League Rules

[Admin]

League Information

Yahoo! Head-to-Head format: teams face each other in weekly matchups, stat categories that are won are credited as "wins" in the standings.
Rosters can be set and changed daily (same-day roster moves are enabled as well)
The league is compromised of 14 teams; the top 8 at the end of the regular season will compete in the playoffs.
The moderating team consists of: WhaleGM and Hurricanes
Roster and Salary Cap Information
Each organization consists of a "major league" team (that is, the one featured in head-to-head matchups), a "minor league" team, and a "junior" team.
The major league team may not exceed 25 players at any time
- Starting lineups consist of 2 centers, 2 left wings, 2 right wings, 6 forwards (all purpose), 6 defensemen and 2 goaltenders. Also, five bench spots are allocated for use as well.
> Active rosters must remain in compliance with minimum starting lineup rules at all times.
The minor league team may not exceed 25 players at any time.
The junior team may not exceed 15 players at any time. Only drafted players are eligible to be placed on the junior team. Once a player is recalled from the junior team, he may not return to it. Free agents may not be assigned to junior teams under any circumstance. Regarding trading junior players, see the "Transactions" section.
Organizations are limited to five (5) recalls/demotions per week. This number does not reflect trades.
- Adding a player directly to the major league team, however, will count against the limit.
The Salary Cap is set to remain $25 million above the NHL's Salary Cap, which will fluctuate yearly. The Salary Floor, for the purposes of this league, is set at the NHL's Salary Cap. For the 2012-13 season: the Salary Cap is $95,200,000, while the Salary Floor is $70,200,000. -- In 2013-14, they will drop to $89,300,000 and $64,300,000, respectively.
A player's salary is determined by his NHL base salary (which also includes any signing bonus) for the current season (not cap hit and not including performance bonuses of any kind). Nor is there any pro-ration of salary at any point.
Players placed on the injured reserve list do not count against roster limits or salary cap constraints. However, once a player returns from injury, the organization is to immediately make the necessary adjustments to return to compliance on both counts.
A maximum of two (2) players making in excess of $1.5 million will be permitted on a minor league team at any one time.
Compliance with both roster requirements (including the promotion/demotion status of each player – e.g., major or minor league team) and the Salary Cap are strictly enforced by the moderating team. Failure to comply will result in penalties that may culminate with expulsion from the league.

Scoring

Skater statistics will consist of: Goals, Assists, Plus/Minus, Penalty Minutes, Power Play Points, Short-Handed Points, and Game-Winning Goals
- Effective 2013-14 season: Shots will be added.
- Effective 2014-15 season: Game-Winning Goals will be replaced by Blocked Shots
Goaltender statistics will consist of: Wins, Goals Against Average, Saves, Save Percentage, and Shutouts


Transactions

Trading

All trades are subject to approval in the "Pending Trades" section of the board. At which point, both GMs most confirm the trade's components including all calculable conditions and draft pick origins (that is, if a club owns multiple picks in a round, the specification of which draft pick is involved).
- If the moderating team feels that the trade is not in the best interest of the league, it has the right to reject the trade. Though this is rare, in odd situations a wholly detrimental trade or collusive GMs can negatively affect a league. It should be noted, the moderating team is not in the position to save GMs from themselves.
> Additionally, trades may be rejected if they put an organization out of compliance with league roster or Salary Cap rules. If a trade puts a club out of compliance, please post the requisite roster moves that will return the club promptly to compliance as well.
Trades may only include: draft picks (no further than two drafts in advance of the current year), conditions (must be wholly and thoroughly outlined in the trade post), and any players owned by the organization.
- Players on junior teams may be exchanged and the acquiring team may allow a junior-eligible player to remain on the acquiring club's junior team.
- Acquired players must remain with their previously assigned promotion/demotion level until a recall/demotion post is created after the trade's approval. (i.e. a player acquired from another organization's minor league club must remain with the acquiring team's minor league club until a post indicates that such a player is being recalled).
- GMs may not trade salary cap space or "eat" a portion of a player's salary to facilitate a trade.

