On Sunday the lone free agent bid for Round 1 of Free Agency was revealed. Despite what the cynics in the leave may have wanted, it was NOT an offer-sheet.

Instead, Colorado used this opportunity to re-sign Nathan MacKinnon to a four-year deal with $13M a year + $250,000 signing bonus. The move appears to be a shift in strategy for the recently re-located Avalanche who show they are able to spend money on players.

Earlier this off-season the simulated hockey world was treated to a trade involving Colorado (!!!), and now they've opened their wallets to ensure Sidney Crosby's best friend will be in Denver for a long, long time.

The second round of Free Agency opens on Monday morning, with the shift to offers-over $9M in NHSLPA value being considered.

On Monday morning at 8 AM EST Restricted Free Agency Round 2 begins. The round is set to end on Wednesday at 5 PM EST.

"WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE FROM ROUND 1?" they ask. Well, some of them ask that anyways. Some even ask it more than once. Others won't read this whole thing before asking. It's a thing, you know.

The difference is that restricted free agents will now listen to offers-over $9M in NSHLPA value compared to Round 1 (which was $13M+). Compensation in this round also drops to three 1sts for a minimum offer.

If a GM so chooses, offers this round can be above the $9,000,000 minimum, but also can be over the previous round's $13M minimum. The compensation owing is a compilation of draft picks based on the "$ Above Offers-Over" chart.

UFAs (including former IIHF players) and AHL goalies are still off the table.

What Happens During Round 2 (RFAs)

• Teams have the ability to submit bids on players listed as Restricted Free Agents (RFAs), either their own or by using an offer-sheet with appropriate compensation on another team's RFA(s)
• In Round 1 RFAs will only listen to offers with an NSHLPA Value of $9,000,000 or more - GMs are to use the NSHLPA Calculator to determine if their offer is sufficient
• A team may submit as many offers to their own RFAs as they wish (provided the $9,000,000+ requirement is met)
• A team may submit as many offer-sheets to other RFAs as they have compensation to cover if all offer-sheets tabled are accepted and not matched (and the $9M+ requirement is met)
• For a $9M NSHLPA Value exactly, the compensation owing as per Free Agency - RFA Market XVI is three (3) 1st Round Draft Picks - if a team goes over this value they owe additional compensation (as per the $ Above Offers-Over Value chart: a 5th per $100,000 to $250,000 which is a 4th etc.)
• Teams may NOT submit offers to UFAs (which include former IIHF players) or AHL goalies in this round

RFA RE-SIGNING
Nathan MacKinnon signed with Colorado Avalanche for $13,000,000 for 4 year(s) / Option : 1 Way Contract & Signing Bonus of $250,000.

FROM FRIDAY

ELC BRIDGE SIGNING
Charlie McAvoy signed with Boston Bruins for $4,185,000 for 2 year(s) / Option : 1 Way Contract .

TRADE : From Dallas Stars to Chicago Blackhawks :
Brandon Saad (77).
TRADE : From Chicago Blackhawks to Dallas Stars :
Alex Tuch (72), Y:22-RND:2-NYI, Y:22-RND:6-CHI.

TRADE : From San Jose Sharks to Dallas Stars :
Mikkel Boedker (75).
TRADE : From Dallas Stars to San Jose Sharks :
Y:22-RND:6-SJS, Y:24-RND:4-DAL.

TRADE : From San Jose Sharks to Los Angeles Kings :
Lucas Wallmark (70).
TRADE : From Los Angeles Kings to San Jose Sharks :
Y:22-RND:1-LAK.

TRADE : From Quebec Nordiques to Hamilton Mustangs :
Evgeny Kuznetsov (77).
TRADE : From Hamilton Mustangs to Quebec Nordiques :
Evgenii Dadonov (76).

[2021-11-25 12:09:24 PM] - Dylan Garand has been added to St Louis Blues.
[2021-11-25 12:08:10 PM] - Scott Reedy has been added to Edmonton Oilers.
[2021-11-25 12:07:29 PM] - Kyle Masters has been added to Boston Bruins.

