New to hockey/FHM, how are minor leagues maintained?

[MrDov]

I'm just starting to get into hockey and figured picking up FHM would help the learning process. One thing I can't figure out is exactly how the minor leagues are maintained. I did a modern day start as the Wild, so I have the Iowa Wild and Iowa Heartlanders underneath me. I've figured out I can sign prospects/fringe players to NHL contracts then send them down to one of my Iowa teams, but is there any way to maintain those rosters outside of promoting/demoting players on NHL contracts?

For instance, both Iowa teams are heavily lacking wings, but I don't want to sign a bunch of new wings to NHL contracts just to round out the roster for my ECHL team. Is that just something I live with and AI manages players in my minor leagues not directly under my control, or is there a way for me to add/remove guys from my minor league rosters without having to sign them to NHL contracts?

More generally, are there any good resources that explain NHL contracts and roster rules, and how that interacts with the minor leagues? I couldn't find anything in the FHM online manual.

[AdequateRandomGaming]

Originally Posted by MrDov

I'm just starting to get into hockey and figured picking up FHM would help the learning process. One thing I can't figure out is exactly how the minor leagues are maintained. I did a modern day start as the Wild, so I have the Iowa Wild and Iowa Heartlanders underneath me. I've figured out I can sign prospects/fringe players to NHL contracts then send them down to one of my Iowa teams, but is there any way to maintain those rosters outside of promoting/demoting players on NHL contracts?

For instance, both Iowa teams are heavily lacking wings, but I don't want to sign a bunch of new wings to NHL contracts just to round out the roster for my ECHL team. Is that just something I live with and AI manages players in my minor leagues not directly under my control, or is there a way for me to add/remove guys from my minor league rosters without having to sign them to NHL contracts?

More generally, are there any good resources that explain NHL contracts and roster rules, and how that interacts with the minor leagues? I couldn't find anything in the FHM online manual.

I'm more of an historical guy, but my understanding is that your minor leagues will be filled with players independently of your NHL contracts.

As for resources to learn about this kind of stuff, I've always found CapFriendly to be useful:

https://www.capfriendly.com/

There is some great information there for sure, especially under "CBA".

Finally, last year I put up a series of videos on Youtube that try to explain a lot of the hockey world/rules/terminology in laymen terms as much as possible. I don't know if it will be in depth enough for you, but you might find some of the information useful:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...lN50iV5aY1CXOr

Hopefully you can find what you're looking for, and more importantly...have fun with the game !

[jumpSeat]

Originally Posted by MrDov

For instance, both Iowa teams are heavily lacking wings, but I don't want to sign a bunch of new wings to NHL contracts just to round out the roster for my ECHL team. Is that just something I live with and AI manages players in my minor leagues not directly under my control...

Yes, the AI will sign players to fill positional gaps independently of whatever you're doing.