5 min read
It measures the cumulative performance of one NHL team across a season, starting from a level of 7,500 that every team shares on opening night. As the league records statistics during a game, each one is converted into index points through a fixed multiplier and added to or subtracted from the level, so that goals, shots on goal, saves, faceoffs, blocked shots, hits, takeaways, giveaways, and penalties all count alongside the end of game, monthly, and season milestones. A team above 7,500 has accumulated more positive contributions than negative ones since the season began, and the index is best read as a running record of how well the team has played, one that is designed to be independent of any single game result.
A win adds 10 points, a regulation loss subtracts 10, and an overtime or shootout loss subtracts 5, and those three entries are the only constituents keyed directly to the win/loss result. Everything else in the game is scored on its own terms, which means a team that wins while being outshot, giving the puck away, and taking penalties can finish the night with more negative points than positive ones, and a team that loses a close game while dominating play can see its index rise. The methodology is built this way on purpose, because the index records the whole statistical profile of a game and treats the final score as one input among many.
A move on an off day usually traces to one of three causes. Monthly milestones are applied at 7:00 AM Central Time on the Calculation Day after the last game scheduled in the month and season milestones at 8:00 AM Central Time on the Calculation Day after the last regular season game, each worth 125 or 250 points, and a team can receive more than one at a time. A league amendment to a statistic from an earlier game is applied as a discrete event in the next official close. A game that was not marked official by 9:00 AM Central Time on the morning after it was played enters the next official close instead, so the official statistics and end of game milestones from that game can show up in the index on a day the team did not play.
Two examples show how the last two causes work in practice. In the first, the league declares a game official later than usual. Team A plays on Tuesday night and the game ends around 10:00 PM Central Time. Ordinarily the league marks the game official overnight, and the whole game is included in Tuesday's Official Index Close, published at 9:00 AM Central Time on Wednesday. Suppose instead that the league is still reviewing a disputed goal at 9:00 AM Wednesday. Tuesday's close is then published without any of the game, so Team A's official level does not yet reflect Tuesday night. If the league completes its review and marks the game official at noon on Wednesday, the full game, meaning all of its statistics along with the result and any end of game milestones, is included in Wednesday's close, published at 9:00 AM Thursday. Team A did not play on Wednesday, yet its close for that day moves by the points from the entire game, which enters the index in full one close later than usual.
In the second example, the league amends a game that was already official. The league marks Team A's Tuesday night game official overnight, and the whole game is included in Tuesday's close, published at 9:00 AM Wednesday, as usual. On Friday afternoon, after reviewing video, the league reclassifies one of Team A's even strength goals as a power play goal, and Team A does not play that day. Tuesday's close stays as published. An even strength goal adds 12 points and a power play goal adds 10, so the amendment is applied as a 2 point reduction in Friday's close, published at 9:00 AM Saturday, with the amended statistic and its index impact disclosed in the end of day files. Milestones already applied from the game are left as they were. The index moves only by the difference the amendment creates, on a day Team A did not play.
The number that moves during a game is the intraday indicative value, which updates as plays are recorded, is published on a best-efforts basis, and is not an official value. The Official Index Close for a Calculation Day is published at 9:00 AM Central Time on the following day, based on final league data marked official before that time and rounded to two decimal places, and that published close is the official value of the index for the day. It is the value a futures contract referencing the index settles to at expiration under the CME Group contract specifications, while the daily settlement prices of the futures themselves are determined by CME Group under its own procedures. A small difference between the last intraday value and the published close can arise from late official scoring revisions, while a larger one on the first of a month or at season end reflects milestone application.
It can, because the methodology sets no floor, and an index takes a negative value within a season if a team's cumulative negative contributions exceed its positive contributions and the prevailing level, and negative values receive no special treatment, so the index continues to be calculated and published in the ordinary way. The annual reset returns every index to 7,500 for the next season and does not prevent negative values within a season.
