[getbak]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

This I need explained to me. I've tried looking for an answer (and maybe I didn't look deep enough)

What's the rule for a college prospect to play in the NHL playoffs?


Free agents have to be signed by December 1 of that season, otherwise, they're ineligible for the playoffs... what about prospects?

To address your last point first...

RFA players must be signed by December 1 or else they can't play at all for the rest of the season, not just the playoffs. That's why there was such a last minute rush to get Nylander signed in Toronto this year.

UFA players can be signed at any time up to the trade deadline and still be playoff eligible. Think of when the Flames signed Cujo, he had played in the Spengler Cup, then signed with the Flames in mid-January. He ended up playing in the playoffs that year.

The only caveat to this is that if the player has played in any professional league other than the NHL since the start of the season, he must pass through waivers before joining the team that signed him (this is how the Islanders ended up with Nabokov when he had signed a contract with Detroit).

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With regards to College players...

As I understand it, any player who is on a team's Reserve List at the Trade Deadline is eligible to play for the team for the rest of the season, including the playoffs. The player doesn't need to be under contract at the trade deadline to be eligible, but he does need to be signed before he plays a game.

A team's Reserve List includes any player the team owns the NHL rights for, which includes any player signed to a valid and active NHL contract and any unsigned drafted players whose rights are owned by the team.

Because Makar was drafted by the Avs, he was on their Reserve List at the deadline. As a result, he can sign with them and play in the playoffs this season.


On the other hand, undrafted College players who sign with a team after the trade deadline can't play in the NHL playoffs. For example, Jimmy Schuldt (who Makar beat for the Hobey Baker) signed with Vegas and played in their final regular season game to burn off his ELC. Because he was undrafted, he wasn't on their Reserve List at the deadline and is not eligible to play for Vegas in the playoffs.