The Coachella Valley Firebirds have made it to the Calder Cup finals in each of their first two seasons. Despite the success, there has since been a lot of movement within the Firebirds roster this offseason, with several stalwarts moving on to new organizations and several new players being added to the fold.
There is nuance to American Hockey League roster-building rules that we suspect many fans may not know about, so we thought we should dig in to explain how that works and how it has influenced the Firebirds roster.
American Hockey League and the “veteran rule”
The primary purpose for the AHL is to be a developmental league for potential NHL players. To ensure the league remains focused on helping players progress through its ranks, it has rules on roster construction. The “veteran rule” requires the gameday roster to include the following:
- A minimum of 12 skaters that have played fewer than 260 professional games – development players
- A maximum of one skater that has played fewer than 320 professional games – veteran exempt player
- A maximum of five skaters that have played over 320 professional games – veteran players
The roster breakdown applies to players that dress for each game, so it is possible to have more than five veterans on the roster, but only five can play on any given night. The veteran and veteran exempt classification only applies to players 25 years of age or older or as of July 1.
The calculation for determining the number of professional games played happens prior to the start of the season and is not adjusted during the season. For example, Cale Fleury was considered a development player during the 2023-24 season, since he started with 217 games played and was 24 years old. He had a birthday in November and finished the season with 282 professional games, which means he will be a veteran exempt player for the entire 2024-25 season, having passed the 260-game threshold.
Professional games are defined as games played in the NHL, AHL, and elite European leagues. Recognized elite European leagues include Svenska Hockeyligan (SHL, Sweden), Liiga (Finland), Kontinental Hockey League (KHL, Russia), Extraliga (ELH, Czech Republic), Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL, Germany) and National League (NL, Switzerland). Additionally only games played in European leagues after a player’s junior years count towards the veteran rule.
The veteran rule does not apply to goaltenders.
Coachella Valley Firebirds roster
Now, with the knowledge of the veteran rule, let’s take a closer look at how last season’s roster breaks down between development and veteran players. For the 2023-24 season, here are the player classifications (minimum 25 games played).
Unchanged 2024-25 roster
Hypothetically, if the roster remained unchanged going into the 2024-25 season, the breakdown would have been the following.
This is where we start to see the problem that has arisen for the Firebirds. To be in compliance with the veteran rule, the Firebirds would only be able to dress five of the nine veterans and one of the three veteran exempt players. To complicate matters, the Kraken need to ensure they have space for Jagger Firkus, David Goyette, Jani Nyman, and Ty Nelson, who are ready to join Seattle’s AHL affiliate.
Players that moved on
There are 10 Firebird players that have signed with another team or are currently free agents.
These players were without a contract heading into free agency. With eight of these players being veteran or veteran exempt, it was unrealistic for the Kraken to retain them all.
Of the 10 players, six signed with new teams in the first couple days of free agency, signaling they got a better offer or see a clearer path to the NHL with their new team. Of the four remaining free agents, Marian Studenic is the only stand-out with 44 points last season.
Peetro Seppälä who was a restricted free agent (RFA) was given a qualifying offer, so the Kraken retain his rights. He has signed with Örebro in Sweden.
Re-signed and added
The Kraken did re-sign veterans Max McCormick, John Hayden, and Gustav Olofsson. With Fleury moving to veteran exempt, the Kraken had one veteran exempt player and three veteran players going into free agency. This gives the Firebirds room to sign two veterans, and that is exactly what they did.
- Mitchell Stephens (C) – Two years, $775K AAV, two-way contract – veteran
- Maxime Lajoie (LD) – One year, $775K AAV, two-way contract – veteran
This gives the Firebirds a total of five veterans and one veteran exempt player. At this point, the Firebird roster is full in terms of veteran and veteran exempt players.
In addition to signing AHL veterans, the following players were signed:
- Brandon Biro (LW) – One year, $775K AAV, two-way contract – development
- Nikolas Brouillard (D) – One year, $775K AAV, two-way contract – development
Brandon Biro and Nikolas Brouillard are still classified as development players. They have 171 and 238 professional games respectively. This brings some experience to the roster but provides flexibility with the veteran rule.
Additional signings
- Josh Mahura (LD) – One year, $775 AAV, one-way contract – veteran exempt
- Ben Meyers (LW, C) – One year, $775K AAV, one-way contract – development
Josh Mahura and Ben Meyers are listed here because although they will compete for depth roles with the Kraken in training camp, we don’t believe they are guaranteed spots on the NHL roster.
Prospects typically do not fill the role of the healthy scratch, since it is usually better to get them playing time in the AHL. With this and their one-way deals in mind, Mahura and Meyers have inside tracks to making the big club.
2024-25 roster breakdown
Nothing is guaranteed until Training Camp, but Ryker Evans and Shane Wright appear poised to make the Kraken full-time in 2024-25. Assuming Mahura, Wright, and Evans are on the Kraken roster, here is how the Firebirds’ roster would look.
With this roster, the Firebirds are in compliance with the veteran rule, and they will maintain flexibility. There will also be options for filling out the Kraken roster if no additional offseason moves are made.
While it is a bummer to see players move on to other teams, it is part of the business side of hockey. Since the Expansion Draft, I have been hoping to see Kole Lind blossom into a full-time NHL player, but that just did not pan out for him in Coachella Valley or Seattle.
With the additions of the new prospects coming into Coachella, it will be exciting to see how these players perform at the next level.
