Post by Oilers GM (Julian) on Apr 22, 2015 15:42:49 GMT
1. Administration:
This league is operated by Oilers GM (Julian). The League Executive Board (LEB) (See section 1.9) will act as a democratic governing board to authorize league changes.
The goal of this league:
To create a competitive, fair, and deep fantasy hockey league with very active and knowledgeable General Managers (GMs), that replicates the NHL to the best of its abilities.
1.1 - League specifics
Managers will be responsible for the upkeep of both their major league team and their minor league team. The league will consist of 24 teams. Each team will have a maximum roster size of 23 players (19 minimum) plus an additional minor league team with no max roster (see section 1.3 for salary cap)
4C
4LW
4RW
6D
1G
4 Bench (max 1 goalie on the bench)
League will be hosted on Fantrax (http://www.fantrax.com), and will run head-to-head on a week to week basis. Not daily changes. Once a roster has been submitted, it is locked until the following week/period begins.
1.2 - Scoring
Skaters:
Goals - 3 points
Assists - 2 points
Power Play Points - 1 point
Short Handed Points - 1 points
Game Winning Goal - 1 Point
Plus/Minus - 0.5 point
Blocked Shot - 0.25 points
Hit - 0.25 points
Faceoff Win (Centre position only) - 0.2 points
Faceoff Loss (Centre position only) - -0.2 points
Goalies:
Win - 1 points
Shutout - 2 points
Saves - 0.2 points
Goals Against - -1 point
1.3 - Salary Cap
Each team has a major league salary cap, and a minor league salary cap. GMs are responsible for staying under the cap for both rosters (main roster & farm team).
1.3.1 - Major League Salary Cap
The salary cap is set according to the NHL Salary Cap:
$71.4 million with a base salary of $52.8 million.
1.3.2 - Minor League Salary Cap
The minor league salary cap will be set at:
$10 million with no base salary.
Minor league players will not count toward the major league salary cap as long as they are on the farm team (minor league).
1.4 - Contracts
Contracts from league inception have a 2019/20 expiration date if the player is signed for longer. Players with contracts from league inception should replicate the contracts found here: www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/.
(e.g. if you draft Crosby, you are to pay him $8.7m until 19-20, even though he is signed by the Penguins for longer)
The Minimum contract any free-agent can be given is $525,000.
Please see Section 4 for rules and instructions on how to issue contracts.
1.5 - Code of ethics
This is simple. Treat everyone with respect. Things can get heated, that’s a given, but this is fantasy hockey, opinions differ, and it’s not meant to be taken personally. If anyone is having a personal problem with another GM, it is strongly suggested that you contact your admin and the issues we be resolved as swiftly as possible. Judging on the wide range of issues that could fall under ethics, each issue will be taken on a case by case bases and decisions by the LEB will be made accordingly.
1.6 - Activity
All members are expected to check the ProBoard website once every 72 hours. As long as you check the boards once every 72 hours, you will never miss a signing/trade/rule change/etc.
1.7 - Starting the League
Before the fantasy draft, each GM will choose 1 player to be their team captain. Any player currently in the NHL or eligible for the 2015 NHL draft may be selected as team captain. This is a first-come first-serve basis.
GMs will then choose an NHL hockey club to represent their team (mostly just for team name + logo). This can be any team in the NHL, past or present.
1.7.1 - Fantasy Draft
The fantasy draft will be held sometime in the off-season (will be announced far in advance). This will be an offline 19 round draft in which you will have 2 hours to pick. (Please prepare a pre-ranking for yourself). Trades can be made during the draft.
Each team will pick in the reverse-order that they selected their captain. For example Oilers GM chose his captain first, so he will draft last in the fantasy draft. Each round draft order will be snaked based on the reverse-order of the last round. For example if the league has 24 teams, Oilers GM will pick #24th and #25th, then again at #72nd.
