A player is only eligible to be signed by a minor league team if, he is under 250 TPE and, is not under contract with a VHL team. They must still clear VHL waivers before they can be sent down to the VHLM.
But Vhlm rights are held for 4 years meaning you don't need a Ufa signing up till year 5. So if someone held out until year 5 they could get past this rule.