A team must always meet the positional requirements outlined below. Players must be earning an NHL salary to be eligible for the active roster.

Teams are limited to a maximum number of games played per season per position. Maximum GP for skaters is calculated at 82 games per active roster slot per position.

Once a position has reached its maximum GP in a season, points will no longer be earned at that position. It is possible to exceed maximum GP if more players are playing on the same night the maximum is reached. In that event, the best results from that day will be kept and the remaining results will be removed.

• Active roster minimum: 20 players (18 skaters and 2 goalies).
• Active roster maximum: 23 players (18 skaters, 2 goalies, and 3 reserve).
• Active roster maximum may be exceeded the day of trade deadline for the remainder of the season.

Minor league rosters may consist of a maximum of thirty (30) players on contract for development or depth. These players may be called up to the active roster under section 5.0.

Minor league rosters may also include players drafted at the entry level draft who do not yet have a contract. Since these players are not on a contract, they do not count toward the 50-contract limit.

Combining contract and non-contract players may not exceed 90 total players.

See section 8.0.

Players are locked individually each day 1 minute before the start of their game.

Many league rules or limitations refer to a player's age. A player's age is always calculated as of September 15 of the current season to prevent the player's age from changing during the season.

Fantrax will show the player's actual age, so all player ages will be tracked on the Project Llama website.

From the start of the season and up to the trade deadline, GMs may claim a player from free agency.

If a player is 28 or older and requires a M-NMC, the GM must have the appropriate cap space and roster spot on the active roster.

Once claimed, GMs must sign these players to a valid contract by submitting the details to a commissioner. Players acquired through free agency may go directly to the minors if they do not have an active M-NMC. Players signed on trade deadline day may ignore the 23-man roster limit.

A team may not exceed 50 contracts at any time, including active roster, reserves, IR, LTIR, and minors. Players drafted into RIGHTS do not have a contract and do not count toward this limit.

At the start of every season, contracts with an active M-NMC or NMC must be on the active roster. Contracts without a M-NMC or NMC may start on the active roster or in the minors.

Contracts with a NMC may not be put on waivers to be assigned to the minors. Contracts with a M-NMC may be placed on waivers. If the player clears, they will be assigned to the minors and incur a cap hit penalty.

• M-NMC clauses are automatically included on contract years where the player is 28 or older.
• NMC clauses are automatically included on 35+ contracts.
• NMC clauses may be offered to players at Free Agent Frenzy during the bidding process.
• Players signing a 2-to-3-year contract at age 35 or older are considered veteran players and receive a 35+ contract with a full NMC.

• Players may only ever receive one ELC.
• Players may sign up to a total of 3 SPCs. If an SPC expires at age 28 or older, the player will expire as a UFA and is not entitled to a contract extension.
• Players signed at Free Agent Frenzy or signed mid-season from the free agent pool who require an SPC will expire as a UFA.
• Contract extensions can be submitted to a commissioner any time starting in the final contract year.

Non-ELC contracts can be bought out during the buyout window and must be earning an NHL salary. If a contract has an unknown cap hit for a future portion of the contract, the cap hit at the time of the buyout will be used to calculate the total penalty.

Players will be put on waivers upon initiating a buyout. If the player is claimed, the buyout will not occur and no cap hit penalty will be applied.

Contract terminations will be permitted during two termination windows during the season. Termination windows occur on November 1 and March 1 of each season and remain open for two (2) days.

A player is eligible to be terminated if they do not have an NHL contract. A player is not eligible to be terminated if they have an active ELC.

GMs may designate up to 2 players at a time as a Franchise Player. These players may sign an in-season extension even if their expiring contract ends as a UFA. Once this new extension expires, the Franchise Player will not be eligible for an extension and will become a UFA.

• The maximum term on an extension is two (2) years.
• GMs must not exceed 2 Franchise Players in any single season.
• GMs must sign this extension between trade deadline and the final day of the season.
• Players must have started the season on the team to be eligible for a Franchise Tag.
• Players will receive a full NTC for the entire duration of their contract.
• An NTC also includes a full NMC and the player may not be placed on waivers.
• Players must be aged 28 or older during the first year of the franchise tag.
• GMs may buy out a Franchise Player following regular buyout rules.

The salary cap will only be enforced during the season to allow GMs full flexibility during the off season. Salary cap limits are calculated using the NHL salary cap according to the table below.

• Active roster.
• Reserves.
• Cap hit penalties, including buyouts, buries, and retentions.

The cap hit of a player is always equal to that player's NHL cap hit and is subject to change if the player signs a new NHL contract. GMs are required to manage these changes throughout the duration of their contract with the player.