1.8 - Tie-Breaker
All tie-breakers (Playoff seed position/draft order) will be decided as follows:
1. Overall Record
2. Head-to-Head Record (2 teams only)
3. Overall Points For
4. Overall Points Against
1.9 - League Executive Board (LEB)
The LEB will be the most important aspect of the league. The LEB is responsible for the general upkeep of the league including, but not limited to, rule changes, trades and GM penalties. The LEB is here to ensure we have a fair league and that all league changes and trades are fair.
The LEB will consist of GMs who have proven two things:
- Strong knowledge of hockey and NHL trades
- Ability to not lobby rule changes to benefit their team (i.e. No suggesting rule change for higher salary cap just because your team is at cap capacity)
The LEB's primary job will be approve/disapprove trades based on realistic circumstances.
If Team A tries to trade Sidney Crosby for Morgan Rielly, the LEB will be responsible to step-in and disapprove the trade. This is to ensure a fair and competitive league, as well as not throwing any future replacement GMs under-the-bus.
When making trades, teams are required to give their reasoning for the trade (see Section 3.5).
Realistic reasons include (but are not limited to):
- Cap Space
- Player value
- Push for the playoffs/cup
Unrealistic reasons include (but are not limited to):
- Personal dislike
- Player's hometown
2. Minors (Prospects), drafts, draft picks, and farm teams
2.1 - Minors (Prospects)
A prospect is defined as a player who has been drafted via the prospect draft or has played fewer than 82 NHL games. Playoff games do not count.
2.1.1: Minor Eligibility
In the case that a player is on a team's farm team and passes his 82 NHL game mark, that team is not required to call up the prospect until the off-season. (e.g. Ekblad has 81 games played. If a team drafts him and places him in the minors, that team can keep him in the minors until next season. (By this time Ekblad will have passed his 82 game mark and will then be required to call up)
2.2 - Draft Picks.
Each team will be awarded three draft picks each season. Draft picks can be traded. Also, draft picks can be traded from up to three seasons in advance. For example, following this year’s draft, a GM will have access to is 15’-16’, 16’-17’, and 17’-18’ draft picks.
2.3 - Prospect draft:
The prospect draft will be held annually. The date of the draft will be announced by league officials. Picks CAN be traded during the prospect draft.
A 3-round Entry Level Draft will occur every pre-season after the NHL Entry Draft. This draft is for NHL Rookies that were eligible for the most recent NHL draft (including undrafted players). Players that were eligible for a previous year's NHL draft are considered free agents and are no longer eligible to be drafted.
Draft order for non-playoff teams will be in the reverse order of the final regular season fantasy hockey standings. Playoff teams will draft in the reverse order of their playoff results (teams eliminated the same week will follow the tiebreaker rules (see Section 1.8) based on their regular season finish).
Teams will be OTC (On The Clock) starting from the exact time the previous selection was made or skipped. The time to make a selection or trade the draft pick will be 30 minutes in round 1, 30 minutes in round 2, and 30 minutes in round 3.
(e.g. If the draft starts at 10am, Team A will draft sometime between 10:00-10:30am, if Team A drafts at 10:17am, Team B will be required to draft between 10:17-10:47am. - This will allow teams to only commit to a short period of time for the draft instead of sitting through an entire draft. (The Fantasy draft to start the league will not be this way, it will be conducted live.))
All NHL rookies not drafted during the rookie draft become Free Agents 72 hours after the conclusion of the draft.
2.3.1 - Skipped Draft Picks:
If a team misses their pick, they will be skipped and the next team will be "on the clock". Skipped teams may pick anytime and will not affect the current clock. If a team has a draft pick skipped, then any of their subsequent draft picks will be immediately skipped until the GM signs on again.
