Performance Bonuses

Under the NHL CBA 50.2(b)(i)(C)(2),

    (2) Performance Bonuses shall be allowable under this Agreement only for:
        (i) Players with Entry Level SPCs under Article 9 of this Agreement;
        (ii) Players aged 35 or older as of June 30 prior to the League Year in which
              the SPC is to be effective, who have signed a one-year SPC for that
              League Year; and
        (iii) Players who are "400-plus game Players" for pension purposes, and who:
            (i) in the last year of their most recent SPC, spent 100 days or more on the
                 Injured Reserve List; and
            (ii) have signed a one-year SPC for the current or upcoming League Year.

That gives us three categories of performance bonuses: ELCs, Injured veterans on one year deals, and 35+ players on one year deals.

## Entry Level Contracts

Under section 9.5 of the CBA, 

    Clubs and Players may negotiate, and a Player who is subject to the Entry Level
    System under Article 9 may be paid bonuses for the types of performance,
    and in the maximum amounts, set forth in Exhibit 5.

Under Exhibit 5, there are three categories of performance bonuses that a player on an ELC is eligible to receive.

### A note on performance bonus earnings

Unless otherwise known, it's assumed that:

- A player with less than $200,000 in performance bonuses has a games played bonus. If the exact condition is unknown, it's assumed to be unearned.
- A player with more than $1,000,000 in performance bonuses is assumed to have the maximum available "A" bonuses and is otherwise eligible for "B" bonuses
- A player who earns "B" bonuses is assumed to be paid the same amounts that the league would pay.
- All other players are assumed to be eligible for "A" bonuses in every category that applies to their position at the NHL's minimum required performance level

Teams may limit players to only certain categories of "A" bonuses or limit the amount that a player may earn for a certain category, but we rarely get the benefit of that information. In its absence, we make these assumptions to manage the end-of-season workload.

### Games played bonuses

The introduction to Exhibit 5 states that

    The following is a list of the only performance bonuses that may be included in a
    Player's Entry Level SPC. No other performance bonuses, except games played
    bonuses, may be included in a Player's Entry Level SPC.

Well alright then. Games played bonuses are pretty straightforward. [Henry Thrun](/person/henry-thrun-1348) had one in 2022-2023 after he left college to sign in San Jose.

### Individual "A" Bonuses

These bonuses are split into separate categories, and the maximum that a player can be paid for each category is $212,500 for contracts signed before the 2022 draft and $250,000 for contracts signed after. A player who earns performance bonuses for multiple categories can only receive a maximum of $850,000 for contracts signed before the 2022 draft and $1,000,000 for contracts signed after.

The CBA stipulates the minimum performance levels that a player must achieve to earn these, and teams can hold their players to higher standards. Only regular season games count towards any "A" bonuses.

All players earn a category of "A" bonus for being named to any of the

- End-of-season NHL All-Rookie Team
- NHL All-Star Game (as a selection or as a player)
- NHL All-Star Game MVP

#### Forwards

The points per game, +/-, and ice time categories require the player to have at least 42 NHL games played and compare the player only to those forwards who also have at least 42 games played. Defensemen do not count.

- Goals: 20 minimum
- Assists: 35 minimum
- Points: 60 minimum
- Points per game: 0.73 PPG minimum
- +/-: Among the top 3 forwards on the club
- Ice time: Among the top 6 forwards on the club either aggregate or per game

#### Defensemen

The points per game, +/-, blocked shots, and ice time categories require the player to have at least 42 NHL games played and compare the player only to those defensemen who also have at least 42 games played. Forwards to not count.

- Goals: 10 minimum
- Assists: 25 minimum
- Points: 40 minimum
- Points per game: 0.49 PPG minimum
- +/-: Among the top 3 defensemen on the club
- Blocked shots: Among the top 2 defensemen on the club
- Ice time: Among the top 4 defensemen on the club either aggregate or per game

#### Goaltenders

For 30 minute minimums, any time where the goaltender is replaced for an extra attacker counts as time on ice.