DRAFT BOARD

TRADE : From San Jose Sharks to Montreal Canadiens :
Y:21-RND:6-PHI.
TRADE : From Montreal Canadiens to San Jose Sharks :
Y:23-RND:6-MTL.

TRADE : From New York Rangers to Minnesota Wild :
$1 (Money)*.
TRADE : From Minnesota Wild to New York Rangers :
Logan Mailloux (P).

* - Completes previous trade's Future Considerations

[2021-11-22 8:18:50 PM] - Dylan Peterson has been added to Hamilton Mustangs.
[2021-11-22 8:18:21 PM] - Cole Huckins has been added to Montreal Canadiens.
[2021-11-22 8:17:56 PM] - Arber Xhekaj has been added to Los Angeles Kings.
[2021-11-22 8:17:07 PM] - Samuel Knazko has been added to Edmonton Oilers.
[2021-11-22 8:15:56 PM] - Jake Chiasson has been added to Boston Bruins.
[2021-11-22 8:15:30 PM] - Jackson Blake has been added to Boston Bruins.
[2021-11-22 8:14:40 PM] - Guillaume Richard has been added to Winnipeg Jets.
[2021-11-22 8:13:36 PM] - Ethan Del Mastro has been added to Winnipeg Jets.

ELC SIGNINGS
Joey Daccord signed with New York Islanders for $600,000 for 3 year(s) / Signing Bonus of $150,000.
Mike Hardman signed with Florida Panthers for $600,000 for 3 year(s) / Signing Bonus of $150,000.
Nikolai Knyzhov signed with Chicago Blackhawks for $700,000 for 3 year(s) / Signing Bonus of $200,000.
Jacob Bryson signed with Chicago Blackhawks for $900,000 for 3 year(s) / Signing Bonus of $400,000.

TRADE : From Quebec Nordiques to Los Angeles Kings :
Y:21-RND:6-TOR, Y:23-RND:7-QUE.
TRADE : From Los Angeles Kings to Quebec Nordiques :
Y:21-RND:6-LAK.

[2021-11-22 9:38:23 AM] - Trey Fix-Wolansky has been added to Pittsburgh Penguins.
[2021-11-22 9:37:30 AM] - Tyce Thompson has been added to Los Angeles Kings.
[2021-11-22 9:36:22 AM] - Redmond Savage has been added to Philadelphia Flyers.
[2021-11-22 9:35:57 AM] - Conner Roulette has been added to Philadelphia Flyers.
[2021-11-22 9:33:58 AM] - Roman Schmidt has been added to Boston Bruins.
[2021-11-22 9:33:05 AM] - Jakub Brabenec has been added to Quebec Nordiques.
[2021-11-22 9:32:10 AM] - Mike Hardman has been added to Florida Panthers.
[2021-11-22 9:31:32 AM] - Joey Daccord has been added to New York Islanders.

With five former Hart Trophy wins between them, there's certainly a strong group of unrestricted free agent forwards about to hit the open market whenever it is free agency opens up. Evgeni Malkin has three MVP wins, while Logan Couture and Patrice Bergeron have a win each (Malkin & Couture also have a Playoff MVP under their belts!).

Below are reasoned predictions of where the market for these UFA forwards could end up based on our discussions with NSHL Insiders and their sources.