They are, through a Seasonal Adjustment Factor of 1.5 that applies to every statistical constituent and every end of game milestone in a postseason game. A playoff even strength goal adds 18 points instead of 12, a playoff win adds 15 instead of 10, and negative events scale the same way. The Stanley Cup Winner milestone of 750 points is applied with the factor, for 1,125 points, on the Calculation Day after the last game of the Final, while monthly and season milestones are determined from regular season games and are always applied at 1.0.
Every index is reset to 7,500 on the Calculation Day falling 32 calendar days after the last game of the Stanley Cup Final, and the reset level is first published that day. Between the end of the Final and the reset, each index ordinarily stands at its season end level, which includes the Stanley Cup Winner milestone. The reset is an event in the index calendar, and any futures contract that references an index has its own expiration and settlement dates set by CME Group in the contract specifications, which are separate from the index reset.
League amendments are applied forward and do not trigger a restatement. The amendment is treated as a discrete statistical event, run through the Points Attribution Table, and included in the next Official Index Close, with the amended statistics and their index impact disclosed in the end of day files, while previously published closes and milestone determinations already made are left as they were. Restatements are reserved for errors made by FutureSports in calculating or applying the methodology, subject to a materiality test and a single season correction window.
A game that starts on one calendar day and ends on the next is attributed entirely to the date it began, in the local time zone of play. A game postponed before it begins is attributed to the date it is eventually played, with nothing attributed to the original date, and a game that begins and is then suspended is attributed to the date it is resumed or replayed, with statistics accrued before a stoppage carrying over when play resumes from the point of suspension. In every case the index uses only the official statistics for the game as finally scored, counts each one once, and includes the game in the first official close published after the league marks it official.
FutureSports calculates and administers the indexes as Index Administrator under a methodology designed to align with the IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks, while the NHL serves only as the official source of the underlying statistics. The league does not participate in index determination, calculation, or methodology governance, and it does not sponsor, endorse, or administer the indexes. Multipliers are fixed during the season and change only through a published process reviewed by the Product Governance Committee and announced in advance. Any index user, investor, issuer, licensee, or other stakeholder with a legitimate interest can submit a written complaint about a calculation or a methodology matter through the channel published on the FutureSports website, with receipt acknowledged within five business days and a substantive written response targeted within thirty business days of acknowledgment.
Every answer above is drawn from the FSPI NHL Team Index Methodology Guide and its supporting documents, the FSPI Index Calculation and Publication Schedule, the FSPI Index Maintenance, Error Management, and Methodology Changes document, the FSPI Index Governance Committee Composition and Operating Procedures, and the FSPI Index Complaint Handling and Resolution Policy, all published on the FutureSports website, and those documents control in the event of any difference. Questions about the futures contracts that reference the indexes, including contract size, listing schedule, expiration, margin, position limits, and final settlement procedure, are governed by the CME Group contract specifications and rulebook and should be directed to CME Group or your broker.
This reference is provided for information only and is not an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any futures contract or other financial instrument, nor is it investment advice. The CME FSPI NHL Team Indexes are administered and calculated by FutureSports as Index Administrator under a methodology designed to align with the IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks. The NHL serves only as the official source of underlying performance data, does not participate in index determination, calculation, or methodology governance, and does not sponsor, endorse, or administer the indexes. Any futures contract referencing an index is listed by CME Group under CME Group's own contract specifications and is separate from the index itself. FutureSports does not distribute futures products, is not a broker, futures commission merchant, or exchange, and does not provide investment advice.
Futures trading involves significant risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors, and losses can exceed the funds initially deposited. Anyone considering a futures position should read the risk disclosure statement provided by their futures broker. The indexes are not investable, and past index levels are not indicative of future index levels. Futures that reference the indexes are listed by CME Group and are separate from the indexes. FutureSports is not a broker, futures commission merchant, or exchange and does not provide investment advice. The NHL does not sponsor, endorse, or administer the Indexes.