ECHL roster rules put salary limits and parent-club ties in focus
Yahoo Sports compares the ECHL’s capped roster system with Double-A baseball ahead of the New Mexico Goatheads’ inaugural season.
The New Mexico Goatheads will begin their inaugural season against the Idaho Steelheads on 16 October 2026, with Yahoo Sports examining how the Colorado Avalanche affiliate will operate within the ECHL’s roster and salary rules.
For the 2026–27 season, ECHL clubs can spend up to $18,610 a week during the first 30 days before the limit falls to $18,000. Teams must also meet a season-long weekly salary floor of $13,680.
Players on ECHL-only contracts have minimum weekly salaries of $610 for rookies and $660 for returning players. Players on NHL/AHL two-way contracts are paid by their parent organisation, while the ECHL club reimburses it $525 a week against the cap. That reimbursement can reach $625, with amounts above that treated as cap violations.
ECHL active rosters hold 20 players, or 21 during the first 30 days, and must include at least two goaltenders. The structure imposes both financial and positional limits on clubs building their squads.
Yahoo Sports contrasts that system with Double-A baseball, where teams can carry 28 active players, face a salary floor but no cap, and have players controlled and paid by their MLB parent club.