A team will not be skipped more than two selections during the first 2 rounds. The draft will be paused and the LEB (see section 1.9) will make the pick based on that team's needs. This ensures no franchise gets truly hurt by an owner that that is unavailable. After the 2nd round, the LEB will no longer make selections for skipped picks (except for available teams without GMs). Teams with skipped picks may still pick anytime up until 72 hours after the final pick of the draft. At that time all skipped picks will be forfeited.
2.3.2 - Prospect Contracts:
All prospects (from the draft) will be given Entry Level Contracts:
18-21: 3-year deal
22-23: 2-year deal
24+: 1-year deal
Round 1: $925,000
Round 2: $800,000
Round 3: $725,000
All other prospects and free agents can be offered regular contracts as described in section 1.4.
2.4 - Lottery Draft Picks
To ensure there is no "tanking" in this league, The IFHA will impose a Lottery Draft. Every team that does not make the playoffs will have a chance at the first overall pick. The likelihood-percentage for each team will be selected by the LEB after league inception.
2.5 - Minor league (farm team):
Each team will have access to a minor league team. These players will not count against your cap until they have lost their prospect status via 2.1. However, minor league teams have their own salary cap (see Section 1.3.2) The farm team has no maximum size.
3. Fines, penalties, and final rulings
LEB reserves the right to all final decisions.
3.1 - Salary penalties:
Any team that exceeds the salary cap will be subject to the following penalties as listed. The contract that lead to the cap violation will be considered null and void. LEB reserves the right to punishment leaguing up to removal from the league.
First offense – Warning
Second offence – $1,000,000 against cap
Third offence – $2,000,000 against cap
3.2 - Bidding Penalties:
Please see section 4 for rules regarding UFA/RFA bidding. Teams are expected to have the cap space and compensation available when bidding on all and any RFA/UFA. If this rule is violated penalties are stated in Section 3.3.
3.3 - General Penalties:
Penalties of all origin will be issued under the following list.
1st strike - warning
2nd strike - $1,000,000 against cap
3rd strike - $2,000,000
4th strike - $3,000,000 as well as a vote by LEB to kick GM out of league
5th strike - Automatic ban from league
Replacement GMs will not be punished.
3.4 - Retaining Salary in Trades:
Just like the NHL, you may retain salaries in a trade. However, there are rules to abide by.
- You may only retain salaries of up to 2 players per season.
- You may only retain half of the players current salary PER SEASON. If a player is getting paid $2 million, the max you can retain is $1m.
- All salary retention must be paid in 1 year. If you choose to retain $2 million dollars on a player for the next 3 seasons, your cap penalty will be $6 million for the current season.
- This is to ensure if a GM drops out of the league after a season, the new GM will not be forced to endure the faults of the last GM.
3.5 - Trades
When making a trade, one of the teams in the trade is required to open a new thread under "Trades" with the following format:
"Team A & Team B Trade:"
Each GM must give their reasoning for acquiring the assets they are, and the reasons for letting go the assets they are.
For Example
Team A Acquires:
S. Crosby $8,700,000 (19-20)
NYR 3rd Round Pick (15-16)
Team B Acquires:
A. Duclair $2,000,000 (17-18)
A. Ekblad $3,000,000 (17-18)
MON 1st Round Pick (15-16)
TOR 2nd Round Pick (16-17)
Team B is acquiring Duclair, Ekblad and two draft picks to help develop our young core for the future. We are a little tight on cap space so this deal helps relieve some of that as well. We are sad to let S. Crosby go, but he is hitting the peak of his career and the young players will be of more value in the future when we make a run for the cup.
Team A to confirm.
Team B will then confirm the trade and state his/her reasons for the trade as well.
Once Team B confirms, the LEB will then vote on the trade to either approve or disapprove the trade. Each LEB vote must give his/her reasons for either approving or disapproving. "Fair Value for both sides" is a good reason to approve a trade.
For a trade to be approved, a trade must receive >51% of the vote.
It is expected that most trades will be approved, but the role of the LEB is to ensure each GM is getting a fair value for their trade.
