qualifying
Offer") on at least the following terms and conditions:
- (A) a player who is earning less than the league average salary
has to be tendered a qualifying offer of 110% of their prior contract.
(B) a player who is earning more than the league average salary and
is of the RFA age, must be tendered a qualifying offer of 100%
in order to keep restricted status.
If a Qualifying Offer meeting the above requirements is timely made,
the Prior Club shall have a Right of First Refusal, exercisable in
accordance with Section 5.3 below, or Draft Choice Compensation,
exercisable in accordance with Section 5.5 below.
(iii) A Club's Qualifying Offer must be a one-way Player Contract if
the applicable player has (A) actually played 180 or more games in
the League in the previos 3 seasons, (B) played at least 60 games in
the League in the previous season, and (C) not cleared waivers in the
previous season. For purposes hereof only, a goalkeeper is deemed
to have played a game when he was dressed and on the bench as a
backup. In all other cases, a Qualifying Offer may be a two-way
Player Contract.
(iv) In the event a Prior Club fails to make a Qualifying Offer as
required in Section 5.2(a)(ii), the player shall immediately become
an Unrestricted Free Agent and shall be completely free to negotiate
and sign a Player Contract with any Club, and any Club shall be
completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any such
player, without penalty or restriction or being subject to any Right
of First Refusal, Draft Choice Compensation, or any other compensation
or equalization obligation of any kind. The Club may withdraw the
Qualifying Offer any time after 12:01 Montreal time on August 1 and
retain its rights under this Article.
(v) Promptly upon signing any Restricted Free Agent to a Player
Contract, or extending to any Restricted Free Agent a Qualifying
Offer, the signing or extending Club shall send the contract or the
Qualifying Offer to the MFHL and a copy to the MFHLPA.
(b) Right of First Refusal, No Draft Choice Compensation
- (i) In order for a Prior Club to obtain a Right of First
Refusal for any Group IV Player who has signed an Offer Sheet, the
Prio Club must offer to such player a Qualifying Offer on or before
July 1 of the year he becomes a Group IV free agent. Such Qualifying
Offer must be for at least the MFHL Minimum Compensation and if the
player meets the qualifications for being in the Entry Level System,
a Player Contract for a term corresponding to the player's age as
required under Section 4.1(b) or otherwise a one year Player Contract.
In all cases that offer must remain open for acceptance until July 31.
(ii) Provided such Qualifying Offer has been made, the Prior Club
shall have a Right of First Refusal in respect of any Offer Sheet
received by such player from a New Club, as per the terms set forth
in Section 5.3.
(c) Players With Fewer Than Three Years of Professional Experience.
Any player with fewer than the required years of professional
experience set forth in Section 5.2 shall have no right to free
agency except as provided in this section. Upon expiration of such a
player's Player Contract, the Club whom the player was last under
contract shall be entitled to make that player a Qualifying Offer
under the terms and conditions set forth in Section 5.2(a)(ii) above.
A Club which makes this Qualifying Offer will have the exclusive right
to negotiate with any such player. In the event no such Qualifying
Offer is made, the player shall immediately become an Unrestricted
Free Agent pursuant to Section 5.2(a)(iv) above.
- 5.3 Offer Sheet and First Refusal Procedures.
- (a) When a Restricted Free Agent receives an offer to sign a
Player Contract from any Club other than his Prior Club, which offer
the player desires to accept, he shall gives the Prior Club a
completed certificate substantially in the form of Exhibit 4 attached
hereto (the "Offer Sheet"), signed by the Restricted Free Agent and
the New Club, which shall contain the "Principal Terms" (as defined
below) as well as all other terms of Compensation of the New Club's
offer. The Prior Club, within seven days after the date it receives
the Offer Sheet may exercise or not exercise its Right of First
Refusal, which shall have the legal consequence set forth below. Once
an Offer Sheet for a Restricted Free Agency has been received by the
Prior Club, the Prior Club may not trade its Right of First Refusal
for such Restricted Free Agent.
