The Revenge and Honour Hockey League (RHHL) is exploring Expansion for the Summer of 2025, prior to the 2025-2026 Season. This move would increase operations from 10 Franchises to 12.
The RHHL currently employs ~350 Players through Standard Player Contracts, ~90 through Entry Level Contracts, ~70 through Developmental Level Contracts, as well as ~300 Prospects.
The current operating cost of the League is ~$900 Million. The current maximum operating cost is $1 Billion with a maximum of $100MM per Franchise.
This $100MM Franchise Budget includes a cap of $75MM dedicated to the Major League Roster as well as Expenses including Salary Retention and Buyouts.
The remaining $25MM is allocated for the PHL Minor League roster and player development. Franchises must meet or exceed the Franchise salary floor of $50MM.
Expansion to 12 Franchises will push the maximum operating costs of the League to $1.20B.
2025-03-30
ENTRY DRAFT AND PROSPECTS
Both Expansion Franchises will be given a full complement of 2026 Entry Draft Picks linked to the 5th and 6th selection in each of the 7 rounds.
There will also be a “Warchest Draft” after the conclusion of the 2025 RHHL Entry Draft. The Warchest Draft affords each Franchise to stock their Prospect roster. Each Expansion Franchise receives the 21 selections from the remaining Prospects between the 2021 Entry Draft to the 2025 Entry Draft, along with any undrafted players.
The Warchest Draft still follows the rule of draft eligibility using age where the player must be under 23 by September 15th, 2025. However, the Warchest Draft does not have the same Games Played eligibility rules as the Standard Entry Draft. This allows the Franchise to select players whose NHL games played have exceeded 42.
The two Expansion GMs will decide amongst themselves who will take priority and select first through-out the Entry Draft (5th pick in each round) and the Warchest Draft (1st). While the other Franchise will be granted Expansion Draft priority.
Like Entry Draft Picks, Warchest Draft Picks may be traded between both Expansion Franchises and Established RHHL Franchises.
EXPANSION DRAFT PROCESS
Each of the 10 current RHHL Franchises will be required to expose a minimum of the following players signed to SPCs or ELCs or players who have contracts that have expired:
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3 Centers
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3 Left Wingers
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3 Right Wingers
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4 Defenders
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2 Goaltenders
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25% of their Prospect Pool without positional requirements. This number is rounded down to the nearest whole number.
RHHL Franchises may expose players who have expired contracts. If said player is drafted, the new GM will inherit the same negotiating rights and figures as the former Franchise. Expansion Franchises will not have a $15MM UFA re-sign cap to abide by during the Expansion process.
The GM with Priority will select one player from an existing RHHL Franchise. The other GM will now select from the same Franchise but may not select from the same position. The only exception to this rule is if a defender is selected, the other GM may select a second defender and relinquish the selection of a goaltender from the current RHHL Franchise. Expansion Franchises will also select a maximum of one Prospect from each Franchise at any point while drafting from said Franchise.
This process will continue until both Expansion Franchises have selected 3 players and 1 Prospect from the RHHL Franchise. Then the Expansion GM with priority will choose the next RHHL Franchise to draft from. This order of operation will continue until all 10 RHHL Franchises have been drafted from.
Trades between Expansion Franchises and RHHL Franchises involving players not on the exposed list may occur at any point during the Expansion Process and will not affect the positional requirements.
RHHL Franchises may also negotiate to have an Expansion GM select a specific player from the exposed list by trading additional assets to do so.
At the end of the Expansion Draft, Warchest Draft, and Entry Draft, each Expansion Franchise will have the following, aside from extra transactions.
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30 Players. This leaves a maximum of 16 roster openings to be filled via trades, free agency, and signing of ELCs.
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38 Prospects
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10 Expansion Prospects
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7 2025 Prospects
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21 Prospects from 2021-2025
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21 Future Draft Picks (2026, 2027, 2028)
FRANCHISE IDENTITY
Expansion teams will be working with the Commissioner to craft their Franchise’s identity. This includes team names for the Major League (RHHL) Team and the Minor League (PHL) affiliate, a colour code, and a custom designed logo.