Please comment below of you have any questions or thoughts on this veteran rule. You can also follow @blaizg on x.com
I had no idea that there was even a veteran rule which answered my long-time questions being answered. Why wouldn’t an AHL team stack up with veterans and get that extra income from the playoffs for both the players and the team’s’ ownership? That has been answered. I now have room in my brain to add other oddball questions.
For those players on two way contracts, what are they getting paid when down in the ahl? What’s even this teams’ budget for icing players in the ahl?
The salary is negotiated individually for each contract. Players on entry-level contracts have a maximum salary of $70,000 while playing in the minors, which is generally what they receive. For more experienced players, salaries vary. Max McCormick, recently re-signed, now earns $470,000 while playing in the AHL, up from $325,000 last year.
Unlike the NHL, the AHL does not have a salary cap or roster size limit.
On Cap Friendly there’s also a signing bonus component — is that in addition to the AHL salary? Or only if they make it to the NHL?
I had to consult Curtis on this, so he gets credit for the knowledge. The signing bonus would be in addition to the AHL salary. For salary cap purposes it will be split up based on the time they spent in each league. Thanks for the question Boist!!
Depends on what their agent got them on there deal. Usually the ahl pay is substantially less than the nhl pay. Veterans later in there careers usually don’t have the pay cut if sent down after clearing waivers.
Thank you for this, I had no idea that there were such rules in the AHL.
I would like to see the kraken give one more shot to Fleury, normally I wouldn’t want to see “younger players with potential” fill the 7th D or 13th forward but in this case it’s our last chance to take a look at him and with a new coach evaluating. I don’t believe he would clear waivers moving up and down and it’s his final contract year, if that’s the case if we keep him in the AHL he’s as good as gone after this season if not before.
With Josh Mahura being signed, there will be a training camp battle. Both Fleury and Mahura are classified as veteran exempt, so either could be sent down. They will both participate in training camp and will need to clear waivers if sent to the AHL at some point. However, any team that claims either player would need to keep him on their NHL roster for the entire season, or else the Kraken could reclaim him.
Awesome article, very well explained and super happy to see it in this medium which translates far better than on the pod, where I submitted the question asking about this to the Patreon mailbag. Truly appreciate the time and effort to fully answering it, thank you!
This is super helpful in understanding why an AHL team can’t just stock up on veteran talent and maintain dominance in the AHL every year. I would love to understand better how this interacts with the ECHL. I am assuming that the ECHL does not have similar restrictions so that is where the veterans would go who are on the bubble and still want to play professional hockey?
I am not as aware of the specifics of ECHL roster limitations, so take this with a grain of salt. Players being loaned to the ECHL has to be part of their contract. All ELCs include this provision, but standard player contracts this would have to have the ECHL Assignment called out or the player would have to agree with the assignment.
thanks go to Gemini AI: Veteran Limits: Active Roster Size:
Teams can carry a maximum of 20 players on their active roster (not including players on reserve or injured reserve) for the majority of the regular season.
During the first 30 days of the regular season, teams are allowed to have an expanded roster of 21 players. This allows for some additional flexibility during the early part of the season.
The ECHL defines a “veteran” as a non-goaltender who has played at least 260 regular-season professional games before the start of the season.
Teams are limited to dressing a maximum of four veterans in each game.
This rule helps ensure that younger players have opportunities for playing time and development.
Goalie Limits:
There are no specific limitations on the number of goalies a team can carry on its active roster.
Teams typically carry two goalies, but they can have more if needed due to injuries or call-ups.
Additional Considerations:
Teams can also have players on their roster who are on loan from American Hockey League (AHL) or National Hockey League (NHL) teams. These players don’t count towards the veteran limit or the active roster size.
There might be additional roster limitations or requirements depending on league agreements or specific team situations. It’s always best to check with the ECHL website or contact the team directly for the latest information.
Thanks for all this info, very good topic for an offseason article. I have been slowly learning about how junior hockey works and how prospects move through the system and this definitely filled in a lot of gaps. Is it really still 3 whole months until the season starts?
Preseason starts in 2 months and 11 days, but who’s counting.
I love this, thank you!
I learned something! Thanks for illustrating how AHL roster construction works. Fascinating stuff.
Thanks for this. It is great to have this context on why Coachella would be letting these players walk in free agency.
Spectacular writeup, thanks!!
I get it, but it really sucks for Coachella Valley fans who loved Andrew Poturalski and Cameron Hughes. They had sweaters and home-made signs for those guys in the stands. I would like for AHL teams to be able to keep a core of veterans around long-term. In fact, I would like to see more of that in the NHL as well. Here’s to a whole decade of Vince Dunn, Jared McCann, Will Borgen, and Oliver Bjorkstrand in Kraken blue.
On another note, AHL developmental players only make $70k? That’s ridiculous! Who can even afford to live in California on $70k? Coachella Valley players had better get COLA.
It’s important to clarify that salary restrictions apply only to players on their entry-level contract. These contracts often include an annual signing bonus, which can provide an additional 70-95k. Players like Brandon Biro, who is not on an ELC, is a development player and will make 385k in the AHL this year.
Got 2 Hughes Pucks on a puck case in my bedroom, he and the others will be missed 🙁
The maximum minors salary for entry level contracts varies by draft year.
2021 – $80k
2022 – $82.5k
2023 – $82.5k
2024 – $85k
2025 – $85k
2026 – $87.5k
AHL league minimum is $52,725 for the 2024-25 season. I believe the current minimum salary among the non-ELC NHL contracts for players expected to be in Coachella Valley next year is Luke Henman’s $75k. Minimum among the ELCs is Melanson’s $70k.