Minor League Roster, IR, LTIR, and Covid Opt-Out Rules

[WestCoastExpress]

Minor League Roster Players:

Eligibility:
Only players with 30 games or fewer can be held on your minor league roster entering a new season

Once a player hits 31 games played during the season, he may remain on your Minor League Roster until the end of the season

However, if you elect to call him up to your NHL Roster he wouldn't be eligible to be sent back down to the minors for free as he would have over 30 games played. He would have to be subjected to waivers like any other player
* For more information on waived players, see: https://www.profsl.com/smf/index.php?topic=371703.0

Audits will be done to look for players over 30 games played on minor league rosters when the off-season begins, and a list will be posted for all GM's to see and make according roster moves

Players on minor league (rookie) contracts who are not in the NHL in real life, are not allowed to be held on your active NHL roster*
With an extensive minor league roster, prospects can be held there until they hit 30 games played

* There will be 4 NHL roster spots allowed to be used where players who normally would fall under the above designation are allowed (over 30 NHL games played but not on an NHL roster). However:
To qualify, the player must:
- Be drafted by an NHL team
- Be playing professional hockey elsewhere (AHL, ECHL, KHL, SHL, Liiga, DEL, Exttraliga, etc.)
And,
- You must still dress a full 20-player active roster of players in the NHL
(Essentially these spots can be used to house players who are in and out of the NHL over the course of their entry level contracts of 3 years, but who still show great promise of being a prominent NHL player. But NOT an extension of the minor league roster, as junior or NCAA players would not qualify for these spots)


Rookie Contracts:
Players eligible for the minors will have contracts look like:
LW Alexis Lafrenière, $0.9m (R)
C Quinton Byfield, $0.9m (R)
D Jamie Drysdale, $0.9m (R)

Once a rookie player hits 31 games played, their contract is in effect for the rest of that season, plus 2 following seasons.
Example:
LW Alexis Lafrenière, $0.9m (R) plays his 31st game during the 2020-2021 season
His rookie contract will expire after the 2022-2023 season
His contract becomes: LW Alexis Lafrenière, $0.9m (2022-2023)[RFA]


Injury Reserve (IR):

Make a post on the ProFSL Transactions board stating you are moving a player to the IR

You may place as many qualified players on the IR as you would like

A qualified player must:
- Be injured, suspended, or away from the team for personal matters
- Usually the player will have a red flag or red cross symbol on Fantrax if injured, or yellow or blue flag if suspended/away from the team
- Mods may have to move the player manually depending on the status of the player (reason for making a post on ProFSL)

- IR players' salary cap hit does count against your team's cap space
- IR players do not count against your team's roster limit


Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR):

Make a post on the ProFSL Transactions board stating you are moving a player to the LTIR

Teams have three (3) LTIR spots for players eligible for the LTIR list

To be Eligible for LTIR:
- Player must be expected to be out for 10 games, or 24 calendar days from the date of injury

Player must remain on LTIR for this duration. 10 games or 24 days from the time you put him on LTIR.
There will be a thread to keep track of this, stating when he is eligible to be re-activated.

- LTIR players do not count against your team's roster limit
- LTIR players' salary cap hit does* count against your team's cap space...
* However, you are able to sign FA's up to the equivalent of the injured player's cap hit
Example:
- Player XYZ is placed on LTIR with a broken ankle and has a cap hit of $5.0m
- You may sign a FA to 'replace' that player, but the cap hit cannot exceed $5.0m per year (regular FA rules apply for bidding)
- You may sign more than one 'replacement' player if you have the roster space, but their combined cap hits cannot exceed the LTIR player's cap hit

-Once your LTIR player is activated, your team must become cap and roster compliant by dropping players to:
Get at or under cap, and at or under the 32-player roster limit. A payer who is signed as LTIR replacement is eligible to be dropped for free should GM not want to convert to full contract. Regular buyout and all other rules apply to non replacement players

**Note: This does not mean you would gain an extra $5.0m in cap to use for buy-outs, etc.
This $5.0m would only be used for signing FA's to 'replace' your LTIR player if your team would otherwise go over cap to sign 'replacement' players


COVID-19 Opt-Out Players:

Players who elect to opt-out due to COVID-19 concerns will follow similar rules as the LTIR

As long as they are away from the team:
COVID opt-out players' salary cap hit does* count against your team's cap space...
* However, you are able to sign FA's up to the equivalent of the player's cap hit, following same rules as LTIR for 'replacement' players