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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 2902602" data-attributes="member: 2012">From Sportsnet.caHere's an interesting <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp?content=20060621_092549_5132" target="_blank">article</a> from <a href="http://www.Sportsnet.ca" target="_blank">www.Sportsnet.ca</a>.2006 NHL Entry Draft PrimerJune 21, 2006As clubs and players arrive in Vancouver for the NHL's 2006 Entry Draft the excitement builds for all. Each player dreams about a storied career in the NHL and each club hopes that their picks turn out to be productive at the NHL level.Different ConsiderationsPrior to drafting a player, a club must consider various issues. For example, how old is the player? Where did he play during the 2005/06 season, Junior, Europe or College? Did he play high school or provincial tier II? Did he play with the U.S. National Under 18 team? Will he be going to college? Is he still under contract to a European team? How long will a club have exclusive "rights" to the player? clubs must carefully craft a plan that must be followed over time so that they have the right flow of players coming into their respective systems at the right time.Eligibility/RoundsPlayers no longer have to opt-in the Draft. All players who are 18 years of age as of September 15, 2006 are eligible to be drafted. Approximately 210 players will be drafted over the course of 7 rounds (there may be some additional compensatory picks awarded to clubs in the event their respective first round picks from the 2004 Entry Draft remain unsigned and re-enter the 2006 Entry Draft, clubs and agents will carefully monitor each selection to see what "rights" flow from each name being selected.What follows is an overview of some of the inner workings of the Draft and how "rights" flow to clubs when they select a player. By no means is this an exhaustive review of the operation of Article 8 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement("CBA") but rather it provides the reader with an understanding of some of the different rules that govern the Draft.Routes to the NHLWhen it was decided that a Hard Cap system would be negotiated by the parties, the "systemic non-cap" parts (entry Draft/entry level system/salary arbitration and free agency) of the CBA under went some significant change. Being a primary point person on the non-cap systemic changes of the CBA one of the areas that needed to be addressed was the disparate treatment of Draft eligible players and the "rights" that flowed to the clubs based on where they came from. In the past players would be treated differently depending on where they were Drafted from whether it from Junior, College or Europe. Now, under the terms of the new CBA, the NHL and NHLPA agreed to have players for the most part be treated similarly regardless of where they were drafted from.Article 8-Entry DraftOn Draft day Gary Bettman may announce, "With the first pick of the Entry Draft the St. Louis Blues select defenseman Erik Johnson from the U.S. National Under-18 team, with the second pick in the Draft the Pittsburgh Penguins select forward Jordan Staal from Peterborough of the CHL, with the third pick in the entry Draft the Chicago Blackhawks select forward Nicklas Backstrom from Brynas Sweden." While the above selections are speculative each example illustrates a different route a player may take to enter into the NHL. For the most part players are drafted by clubs from the Canadian Hockey League ("CHL"), U.S. College (U.S. National Under-18 team) and Europe. Set forth below is a discussion based on players who are drafted as 18-year-olds. The reader should be aware that there are different rules that apply based on a player's age but for the purposes of this short essay the discussion will only focus on 18-year-old players who are drafted.CHLUnder the CBA, which was the same in the past, when clubs draft 18-year-old players from the CHL they retain the exclusive right to their services for two years so long as they comply with the rules of the CBA. For example, if the Pittsburgh Penguins Draft Jordan Staal they will retain the exclusive "rights" to Staal for two years. If they do not sign Staal he will re-enter the 2008 Draft and become eligible to be drafted by another team.European playersUnder the CBA the same rules that apply to CHL players will apply to European players. If, for example, Nicklas Backstrom is selected by the Chicago Blackhawks, the Blackhawks will retain the exclusive "rights" to Backstrom for two years so long as they comply with the rules of the CBA. Even though he will be playing professional hockey in Sweden the Hawks must sign Backstrom by June 1, 2008 or he will re-enter the 2008 Draft just like Staal. In prior CBA's, European players who were Drafted did not have the right to re-enter the Draft if they were under contract to a European team at the time of the Draft and they remained in Europe playing professional hockey. clubs had the right to retain these types of players on their reserve list for a considerable period of time without losing the player to another club. While European players, under the old CBA, did have the right to apply to become a Group 4 Free Agent, in the past very few players if any were able to secure offer sheets from other NHL clubs. As such players in the past who were Drafted from Europe did not have the same "rights" as players Drafted from the CHL. Now clubs who Draft players from Europe, such as Backstrom, must reach agreement on a contract by the 2008 Draft or the club will