AWHL Franchise Policy

The AWHL Franchise Policy States that all assets (arena, Logo, Merchandise, etc) Belongs to the hockey club and not its affiliates. This rule was initiated in 2000 When the NHL announced its affiliation to the league.

Creation
The rule was created in 2000 because of the anounced affiliation to the NHL. The Austin Warriors (at the time affiliated with the Chicago Blackhawks) announced that the Blackhawks wanted to move them to Rockford. The fans were highly dissapointed at this decision. Owners of the AWHL had to act quickly. They created the AWHL Franchise Policy because of this.

Signing Policy
The AWHL's signing policy has been highly controversial over the course of it's tenure. Until 2015, the AWHL didn't have a set in stone policy. It was cheated around a lot and caused a lot of controversy. In 2015, All World Ventures decided to do something about it. They put in place the new "AWHL Signing Policy". This stated that anyone being signed inside or outside of the AWHL had to be put under a one year one way contract. After that one year is up the teams NHL affiliate can decide weather or not he is worthy enough to be called up to the pro's. If the NHL decides against, the AWHL team has the right to sign the player to a one way deal for up to 3 years. After that time is up again the NHL team may or may not call up the player. If the NHL team decides against it again, then the AWHL team has the right to sign the player to a one way deal for an unlimited amount of time.

Controversy
The rule has been highly debated for years over. The fact that players are assets of the NHL team or not is highly controversial and has been picked apart a lot.