The full In-Season UFA Negotiations program can be found in the BEARD Hockey Rulebook.
 

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If I enter talks with all of my pending UFA's, am I going to lose a set percentage of them?
 

No. An overall set percentage (in the neighborhood of 30-35%) of pending UFA’s will go to offseason UFA automatically.

 

Example: A GM decides to enter talks with six of their pending UFA's in total. All six could go straight to offseason UFA, or all six might sign with you. Because four of the initial twelve rolls are set to ‘Offseason UFA’, roughly 33% of all players entered into this process will go to offseason UFA.

 

This does NOT mean if you enter talks with six players, 2 would automatically go to offseason UFA.

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What outcomes can I expect from entering into talks with one of my UFA's?

 

Your UFA will either go straight to offseason UFA or will enter talks with you. From there, results are determined by the GM figuring out what the player desires through negotiations. The player may sign, or may not, depending on the talks. Please make sure you read the rules on this process in full, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

 

How many UFA's can I enter into talks with?

 

There is no limit – you can enter this process on any pending UFA’s on your club (players 27 or older by July 1st with a single year left on their contract).

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Do I have to enter talks with my UFA's?

 

No. If you have an upcoming UFA and do not enter talks, they will simply go into the UFA pool during offseason free agency. We generally recommend trying to enter talks with at least some of your pending UFA’s, but we also understand why a GM might not want to.

 

If in-season talks break down with my UFA, I do not sign him, and he goes to offseason UFA, can I sign him then?

 

Absolutely. Not only is there a "Day 0" aspect to trying to sign a UFA you own the rights to (see the Rulebook for more on this), but during the UFA portion of offseason free agency, UFA’s are free to sign with any team regardless of their past discussions. The free market will then determine what contract they sign for.

 

How are negotiations conducted? Who is this “Agent”?

 

The Agent is given the ability to conduct the negotiation within the guidelines of the in-season process. As long as you do your homework and use your counteroffers wisely, you should be able to determine a player’s general desires. It’s up to you if you want to work towards meeting them. Remember, the Agent by definition is going to try to get the best deal possible for their client, just like any agent would.

 

As far as who the Agent is – their identity (or identities) will remain hidden to allow them to do this objectively. If you have an issue with the Agent, email the Commissioners. But please do not take out your frustrations on the Agent if things do not go your way – this is a nice extra thing to have and takes a lot of work to pull off.

 

When again can I use in-season negotiating for my upcoming UFA’s?

 

After your club’s 41st game through the last day of the regular season, and then again from Day 1 of offseason up to the start of the free agency period.