Evgeni Malkin (34)
SK	PH	PA	SC	DF	OV	2020 Salary
85	88	86	87	67	77	$12,050,000
Malkin is one of the top NSHL players in all of history, if not the best (Mika Zibanejad would probably like a word). Despite being 34 now, Malkin put up nearly a point per game (75 PTS in 82 GP) and yes, he played in every (!) single (!) game for the Flyers last year. A reunion with the Flyers isn't out of the realm of possibility, however the team is quite deep down the middle with Sean Couturier, Adam Henrique and Bo Horvat all under contract. Perhaps Malkin or one of the aforementioned moves to the wing, but our sources say Philadelphia GM Brad might be taking the team in another direction. The defending President's Trophy winners now in Montreal are a team to watch in the Malkin sweepstakes as they clearly need to add something to take it to the next level. Why not a three time MVP? Given the dwindling need for centres the desire to spend might bring Malkin's value to an acceptable level for Canadiens' GM Andy. Although we have Seattle as a front-runner for another UFA forward, we see them being bidders on Malkin as well. The Kraken have several RFAs about to hit the market and we think this is a "grab the compensation and run" scenario (Tarasenko, Granlund..). If Malkin's price dips to below or even in and around the $10M per year mark, GM Ray-Z may be able to solve one of his 99 problems.

Logan Couture (32)
SK	PH	PA	SC	DF	OV	2020 Salary
81	84	86	86	76	77	$10,533,300
A Logan Couture & Max Pacioretty reunion seems like the most logical result for the two free agents (Max has RFA rights on him, though). They had magic when they played together in Quebec and at the right price-point, they could potentially try and find a spark with Seattle. With Max on one wing and either Tom Wilson or Viktor Arvidsson on the other, the belief is a short-term contract could really benefit Couture's long-term value after a "down" year (by Couture standards) at 69 PTS in 82 GP. Should a long-term deal be more what Couture had in mind, signing with the Expansion Florida Panthers may be enticing considering he spent the last quarter of NSHL20 in Florida with the cross-state Tampa Bay Lightning. Depending on the rest of the Panthers' free agent strategy, Logan's past performance and current skill-set paired with the right other signings could put the Panthers on the simulated hockey map rather quickly.

Kyle Turris (31)
SK	PH	PA	SC	DF	OV	2020 Salary
89	79	84	92	70	76	$6,140,000
Kyle Turris is hitting the open-market for the first time in his career after spending every game so far playing in Edmonton for the Oilers. It's believed Edmonton will take a serious run at keeping Turris in town, but there's word coming out of Raleigh the the #NSHLBelt holding Hurricanes are "more than" interested in acquiring his services. Unlike Malkin and Couture previous, the belief is Turris is due for a raise and pending how things play out, could see a new deal north of $10M. Following Leon Draisaitl's MVP performance in NSHL20 the Hurricanes may prefer the devil they know and seek out a reunion with Jonathan Toews who played in 63 games for them last year. More than likely, the Hurricanes will seek to upgrade themselves down the middle which fits Turris' quite well assuming he's interested in a long-term deal.

Carter Verhaeghe (25)
SK	PH	PA	SC	DF	OV	2020 Salary
89	81	77	84	70	74	N/A
Carter Verhaeghe is elite without a single NSHL game played?! Excuse me?! Well, yeah. It's free agency baybay, money talks. Verhaeghe fits into an odd situation where he was undrafted in the NSHL and found his footing in the NHL to earn a fairly decent rating at the age of 25. As no team held his rights in NSHL20, this makes Carter an unrestricted free agent who should have his choice of suitors. The New York Rangers have the dollars to spend and a multi-year deal for Verhaeghe could fit the mould of what they're building with the likes of Chris Tierney, Clayton Keller and Patrik Laine already under long-term contract. The odds are Trocheck & Sheahan will return following their RFA market test, but adding Verhaeghe for "free" is a potential added insurance policy. Vegas stripped it all bare last season and it's expected they make a significant push this off-season. A Verhaeghe type is certainly in their wheelhouse and would do well with the Golden Knights' younger line-up. Another team to keep an eye on which may come as somewhat of a surprise are the Winnipeg Jets. Although GM Johnny isn't typically over active (..in free agency) the lure of a "free" 25 year-old without handcuffs could certainly push the Jets to loosen their purse strings.

