I'm not sure if anyone wondered much about the max number of contracts teams were allowed to have but one has to wonder once they realize how many potential AHL/NHL players that the Avs have drafted these past few drafts. How can the Avs be able to sign everyone? The NHL has a rule that you can not have any more than 50 players under contract. Unfortunately that doesn't tell the whole story. The Avs have over 45 players signed to contracts to play in the AHL & NHL this year so how do they sign some of their prospects without having to wait until the final hour (or potentially loose their rights)? Well for one the 50 rule is misleading. The Avs are actually allowed up to 90 players to be their property (signed or unsigned). Any of those players who are 18 or 19 and not playing professional hockey (NHL, AHL, ECHL, etc) can be signed and NOT count towards the 50 contract limit. Once one of those signed players play 11 games professionally then they count towards the 50. So players like Elliot, Barrie, Maxwell, and others can be signed this year and the Avs could still sign more players (such as camp tryouts). This may be one reason you see so many players not re-up (Peltier, Vernace, etc), prospects not get at least an entry level contract (Delmas, Tessier, etc) and others sign one year contracts (most of the new Lake Erie vets) so that the team is not bogged down with contracts and unable to have their incoming prospects to sign and play down the road. Something of note if we start seeing more and more draft pics end up not signed but later snatched up by other teams.