• A cap hit penalty will be applied when buying out a contract.
• A cap hit penalty will be applied when assigning a player with an active M-NMC to the minors.
• A cap hit penalty will be applied when a team retains salary during a trade.
• Penalties for minor league assignments are removed at the end of the season or if the player is called back up to the active roster during the season.
• Cap hit penalties will not apply if the player is claimed off waivers.

Example: If a player is 28 with a $6,000,000 cap hit and 3 years remaining, buying out the contract incurs a 2/3 cap hit penalty ($4,000,000) for each year remaining, totaling $12,000,000. This is divided over 6 years with a cap hit penalty of $2,000,000 per year.

Assigning an SPC to the minors will incur a cap hit penalty while that player remains in the minors. Buried Contract Cap Hit = Player's Cap Hit - (NHL minimum salary + $375,000).

Example: If a player's cap hit is $6,000,000, assigning him to the minors will incur a cap hit penalty of $4,850,000 based on the NHL minimum salary of $775,000 for the 2024/2025 NHL season plus $375,000.

• Active roster players on an SPC may be placed on waivers and assigned to the minors.
• Players with a M-NMC will incur a cap hit penalty upon clearing waivers.
• Players with a M-NMC can start the season in the minors if they pass through waivers prior to season start.
• Players with a NMC or NTC are not eligible to go on waivers and cannot be assigned to the minors.
• Players without an active clause, or players on an ELC, may start the season in the minors.
• Players without a contract (RIGHTS) must start the season in the minors.

Some players are waiver exempt or can gain waiver exemption throughout the season. See section 5.4.

A GM may call up a player on contract from the minor leagues to the active roster. Any player returning to the minors who is not waiver exempt must pass through waivers.

To assign a player to the minors, a GM must drop the player from his team on Fantrax unless exempt. Once cleared, a commissioner will place the player back in the minors and apply a cap hit penalty if applicable.

If the player is exempt from waivers, a GM may move the player to the minors without dropping the player.

• Players dropped for assignment to the minors must first go through waivers unless exempt.
• A player will remain on waivers for a minimum of 24 hours and will be processed at 3:00 PM following that minimum.
• GMs may submit claims for these players and inherit their contract.
• The claiming team must have space on the 23-man roster, available cap space, and roster compliance.
• GMs can choose to drop a player as part of the claim on Fantrax to create roster or cap space. This player will not be dropped if the claim is unsuccessful.
• Commissioners have a zero-tolerance policy if a successful waiver claim creates an illegal roster. The claim will be reversed and awarded to the runner up, if applicable.

A player with multiple waiver bids must first be offered to GMs with failed waiver claims, in reverse standings order, before being eligible to be traded.

• The player must be offered to the original GM who placed the player on waivers prior to being claimed.
• If the original GM accepts, the player may bypass waivers and be assigned to the original GM's minors.
• If the original GM declines, the player may be placed on waivers following all waiver wire rules.
• If the original GM declines, they will no longer be considered the original GM for the player in question.

• Players on an Entry Level Contract (ELC).
• Recalled players replacing a player being placed on IR.
• GMs reclaiming a player previously lost to another team via waivers earlier in the season.
• A player without a movement clause who previously cleared waivers. This exemption expires when the player earns 10 GP or 30 days pass since acquiring exemption while on a GM's active roster, whichever comes first.

Reverse standings from the previous season will be used until November 1.

• Future draft picks can be traded up to 5 years and 7 rounds.
• Conditional draft pick stipulations must be noted in the trade details window.
• Salary retention conditions must be noted in the trade details window.
• Players involved in a trade must be assigned to their original location, active roster or minors.
• Commissioners require adequate time to review and confirm the trade.
• Future considerations can be traded instead of including a player or draft picks.

Trade Deadline will occur at 10:00 PM on a day shortly after the NHL Trade Deadline. The 23-man roster limit will be removed the day of trade deadline.

• Players may not be retained upon by multiple teams.
• Players will become a UFA upon expiry of their contract.
• Players signed after the start of the season are not eligible for retention.
• Teams cannot reacquire a player with retention for 1 calendar year unless the contract expired.
• Retention must extend the remaining term of the contract.
• If a player has an extension signed, retentions must consider both contracts.
• Salary retentions on contracts that are later bought out will be subject to a buyout penalty.

• A maximum of 3 players with retention may be on a team at any given time.
• A maximum of 3 players may be traded away with retention per team at any given time.
• Total retained cap hit may not exceed 7% of the salary cap on the retaining team or receiving team.