Patrice Bergeron (35)
SK	PH	PA	SC	DF	OV	2020 Salary
78	82	86	81	81	66	$21,650,000
Yes we still have the Boston Bruins as the "favourite" landing spot for Bergeron. The market for veteran centres with big price-tags isn't huge so we think Bergeron could drop significantly in his asking price. There may also be a bit of fear from rival GMs who have felt the Rask of what happens when you mess with an NHL Bruin that GM Joe is trying to acquire. It's believed the Bruins would find a way to "make it work" if they can land Bergeron for around $10M, even if that means moving on from another NHL Bruin "legend" David Krejci (who they left exposed in Expansion btw). An interesting wrinkle in all this could from the St. Louis Blues who could very well be in the market for a veteran presence down the middle to take over top spot from Philip Danault and help anchor a line with recent PSC legend Connor Brown. GM Jamie could target a potentially cheaper option (or two) like a Jordan Staal or Brandon McMillan, but if there's another player for Patrice, the Blues cannot be ruled out.

[2021-11-21 12:59:27 PM] - Janis Moser has been added to Winnipeg Jets.
[2021-11-21 12:58:43 PM] - Ben Roger has been added to St Louis Blues.
[2021-11-21 12:58:04 PM] - Logan Hutsko has been added to Hamilton Mustangs.
[2021-11-21 12:57:22 PM] - Matvei Petrov has been added to Edmonton Oilers.
[2021-11-21 12:56:37 PM] - Arttu Ruotsalainen has been added to Chicago Blackhawks.
[2021-11-21 12:55:46 PM] - Eetu Makiniemi has been added to New York Islanders.
[2021-11-21 12:55:17 PM] - Amir Miftakhov has been added to New York Islanders.
[2021-11-21 12:54:41 PM] - Jakub Dobes has been added to New York Islanders.
[2021-11-21 12:54:03 PM] - Oliver Kapanen has been added to Philadelphia Flyers.
[2021-11-21 12:53:26 PM] - Lauri Pajuniemi has been added to Seattle Kraken.
[2021-11-21 12:52:52 PM] - Jordan Spence has been added to Seattle Kraken.
[2021-11-21 12:52:15 PM] - Stanislav Svozil has been added to Seattle Kraken.
[2021-11-21 12:51:20 PM] - Ryder Korczak has been added to Colorado Avalanche.
[2021-11-21 12:50:50 PM] - Josh Pillar has been added to Boston Bruins.

For years the league has been struggling with depth between the pipes, and on Friday the Board of Directors agreed to a deal with the American Hockey League (AHL) which will let the NSHL use their goalies effective immediately.

"Thanks to updated stats put forward by the AHL the league is able to produce ratings for AHL goalies more or less in the same fashion as the NHL. There are some gaps and issues, but the Board and I believe we have found suitable solutions." the Commissioner said via press release on Friday afternoon.

All goalie rating categories from AHL goaltenders have been created using the same process as is used for the NHL, but at 90% of what an NHL goalie would earn in terms of rating. As well, the AHL is coming off an extremely short schedule due to COVID, so EN and DU have both been assigned a value of 65 for all AHL goalies.

"We'll use this year as a trial run to see how useful this project eventually becomes. There's certainly potential uncovered here. I'll also add, these goalies are not here to be our everyday starters. These are the back-ups to the back-ups and their ratings indicate as much. Most of them will never play, but just like the rest of the world: everyone wants a taste of NSHL hockey."

Here's the Info on AHL Goalies:

• Only goalies who did not already have an NSHL rating were added
• A team may only have one (1) AHL goalie under contract
• An AHL goalie may play in either the NSHL or the MSHL and does not require waivers
• A team may sign an AHL goalie during free agency using a standard signing slot
• An AHL goalie must be signed to for one year at no less than $500,000 on a one-way deal contract
• An AHL goalie whose rights are already on a team's prospect list may only be signed to an AHL goalie contract by that team
• An AHL goalie may not be signed to an NSHL contract using their AHL-based rating.
• Signing an AHL goalie has no impact on their future (rookie status, contract status etc.), they will NOT be re-rated based on NSHL or MSHL performance and will have their rating erased at the end of the season
• The only way to identify an AHL Goalie (at the moment) is to look for / sort by UFA goalies with 65 in both EN and DU, no other UFA goalies are rated this way in both categories

Think of it like the IIHF contracts we've had previously, but only for goalies.

