Franchise Mode Prospects - Make it closer to the CBA

So I've started reading the CBA, and I've come to notice some rather basic things that are absent from Franchise. From entry level contract length to how long a team has exclusive negotiation rights with a player, these issues should be fixed, and will not require NCAA rights to be fixed/improved on

Firstly, for Entry Level Contracts, it depends on how old a player is when he signs it. For the most part, this isn't an issue for Franchise, since most players are 20 at the oldest when signed, but you could theoretically sign a 22 year old player to a 3 year ELC, which is not allowed per the CBA. The following constitutes the entry level duration (provided the player is drafted from North America);

• Signing age of 18-21: 3 years
• Signing age of 22-23: 2 years
• Signing age of 24: 1 year
• Signing age of 25 or older (player drafted from North America): no restriction on duration
• Signing age of 25-27 (drafted from outside of North America: 1 year
• Signing age of 28 or older (player drafted outside of North America): no restriction on duration

Next up is the exclusive negotiation rights. I won't get into the ins and outs of keeping those rights, but only players playing major junior are subject to the 2 year exclusive negotiation rights (WHL, OHL, QMJHL). The following basic outline exclusive negotiation rights (reminder that it is players playing in these leagues, not from the nation);

• Major Junior: until June 1 two years after selection (at which point the player re-enters the NHL Draft)
  • players drafted from Major Junior in the 2022 NHL Draft will have until June 1st, 2024 
  • exception: players drafted at 20 only get 1 year of exclusive negotiation
• College/Committed to College: until August 15 following the players graduation (at which point the player is an unrestricted free agent)
  • there are a few more subsections to this one, so we will keep it at this general rule
• Outside of North America (excluding Russia): dependent on the age of player when drafted
  • Drafted at 18 or 19: exclusive negotiation rights are held for 4 years
    • players drafted from outside of North America in the 2022 NHL Draft will have until June 1st, 2026
  • Drafted 20 or older: exclusive negotiation rights are held for 2 years
    • players drafted from outside of North America in the 2022 NHL Draft will have until June 1st, 2024
• Russia: indefinite negotiation rights are held

Implementing this will have a major effect on Franchise. There is a possibility Russian players have no interest in playing in North America or could have a contract with their Russian club for 3 more seasons; college players might not want to play for your team and will tell you outright, or want to play until they graduate; we as players will have more opportunity to grow prospects given that not all players from the same draft will enter professional hockey at once, as some will be playing in Sweden, College, or Russia.

Implementing an American College system shouldn't be too hard. Obviously, NCAA player and team rights is the ideal outcome, but I'd imagine it could be done. Have an American Junior League (similar to the USHL), where there are players who are the USA and Canada, and have an American College League (similar to the NCAA) where players come from that American Junior League. We, as players, should be able to draft players from both leagues, and have negotiation rights for each be upheld.

This could also introduce the idea of college free agents. Either the player was undrafted, or the player was drafted and elected to not sign with that club

It would also be important to have American, Swedish, Finnish, and players from other nations playing in the Canadian Hockey League for realistic purposes.

I feel adding this to Franchise would be beneficial for the experience. It gives more of a feel that you are the GM of an NHL team, which, in my opinion, is something the mode has lacked for a long time