• GMs may move eligible players to an IR slot on their roster.
• Eligible players include any player with any red or yellow flag on Fantrax.
• GMs may recall a player from the minors when placing the injured player on IR. This recall must happen at that time and cannot be saved for future use.
• If the recalled player has a non-waiver exempt contract, they may bypass waivers when reassigned to the minors.
• Players on IR do not count toward a team's salary cap. Recalled players do count toward the salary cap.
• Players on IR must be returned to the active roster once healthy. A 1 GP grace period is allowed. All fantasy points earned by the recalled player are forfeited beyond the grace period.
• The number of recalled players on the active roster may never exceed the number of players on IR.
• Recalled players may return to the minors at any time, but this will not earn the GM an additional recall.
• It is not required to return the same player who was recalled for an injury. If multiple recalls are on the active roster at the same time, any player may be returned to the minors as long as all roster limitation rules are followed.

• Once a player has missed thirty (30) days of NHL action due to injury, a GM may place the player on LTIR.
• Placing a player on LTIR designates the player as inactive for the remainder of the current season.
• Placing a player on LTIR is irreversible.
• LTIR will not carry over to the following season. If a player remains injured, GMs may place the player on IR and start the 4-week process again.
• LTIR players do not count against the salary cap.
• Recalled players brought up as part of the IR process may continue to be used when designating a player for LTIR. Normal IR rules apply for the recalled player.

• DKP is a currency GMs may use during Free Agent Frenzy and Offer Sheets to break stalemates on contract offers.
• GMs earn DKP at the end of each season based on their position in the standings.
• GMs earn 1 DKP for every player they nominate at Free Agent Frenzy.
• DKP earned by nominating players is awarded following Free Agent Frenzy and cannot be used in the same year as the nomination.

• Offer sheets can be submitted during the offer sheet window.
• Once a player has received an offer sheet, the offer will be announced publicly.
• Other GMs may match or exceed with their own offer sheet.
• Offer sheets use the same bidding rules as Free Agent Frenzy.
• The player's current GM has until the offer sheet decision deadline to accept or decline the offer sheet.
• If the player's current GM accepts, the player and corresponding compensation are swapped between GMs, and the player signs a contract matching the final offer sheet bid.
• If the player's current GM declines, the player remains with their team and signs a contract matching the final offer sheet bid.
• If two GMs offer the same contract and the receiving GM accepts, DKP is used to break the tie.
• GMs may avoid receiving an offer sheet if all pending RFAs are signed to extensions prior to the offer sheet window.

Compensation draft picks must be the offering GM's original picks, must be from the next upcoming entry draft, and must be the earliest available pick or picks rather than specific years chosen by the offering GM.

The Entry Level Draft takes place shortly after the NHL Entry Draft. It uses reverse standings, 7 rounds, non-serpentine order, 2 minutes per pick, and two 2-minute time outs.

• GMs will draft 7 rounds using their own and acquired draft picks.
• GMs retain the rights to players for up to four years.
• Players can be drafted from the previous 3 NHL Entry Drafts.
• Players drafted at the Entry Level Draft have their rights retained for up to 4 years and are not eligible to play on an active roster until signed to an ELC.
• If a GM does not sign a player by the RFA deadline and the player is in the 4th and final year of owned rights, that player becomes a UFA.
• Russian-born players have their rights retained up to and including age 27, with the NHL-contract exception described below.
• If a Russian player signs an NHL contract while in a GM's RIGHTS, normal rights rules are retroactively followed. If that would cause the player to become an RFA in the current year, a one-year exception is granted.

Free Agent Frenzy takes place just prior to the start of the NHL season.

• GMs take turns nominating a player with an initial contract offer.
• GMs may match or beat a contract offer.
• Once bidding has concluded, the GM with the best offer signs the player to the winning contract.
• If GMs match a contract offer and bidding has concluded, a separate DKP auction begins.
• DKP is earned each year based on the previous year's standings and nominations.
• Players eligible for an ELC must receive an ELC. GMs may not increase the bid to an SPC.
• Players receiving an SPC or 35+ contract expire as a UFA at the end of their contract.
• A M-NMC automatically applies to any contract years where the player is 28 or older.
• A NTC may be offered starting with the final year, working backwards, and overwrites any NMC or M-NMC.
• A NMC may be offered starting with the final year, working backwards, and overwrites any M-NMC.

Example: A GM offers a player a 4-year contract. A second GM does not want to offer a 5-year contract and instead offers a 4-year contract with a NMC in the final 2 years. The first GM then offers a 4-year contract with a NMC in year 3 and a NTC in the final year.

Points are earned daily for the dressed roster. Players on reserve or in the minors do not earn points.

Goalies have unique scoring attributes. Certain stats have positive or negative values that add or subtract from their point total. Goalies can also score points for goals and assists just as a skater would.

Goals against are tiered based on the number of goals conceded. Once a goalie crosses a goals-against threshold, all goals against on that night are calculated at the same tier.

Goalie saves accumulate throughout the game. Saves 1 to 20 are worth 0.1 points each, saves 21 to 35 are worth 0.2 points each, and saves 36 or more are worth 0.3 points each.