These 36 new additions should certainly help solidify goaltending depth and will be available to be signed within the pending free agent market.

TRADE : From Toronto Maple Leafs to Chicago Blackhawks :
Conor Sheary (74).
TRADE : From Chicago Blackhawks to Toronto Maple Leafs :
Patrick Kane (73), $2,000,000 (Money), Y:22-RND:1-TOR.

TRADE : From Toronto Maple Leafs to Hamilton Mustangs :
Y:21-RND:6-VGK, Y:21-RND:6-CHI.
TRADE : From Hamilton Mustangs to Toronto Maple Leafs :
Y:22-RND:5-CAR, Y:22-RND:7-HAM.

ELC SIGNINGS
Jack Roslovic signed with Detroit Red Wings for $900,000 for 3 year(s) / Signing Bonus of $400,000.
Yegor Sharangovich signed with Detroit Red Wings for $1,500,000 for 3 year(s) / Signing Bonus of $750,000.
Josef Korenar signed with Detroit Red Wings for $700,000 for 3 year(s) / Signing Bonus of $200,000.
Nils Hoglander signed with Winnipeg Jets for $1,000,000 for 3 year(s) / Signing Bonus of $500,000.

[2021-11-19 6:45:47 PM] - Josef Korenar has been added to Detroit Red Wings.
[2021-11-19 6:44:54 PM] - Samuel Walker has been added to Seattle Kraken.
[2021-11-19 6:44:18 PM] - Henry Thrun has been added to Seattle Kraken.
[2021-11-19 6:43:29 PM] - Ilya Fedotov has been added to Pittsburgh Penguins.
[2021-11-19 6:42:24 PM] - Filip Lindberg has been added to Pittsburgh Penguins.
[2021-11-19 6:41:52 PM] - Elmer Soderblom has been added to Pittsburgh Penguins.
[2021-11-19 6:40:48 PM] - Akira Schmid has been added to New York Islanders.
[2021-11-19 12:58:59 PM] - Alexander True has been added to Tampa Bay Lightning.
[2021-11-19 12:56:45 PM] - Robert Orr has been added to Hamilton Mustangs.
[2021-11-19 12:56:15 PM] - Oskari Laaksonen has been added to Seattle Kraken.
[2021-11-19 12:55:54 PM] - Landon Slaggert has been added to Seattle Kraken.
[2021-11-19 11:26:22 AM] - Nikolai Knyzhov has been added to Chicago Blackhawks.

TRADE : From San Jose Sharks to Minnesota Wild :
Y:23-RND:5-SJS.
TRADE : From Minnesota Wild to San Jose Sharks :
Y:21-RND:5-STL.

TRADE : From Seattle Kraken to Dallas Stars :
Y:22-RND:4-SEA, Y:23-RND:5-SEA.
TRADE : From Dallas Stars to Seattle Kraken:
Y:21-RND:5-QUE, Y:21-RND:5-LAK, Y:21-RND:5-TOR.

