Article IV — Player Movement

• §1Adding Free Agents
• §2Releasing Players
• §3Drops
• §4Buyouts
• §5Waivers
• §6Signing Bonuses
• §7JV Movement
• §8IR Replacements
• §9Free Drop Rule

§1Adding Free Agents

Players may be added from free agency to varsity or JV at no cost, prior to the add deadline (see Article VII §4).

• JV-eligible free agents must first be added to JV and then promoted before being added to varsity
• The team is not required to have a JV roster spot available for this paper transaction
• Players flagged for IR or Suspended cannot be added to varsity (neither from free agency nor from JV)
• When IR+ is active, players with any injury flag cannot be added to varsity

§2Releasing Players

When releasing a varsity player, you have three options: Drop, Free Drop, or Buyout.

• Releasing a JV-eligible player is always free
• Releasing IR replacements is always free
• In all cases, the released player goes to waivers

§3Drops

After dropping a varsity player, the team is responsible for 50% of the dropped player's AAV for the remainder of his contract — or until the player is signed by another team in the league.

Drop details

• A dropped player can be bought out at any later date
• If a player signs an NHL contract extension after being dropped, the GM is not responsible for the new contract — but must complete payment of the old one
• If a dropped player is taken on by another team as an IR replacement and stays in that role for two full calendar months, his contract comes off the original team's payroll
• A $250,000 re-signing fee applies if a dropped player is re-signed by his former team — unless he's signed via a waiver bid
• Teams are limited to 7 players on their Dropped Player List at any time

§4Buyouts

In a buyout, the team pays a one-time fee equal to 40% of the player's total remaining salary (not AAV).

• This payment counts against the team's cap for the current season, then is eliminated
• Once a player is bought out, the team is never reimbursed — even if the player is added by another team or re-signed by the same team
• Buyout costs can be calculated on the Search tab of the league spreadsheet
• Buyouts are not allowed during the fantasy playoffs

§5Waivers

Any player released by his CHA team goes directly to waivers for 24+ hours.

• GMs can offer a signing bonus to claim the player in a silent auction format (see §6)
• The highest bid wins when waivers expire
• Tiebreaker: if signing bonuses are equal, the player goes to the team with the lower position in the standings
• If a player clears 48+ hours without being signed, he becomes a free agent at noon Pacific on Day 2

§6Signing Bonuses

To claim a player on waivers, GMs offer a signing bonus by submitting a bid via the Capwise Waiver Bid Form. The same bid must also be placed on the player on Fantrax.

• Minimum bid: $250,000
• Bids must be in $1,000 increments
• Once awarded, the signing bonus counts against the new team's cap for the rest of the season — in addition to the player's AAV
• If you offer a signing bonus but get outbid, the bonus does not affect your cap

§7JV Movement

• Promotion fees do not apply if the player is promoted as an IR replacement
• During the offseason, all JV promotions are free and don't count toward the 15-promotion limit
• All JV demotions are free at all times
• JV players with an IR flag are not eligible for promotion until the flag is removed
• When IR+ is active, this rule extends to players with any injury flag

§8IR Replacements

When a player is moved to IR, his vacancy may be filled by:

• Adding a free agent, or
• Freely promoting a JV player

Position rules

• Injured forwards → replaced by a forward
• Injured defensemen → replaced by a defenseman
• Injured goaltenders → replaced by a defenseman or goalie (but the roster must always have at least 2 goalies)
• Only the AAV of the replacement player counts against the cap

Replacing a replacement

• If an IR replacement gets injured and is listed on IR by Fantrax, he can occupy an IR slot (if available)
• A new replacement can then be added — this "replacement of a replacement" is free

Second Replacements

An IR replacement may be dropped and replaced for a $250,000 second replacement fee. Restrictions:

• The fee applies to the team's cap for the rest of the season
• An IR replacement cannot be replaced this way until he has been on the roster for one full month
• A second replacement can only be added once per month per injured player

When the injured player returns

• When an injured player returns to his NHL team, the CHA team is expected to reactivate him within five days
• Failure to do so creates an "illegal roster" — the team can't make additional transactions until the player is reactivated
• When the player is reactivated by his CHA team, his IR replacement is sent to waivers or demoted to JV (depending on where he came from)
• No fee for this transaction

Special cases

• If a JV-eligible player is taken from free agency as an IR replacement, he must return to free agency after his stint — he cannot move directly to JV
• If an IR replacement promoted from JV loses JV-eligibility while in that role, he can move to a vacant varsity spot without clearing waivers. The team still pays the promotion fee. (This is the only scenario where an IR replacement moves directly to varsity.)
• If an IR replacement (from JV) is traded while serving as an IR replacement, the team may add a new IR replacement at no fee — this doesn't count as a Second Replacement
• All IR players are reactivated at the end of the playoffs
• To retain the replacement instead of the injured player: drop the replacement to waivers, drop or buy out the injured player, then if the replacement clears waivers, re-add him
• Once an injured player has been reactivated by his Capwise team, he cannot be moved back to IR during the same IR stint

§9Free Drop Rule