- Wins: 20 minimum. Player must be goaltender of record with a 30 minute minimum
- Minutes played: 1,800 minimum
- GAA: Equal to or less than the median GAA of all goalies who played 25 or more regular season games. Player must have at least 25 NHL games played with 30 minutes played per game
- SV%: Equal to or greater than the median SV% of all goalies who played 25 or more regular season games. Player must have at least 25 NHL games played with 30 minutes played per game
- Shutouts: More than the median number of shutouts of all goaltenders who played at least 25 NHL games. 30 minute minimum play time per shutout.

### Individual "B" bonuses

Every player on an ELC is eligible for league-paid "B" bonuses which do not affect the team's cap if paid out. Teams can negotiate individual bonuses for players on their ELCs in addition to the league's automatic ones. A team cannot offer any player more than $2,000,000 in "B" bonuses for any contracts signed before the 2022 draft or more than $2,500,000 for any signed after that date.

Any players who tie for an award will split the proceeds of their pooled bonuses. Two players tied for a second place award will each get half of the second place award and half of the third place award.

Teams cannot negotiate "B" performance bonuses for any awards or categories that the league doesn't recognize.

#### Award-based bonuses

- The Hart, Norris, Vezina, Selka, Richard, and (since 2020-2021) the Art Ross
    1. $250,000
    2. $200,000
    3. $150,000
    4. $100,000
    5. $50,000
- The Lady Byng
    1. $150,000
    2. $100,000
    3. $50,000
- The Jennings: $50,000
- The Calder
    1. $212,500
    2. $150,000
    3. $100,000
- First Team NHL All-Star: $100,000
- Second Team NHL All-Star: $50,000
- The Conn Smythe: $250,000

#### League performance bonuses

##### Skaters

Comparison pool is limited to other skaters in the same position (i.e. only other forwards or other defensemen) with at least 42 regular-season NHL games. Player must have also played 42 regular-season NHL games.

- Goals, Assists, and Points (each a separate award with the same reward levels)
    1. $150,000
    2. $140,000
    3. $130,000
    4. $120,000
    5. $110,000
    6. $100,000
    7. $90,000
    8. $80,000
    9. $70,000
    10. $60,000
- Points per game, Ice time (defensemen only)
    1. $100,000
    2. $90,000
    3. $80,000
    4. $70,000
    5. $60,000
    6. $50,000
    7. $40,000
    8. $30,000
    9. $20,000
    10. $10,000

Defensemen can earn the ice time is reward for aggregate time and for time per game, but a player cannot earn more than $100,000 in total. If a player earns $70,000 for aggregate time on ice, they cannot earn more than $30,000 for average time on ice (assuming they qualify).

##### Goaltenders

Goaltenders earn bonuses for being in the top 5 players in GAA, SV%, or wins. Wins require a player to have 30 minutes of play time in that game. GAA and SV% require the player to have 25 NHL games with 30 minutes in each.

For each category, in each place, they earn:
1. $150,000
2. $140,000
3. $130,000
4. $120,000
5. $110,000

## 35+ Contracts and Previously injured players

Both of these categories are subject to the same limitations, namely that their contract must be CBA compliant. That means that their total NHL salary needs to be the league minimum, and their total compensation (NHL salary + signing bonus + performance bonuses) cannot exceed 20% of the salary cap.

Beyond that, we can have any number of easy or complex conditions. [Jonathan Quick's](/person/jonathan-quick-7615) 2024-2025 contract had a performance bonus for 20 starts with a 0.915 SV%, and his 2025-2026 contract has bonuses for that same condition, for games played, and for wins. [Corey Perry's](/person/corey-perry-8524) 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 contracts both have performance bonuses connected to the number of playoff rounds his team wins and the percentage of those games that he plays.

Teams can be creative here.