[2021-11-19 11:04:35 AM] - Xavier Simoneau has been added to San Jose Sharks.
[2021-11-19 10:51:41 AM] - Evan Nause has been added to Detroit Red Wings.
[2021-11-19 10:50:59 AM] - Dylan Duke has been added to Montreal Canadiens.
[2021-11-19 10:50:14 AM] - Liam Dower Nilsson has been added to Montreal Canadiens.
[2021-11-19 10:38:50 AM] - Dmitry Kuzmin has been added to New York Rangers.
[2021-11-19 10:38:05 AM] - Rem Pitlick has been added to New York Rangers.
[2021-11-19 10:37:22 AM] - Logan Mailloux has been added to Minnesota Wild.
[2021-11-19 10:34:42 AM] - Luke Prokop has been added to Dallas Stars.
[2021-11-19 10:33:49 AM] - Sean Tschigerl has been added to Winnipeg Jets.
[2021-11-19 10:33:11 AM] - Liam Kirk has been added to Chicago Blackhawks.
[2021-11-19 10:32:29 AM] - Philip Svedbeck has been added to Boston Bruins.
[2021-11-19 10:31:05 AM] - Jonas Rondbjerg has been added to Chicago Blackhawks.
[2021-11-19 10:30:16 AM] - Mackenzie Entwistle has been added to Chicago Blackhawks.
[2021-11-19 10:29:05 AM] - Dmitry Rashevsky has been added to Hamilton Mustangs.
[2021-11-19 10:28:38 AM] - Ryan Winterton has been added to Philadelphia Flyers.

With Thursday's update the league's outputted STHS ROSTER page has done away with the "PO" or POTENTIAL rating category. The often confusing category was meaningless and based on the league's custom re-rate system held no bearing to player's current or future abilities.

"To be honest with you, I've contemplated doing away with OV in addition to PO but I do understand that a player's OV rating at least gives you some insight into a player's general skill level. PO is based off of a player's age and nothing else. 100% meaningless. It has been taken off now to get one more thing off the screen as we continue to adapt to a more mobile experience." the Commissioner said in his address following the change.

Another announcement is set to be made on Friday. No one is quite sure what Friday's announcement will be about, not even @NSHLKyper. Stay tuned!

 TRADE : From Los Angeles Kings to Dallas Stars :
Y:21-RND:5-LAK.
 TRADE : From Dallas Stars to Los Angeles Kings :
Y:21-RND:6-QUE, Y:22-RND:7-DAL.

 TRADE : From Tampa Bay Lightning to Boston Bruins :
Y:21-RND:6-NYI, Y:21-RND:6-TBL.
 TRADE : From Boston Bruins to Tampa Bay Lightning :
Y:21-RND:4-BOS.

 TRADE : From Tampa Bay Lightning to Florida Panthers :
Y:22-RND:4-SJS.
 TRADE : From Florida Panthers to Tampa Bay Lightning :
Y:21-RND:5-FLA, Y:21-RND:6-NYI, Y:22-RND:7-FLA.

[2021-11-18 2:47:19 PM] - Cole Schwindt has been added to Seattle Kraken.
[2021-11-18 2:46:40 PM] - Carter Mazur has been added to Colorado Avalanche.
[2021-11-18 2:45:49 PM] - Jacob Peterson has been added to Tampa Bay Lightning.
[2021-11-18 2:45:10 PM] - Ryan Ufko has been added to Vegas Golden Knights.
[2021-11-18 2:44:37 PM] - Nicholas Abruzzese has been added to Edmonton Oilers.
[2021-11-18 2:43:48 PM] - Juuso Parssinen has been added to Seattle Kraken.
[2021-11-18 2:43:10 PM] - Jordan Harris has been added to San Jose Sharks.
[2021-11-18 2:42:36 PM] - Eemil Viro has been added to Hamilton Mustangs.
[2021-11-18 2:41:57 PM] - Joel Blomqvist has been added to Seattle Kraken.
[2021-11-18 2:39:59 PM] - Riley Kidney has been added to New York Islanders.
[2021-11-18 2:39:17 PM] - Joshua Roy has been added to Los Angeles Kings.
[2021-11-18 2:38:29 PM] - Ayrton Martino has been added to Florida Panthers.
[2021-11-18 2:37:19 PM] - Antonio Stranges has been added to Tampa Bay Lightning.
[2021-11-18 2:36:25 PM] - Ville Koivunen has been added to Winnipeg Jets.
[2021-11-18 2:34:24 PM] - Zachary Bolduc has been added to St Louis Blues.