This is the first in an occasional series leading up to the start of the Coachella Valley Firebirds' inaugural season in October in which we explain the ins and outs ofthe desert's new pro hockey team, the American Hockey Leagueand the Firebirds' parent organizationthe Seattle Kraken.
In the first half of 2022, we learned a lot about the Coachella Valley Firebirds. We learned what their jerseys will look like, what the Arena is going to be named and who their head coach will be.
Now comes the exciting part as we learn who some of the actual players are that will be wearing that jersey in Acrisure Arena playing for coach Dan Bylsma.
As the team begins to officially sign players, it's important to understand the way pro hockey contracts work. There are basically three types of contracts a player can sign: a one-way NHL contract, a two-way contract, and a one-way AHL contract.
Let's take a look at what the differences are:
One-way AHL contract
The Firebirds made the announcement on July 11 that they had signed their first two official players in Slovakian standout Samuel Bucek and Canadian talent Ian McKinnon. Those two players signed one-way AHL contracts.
This means that the team expects both players to spend most if not all of the season as a member of the Firebirds. If at some point during the seasonthe team wanted to call up Bucek orMcKinnon to the Kraken, they would have to first sign them to a new contract (usually a two-way contract) before bringing them up.
Two-way AHL/NHL contract
As the Seattle Kraken began to add free agents when the signing period opened Wednesday, many of the players signed were given a two-way contract.
A team signs a player to a two-way contract when they expect the player to spend at least some of the season with their AHL affiliate. The salary the player receives is dependent on whether he's playing with the Firebirds orthe Kraken. One salary is set for any amount of time spent playing in the Coachella Valley and a different higher salary is set for the time the player spends playing in Seattle.
The two-way contract also allows the team to move a player up and downwithout having to sign a new deal or restructure the contract every time the player switches teams.
In the last week, the Kraken have signed the following players to two-way contracts which means they are players that Firebirds fans can expect to see in the desert at some point during the upcoming season. Remember these names:
John Hayden: Former Buffalo Sabres player signed a one-year, two-way contract for $750,000 (average annual value).
Cameron Hughes: A forward who was a member of the Bruins organization and a teammate of McKinnon onthe AHL's Providence Bruinssigned a two-year, two-way contract at $762,500.
Austin Poganski: A forward whoappeared in 16 games for the Winnipeg Jets last seasonsigned a one-year, two-way contract at $750,000.
Brogan Rafferty: A defenseman who played for the Anaheim Ducks last yearsigned a one-year, two-way contract at $750,000.
Alexander True: The Kraken re-signed their own free agent forward to a one-year, two-way contract at $750,000.
One-way NHLcontract
The Seattle Kraken would sign a free agent player to a one-way NHL contract when they expect that player to play for and stay with the NHL team the entire season.
That doesn't mean that player can't be sent down to the Firebirds, but if that happens, the player would still make the salary they were earning in Seattle. It will not be pro-rated or reduced because he is playing in the AHL instead of the NHL like a two-way contract.
So there you have it. Understanding the different contracts available to pro hockey players will help us deduce which players in the Kraken organization likely will be playing for the Firebirds.
Shad Powers is a sports columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
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