(b) If the Prior Club gives the Restricted Free Agent notice that it
is exercising its Right of First Refusal (a "First Refusal Exercise
Notice"), such notice to be substantially in the form of Exhibit 5
attached hereto, within the seven day period, such Restricted Free
Agent and the Prior Club shall be deemed to have entered into a
binding agreement, which they shall promptly formalize in a Player
Contract, containing such additional terms as may be agreed upon
between the Restricted Free Agent and the Prior Club. The Prior Club
may not trade that Restricted Free Agent for a period of one year
from the date exercises its Right of First Refusal.
(c) If the Prior Club does not give the Restricted Free Agent the
First Refusal Exercise Notice within the seven day period, the player
and the New Club shall be deemed to have entered into a binding
agreement, which they shall promptly formalize in a Player Contract,
containing all of the terms contained in the Offer Sheet, and the
Restricted Free Agent's Prior Club shall receive from the New Club
the Draft Choice Compensation, if any, specified in 5.5 below.
(d)
- (i) A Club may have more than one Offer Sheet signed by a
Restricted Free Agent outstanding at any one time and from time to
time, provided that it has the available draft picks to satisfy its
obligations pursuant to Section 5.5 with respect to all Offer Sheets
outstanding at the relevant time.
(ii) An Offer Sheet, once signed by the player and the New Club, shall
be irrevocable.
(e) Simultaneously with the giving of an Offer Sheet to the Prior
Club, the New Club shall give a copy thereof to the MFHL and the
MFHLPA. Simultaneously with the giving of a First Refusal Exercise
Notice to the Restricted Free Agent, the Prior Club shall give a copy
thereof to the MFHL and the MFHLPA.
(f) Upon receipt of an Offer Sheet, the Prior Club shall immediately
receive the New Club's required draft picks and place them in reserve.
- 5.4 Draft Choice Compensation for Restricted Free Agents
Any Club that is entitled to but does not exercise its Right of First
Refusal pursuant to Section 5.3 shall be entitled to obtain Draft
Choice Compensation from the New Club. The number and quality of
draft choices due to the Prior Club shall be based on the average
annual value of the New Club's Offer Sheet, based on the following
scale:
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Offer |
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Compensation |
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$399,000 or below
Over $400,000 to and including $500,000
Over $500,000 to and including $700,000
Over $700,000 to and including $825,000
Over $825,000 to and including $1,000,000
Over $1,000,000 to and including $1,250,000
Over $1,250,000 to and including $1,500,000
Over $1,500,000 to and including $1,750,000
Over $1,750,000 to and including $2,000,000
Over $2,000,000
Each additional $1,000,000 |
None
Fourth Round
Third round
Second round
First round
First and Third Round
First and second round
Two first rounds
Two first rounds and one second round
Three first round choices
One additional first round choice to a maximum of five |
The dollar amounts set forth in the scale outlined aboe shall be
increased on an annual basis at the same percentage rate of increase
as the Average League Salary, with the 1999/2000 League Average being
the first year such increase shall take effect. By way of example, if
the Average League Salary on July 1, 2000 has increased by 10% from
the Average League Salary on July 1, 1999, then each of the dollars
amounts stated in the table above shall be increased by 10% on July 1,
2000, and the basis for determining the number and quality of draft
choices due to the Prior Club for the loss of a Restricted Free Agent
signed after such date shall be adjusted accordingly. For each League
Year thereafter, a similar comparison and adjustment shall be made.
Clubs owing one draft pick must have it available in the next draft.
Clubs owing two draft picks in the same round must have them available
in the next three drafts. Clubs owing three draft pciks must have them
available in the next four drafts, and so forth. Clubs owing two draft
picks in different rounds must have them available in the next draft.
Clubs must use their own draft picks (being those awarded directly to
the Club by the League for use by it in the Entry Draft, including any
Compensatory Draft Selection pursuant to Section 3.3).
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Exhibits
Exhibit 1
Exhibit 2
Exhibit 3
Exhibit 4
Exhibit 5 |
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