Free Agency and Waivers

Free agents may be acquired at any time, excepting when transaction freezes are in effect (typically from the trade deadline to just shy of the league’s entry draft; these exact dates will be revealed at the appropriate times)
- Players that are ineligible for acquisition via free agency: Players that remain eligible for this or future Entry Drafts and players that have never had his NHL rights held by a club to date (that is, NHL drafted or signed).
- Any such player that becomes eligible to be signed outside of transaction freeze periods is subject to 48-hour waivers starting from the time that their NHL contract is signed. If the player clears, he becomes an ordinary-course free agent.
Free agent claims are limited to 12-hour intervals. The second and subsequent free agent claims within a 12-hour time frame will be rejected.
- For the purposes of this timed window, free agent signings and waiver claims are not under the same jurisdiction.
At any time during the playing season, players are eligible to be placed on 48-hour waivers for purposes of releasing the player or demoting a player that makes in excess of $1,500,000 salary.
- Such waiver requests are to be posted in the "Waiver Area" section of the board with the player's name, salary, and intent (demotion or release)
- A player whose salary is $1,500,001 or more in the current year is subject to waivers before being demoted to the minors. Except in the preseason when this rule is not in effect until "opening day" rosters are submitted.
- A waived player with the intent of release becomes a free agent after he clears 48-hour waivers.
Players are to remain on waivers for the full 48-hour duration; in the event that a player is claimed, he shall be awarded to the claiming team after the completion of the waiver duration.
- A demoted/released player must be placed on the claiming team's NHL team.
- In the event that multiple claims are made on one player, the team with the highest waiver priority shall be awarded the player.
- Once an organization claims a player off of waivers, they are moved to the bottom of the waiver priority list.
- Excluding waiver claims, the waiver priority list is re-grouped (though not completely reset) at the end of the season. The clubs are set in two categories: playoff teams and non-playoff teams. While remaining in the same order relative to each other in each group, the non-playoff teams group is placed ahead of the playoff team group.

Entry Draft

During the offseason, at a date that is formally announced after the completion of discussions on rule changes and other league protocols, the league engages in a seven-round Entry Draft.
Only players drafted in the current NHL Entry Draft in the current year are eligible to be selected in the league's Entry Draft. All other players (including free agents, undrafted players from the current year’s NHL Draft, undrafted players from the previous or prior NHL Draft(s), etc.) are ineligible for selection.
GMs are allotted 12 hours to make a selection from the previous selection. Failure to make a selection will involve the pick being passed, but not voided until the draft is deemed to be completed.
- Generally, GMs are private messaged when they are up but do not depend on it! Check in often. A list may be submitted to one of the moderating team dictating the order in which you would like to select a player at any point.
- The 12-hour clock only runs between 10 am – 10 pm Eastern Time. A valid pick may be entered "off the clock", but the clock will not resume or restart until 10 am the next morning.

Entry Draft Lottery and Draft Order

The draft order will be determined by the NHL's Draft Lottery (corresponding the place in the standings to the NHL team that wins to the place in the standings in this league; should an ineligible position win the lottery in the NHL, the team with the worst standings shall retain the first overall pick with no changes made).
- No team may move more than two (2) spots forward in the draft via lottery.
- The draft lottery will only affect the first round of the draft, all other rounds follow standard draft order procedure (as outlined below).
Illustration 1: The third-worst team in the NHL won the lottery, the third-worst team in this league wins the lottery.
Illustration 2: The 8th worst team in the NHL won the lottery. In our league, the 8th worst team is a playoff team and, therefore, ineligible to win the lottery. In such case, the team with the worst regular season standings will retain the number one overall pick and no changes will be made to the draft order.
1st-6th: Reverse order of regular season standings (first round can be affected by lottery)
7th: Among teams eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the one with the worst regular season record
8th: Among teams eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the one with the second-worst regular season record
9th: Among teams eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the one with the second-best regular season record
10th: Among teams eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the one with the best regular season record
11th: Among teams eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, the one with the worst regular season record
12th: Among teams eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, the one with the best regular season record
13th: Runner-up in the Finals
14th: League champion

Message Board

League Information: Self-explanatory
League Lounge: League talk and a chat box to make announcements and what not. Self-explanatory.
Entry Draft: Self-explanatory
Transactions:
- Trade Block: List players available for trade to get trade talk brewing
- Pending Trades: Where accepted deals are posted pending approval of the moderating team
- Finalized Trades: Where pending trades are moved to by the moderating team upon approval
- Free Agent Area: Where free agents are signed and player's rights are tracked
- Waiver Area: Where waiver moves and claims are made
- Roster Moves: Where recalls/demotions and injury reserve transactions are posted
Team Pages:
- Where updated and accurate team rosters with positions and salaries are kept. These should be updated to reflect trades/signings/draft picks/etc. so other GMs can formulate trade proposals and what not. Additionally, they should be updated (daily or as needed) with recalls/demotions and calculation of your Salary Cap situation.
Participation and Consideration
GMs are required to maintain an active level of participation throughout the season (setting lineups, updated team pages, etc.) for the sake of the league itself and all involved. (It takes mere moments to do most anything in this league…figure it out…)
- This includes responding to private messages regarding trades and other league matters, try to respond in a timely manner and with as much as tact as normal human interaction requires.
Example: back-stabbing or underhandedness. If you're involved in detailed trade discussions about Player X with a GM, tact would suggest that you don't turn around and trade Player X to another GM without at least some form of "heads up" to the other GM you were discussing him with. (Who knows, you might even start a bidding war and get more for him!) Think.
During the offseason, league rules and protocols are discussed and often polls are posted that require league participation. Check in often to ensure that your voice is heard and that the offseason and its Entry Draft and other transactions can continue smoothly. It takes just a few seconds to check the board…figure it out!