Ruling Favors Free Agency

Hockey’s independent arbitrator ruled that money from marketing agreements between players and NHL teams must be included in the calculation to determine the average salary.

The decision will make more players eligible for unrestricted free agency. Under hockey’s collective bargaining agreement, players with 10 or more seasons of professional experience who make less than the average are eligible to make themselves unrestricted free agents.

The average is weighted based on the number of games a player appears in each season.