lose the exclusive right to the player and he may be drafted again.College playersIf, for example, the St. Louis Blues make Erik Johnson the first overall selection and he then decides to play in College, the Blues would be able to hold the exclusive "rights" to Johnson until he graduates college so long as he remains in college. In the event Johnson does not stay in college there are different rules that govern how long they will retain the exclusive "rights" to Johnson but in no event will they retain exclusivity on Johnson for more than four years. A major difference between College players and Junior/European players is that the drafting club does not lose the exclusive negotiating "rights" to the player after two years. Recently, Jack Johnson, Carolina's first round pick from the '05 Draft announced that he will be staying at the University of Michigan for another season. Carolina will retain their exclusive right to Johnson so long as he stays in college or thereafter if he leaves college for a period of time of no more then four years since his original draft year class graduates. The Draft rules improved dramatically for players drafted from College or entering College. In the past clubs held exclusive "rights" to players who were deemed College players for as long as they remained in college plus 180 days until the next June 1 if the player left college. College players had very little leverage because if they did not want to sign with their Drafting club their only "rights" were not to play professionally for an entire year after college in order to become an unrestricted free agent. They could go on and play professional hockey elsewhere during that period of time but the original drafting club retain a right to match any offer they may have received from a new club. In recent memory only one player, RJ Umberger of the Philadelphia Flyers, who could not reach agreement with his original Drafting club the Vancouver Canucks, made the decision not to play for a full year and ended up signing a lucrative contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.Article 9 - Entry Level SystemShould Johnson, Staal or Backstrom immediately sign a NHL Standard player Contract and play a full season with the NHL team that Drafts them they will sign mandatory 3 year contacts. The maximum annual Paragraph 1 NHL Salary, Signing Bonuses and games played bonuses permitted is $850,000 USD. They are able to negotiate minor league compensation in the amount of $62,500. A major change in the new CBA is the "aggregate of all Signing Bonuses attributable to any League Year to be paid to a Group 1 player may not exceed 10 per cent of the player's compensation for such league year". In past years,Players were able to negotiate signing bonuses that could amount to 50 per cent of the player's compensation for such league year.The following is an example of what Erik Johnson's NHL Contract may look like:[CODE]Year 1 Salary   Signing Bonus   NHL Base Salary   Minor League 2006/07         $85,000         $765,000          $62,500 2007/08         $85,000         $765,000          $62,500 2008/09         $85,000         $765,000          $62,500 [/CODE] Exhibit 5: Individual "A" bonuses paid by the clubsEvery player that is drafted will be eligible to negotiate "Individual "A" Bonuses paid by the clubs. There are minimum threshold levels set out in Exhibit 5 for both forwards and defensemen.For example, Erik Johnson may negotiate bonuses tailored for defensemen for achieving the following: 10 or more goals; 25 or more assists; 40 or more points; points per game of .49 or more; Ice time(aggregate and/or per Game) must be among top four(4) defensemen on the club; plus/minus rating among top three(3) defensemen on the club; blocked shots among top two(2) on the team, End-of-Season NHL All-Rookie Team, NHL All-Star Game and NHL All-Star MVP. Johnson may only receive up to $212,500 for each category and cannot make more then $850,000. If he achieves 10 categories and the amount negotiated for each category is $212,500 he will only receive payment on four categories.Individual "B" Bonuses-League-wide Awards/Trophies and league performance bonuses paid by league and/or club"Every player party to an Entry Level SPC shall automatically be deemed eligible for Individual B bonuses." For example Johnson would be eligible to receive payment from the League if he is first place in voting for Norris, $250,000, second place in voting, $200,000, third place in voting, $150,000, 4th place in voting, $100,000, 5th place in voting, $50,000. In addition, Johnson can negotiate a clause that if he wins the Norris or any other major trophy like the Hart that he will receive $2,000,000. In addition, a defenseman who finishes among the top 10 in the League in goals, assists, points, points per game or ice time may receive up to $2,000,000. A player in this section cannot receive more then $2,000,000.Exhibit 5 was set up to reward entry level players who perform at high levels. Players like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin who performed at the levels they did will be compensated for their elite performances.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Compiled by: Ian C. Pulver, former Associate Counsel NHLPA from 1990-2006, among other CBA issues, Pulver played a major role in negotiating the system issues in the CBA including but not limited to the new rules governing the NHL Entry Draft and NHL Entry Level System during the last round of bargaining between the NHL and NHLPA</blockquote>

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