Waivers and Roster Movement

Move Players and Resolve Waiver Decisions

HLM waivers apply when you loan certain contracted players out of your main league during the waiver period. A claimed player joins the team with the highest waiver priority among the teams that submitted a claim. If nobody claims the player, the loan is completed and the player receives temporary protection from waivers.

How HLM waivers work

With Preseason waivers disabled, waivers begin on October 6 and remain active through February. With the setting enabled, they also apply during preseason. Claims can still be resolved on March 1, the day after the normal placement window closes.

When an eligible player is moved out of your main league:

Roster Moves warns that the player must pass through waivers.
Confirm the move to place the player on waivers for the following day.
Other teams can submit claims from the Waivers screen.
On the next waiver result, the player either joins the successful claimant or clears and completes the loan.

Hockey Legacy Manager Roster Moves confirmation listing a player who must pass through waivers before a loan — HLM names every selected player who will be exposed to waiver claims before the move is confirmed.

Determine whether a player needs waivers

A player with a valid contract becomes waiver eligible at age 25. Younger players become eligible after the following number of professional seasons, based on their age when their first professional season began.

First professional season	Skater exemption	Goalie exemption
Age 18 or younger	5 professional seasons	6 professional seasons
Age 19	4 professional seasons	5 professional seasons
Age 20	3 professional seasons	4 professional seasons
Age 21	3 professional seasons	4 professional seasons
Age 22	3 professional seasons	4 professional seasons
Age 23	3 professional seasons	3 professional seasons
Age 24	2 professional seasons	2 professional seasons

A player can lose the exemption earlier after enough games in the main league:

First professional season	Skater limit	Goalie limit
Age 20 or younger	160 games	80 games
Age 21	80 games	60 games
Age 22	70 games	60 games
Age 23 or 24	60 games	60 games

After clearing waivers, a player can move without passing through waivers again until either 30 days have passed or the player has appeared in 10 games, whichever happens first.

Submit a waiver claim

Open Waivers from the waiver notification or the Waivers screen. The list shows the player’s team, age, position, player type, overall, potential, and contract. Select a player to submit a claim; open the player profile when you need career or contract details first.

Hockey Legacy Manager Waivers screen showing claimable players with positions, player types, ratings, and contracts — Review the player and contract, then select the player to submit a waiver claim.

If several teams claim the same player, priority goes to the team lowest in the standings. During the first 30 days of the season, HLM uses the previous season’s standings. In the first season of a career, it uses the teams’ starting status instead.

A claim is rejected in these cases:

Visible result	Required correction
Already claimed	You already submitted a claim for that player.
Over contract limit	Open one contract slot before claiming the player.
Over salary cap	Clear enough cap space to add the player’s contract.
Over position limit	Open a roster position for the player before claiming them.

The free agency and salary cap guide explains the cap and contract-count checks.

Loan or recall a player

Open Roster Moves.
Select one or more players.
Choose the league each player should join.
Review the roster count and projected cap shown for each affected team.
Confirm the moves.

Roster Moves can include affiliated and non-affiliated leagues. The destination must allow loans and accept that player’s contract, draft status, age, nationality, and other league eligibility rules. HLM marks an unavailable destination with its specific reason, such as Too young for this league or Loans are not allowed.

Hockey Legacy Manager Roster Moves screen showing selected players and affiliated and non-affiliated league destinations — Choose an allowed league for each selected player, then review the affected rosters before confirming.

You cannot loan a player who is injured, already on waivers, or protected by an active No movement clause. HLM displays This player can’t be loaned when another player-specific rule blocks the move.

The main-league active roster holds 12 forwards, 6 defensemen, 2 goalies, and 3 scratches, for a maximum of 23 players. After a recall or successful claim, use the lineups guide to fill any open lineup positions.

The contracts and extensions guide explains when a no-movement clause is active.