3.5.1 - Trade Restrictions
A GM....
Can Trade:
- Players
- Draft picks
- Prospects
- RFA rights
Cannot Trade:
- Salary or cash
- Extension rights
- Compliance Buyout
4. UFA/RFA and signings
4.1 - UFA:
A UFA is defined as a player who does not have a contract or his contract has expired and exceeds the age of 27. A date will be announced by the LEB when UFA bidding seasons is open. Any team can bid on a UFA.
4.2 - Signing a UFA:
The highest bidder will win the free agent. His salary bid will be the salary for the player. The maximum length for a contract is 4 years.
To quantitatively value a contract offer, a bidding structure will be set as follows:
- 1 point + 1 point per $1m (e.g. $2.3m = 3.3 points)
- A 0.5 multiplier for each additional year.
You must always win a bid by at least 0.2 points.
Example:
1 year @ $2,000,000 = 3 points
2 years @ $2,000,000 = 3 points + 3(.5) = 4.5 points
3 years @ $2,000,000 = 3 + 3(.5) + 1.5(.5) = 5.25 points
4 years @ $2,000,000 = 3 points + 3(.5) + 1.5(.5) + 0.75 (.5) = 5.625 points
Let's say Team A wants to offer free-agent Kris Russell a contract of $2,500,000 for 3 years.
Team A will make a post saying:
"Team A would like to offer Kris Russell a contract of $2,500,000 for 3 years = 6.125 pts
Time Stamp: 2:20pm"
If Team B would like to out-bid Team A, he/she must make an offer that results in a point total of at least 0.2 points higher than Team A.
Not Valid: "Team B would like to offer Kris Russell a contract of $2,600,000 for 3 years = 6.300 pts"
Valid: "Team B would like to offer Kris Russell a contract of $2,700,000 for 3 years = 6.475 pts
Please see the Bid Table Thread for further reference.
4.2.1 - Minimum wage
The minimum a GM may sign a player is $525,000.
4.2.2 - Winning a bid
A bid will be won once it has been the winning bid for 72 hours.
You do not have to have salary cap space available for a bid to be valid. However, you must have the appropriate cap space when the bid is won. No bid shall be allowed after trade deadline day.
*Hint*: It is acceptable to say "Team A would like to offer Player A a contract of $x for x years. If won, Player B will be waived to make the appropriate cap space room.
4.3 - RFA
A player will be counted as an RFA if he is 27 or younger before September 15th of the current year.
When signing a free-agent, if he is 27 or younger he automatically becomes an RFA and is subject to the prospect contract rules described in section 2.3.2.
During free-agency season, a player can be bid on as an RFA but the team who has the rights to the player has the choice of matching the highest offer.
4.3.1- Compensation for RFA's will be as follows:
$999,999 or less - no compensation
$1,110,250 - $1,499,999 - 3rd round draft pick in present season
$1,500,000 - $2,999,999 - 2nd round draft pick in present season
$3,000,000 - $4,999,999 - 1st and 3rd round draft picks in present season.
$5,000,000 - $6,499,999 - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round draft picks in present season.
$6,500,000 - $8,499,999 - two 1st's, a 2nd, and 3rd round draft picks in present season (except for one 1st, next season)
$8,500,000 or more - four 1st round draft picks (next 4 seasons)
These picks do not have to be the picks of the team making the offer sheet. They can be picks acquired through other trades.
Each team may elect to bid on 3 RFA's a year, and once they have bid if the lose it still will count as a # against the RFA's allowed to be bid on.
(e.g. Penguins offer Giroux 4 years @ 5 mil and then hawks out bid them. If the pens decide not to create a counter offer then they will only have 2 more RFA's which can be bid on even though they lost.)
If you are bidding on 2 or 3 RFA's in total you must ensure that you have the adequate picks to do so. If not you will forfeit the offer as well as get a penalty (see section 3.3 General Penalties).
A bid is won once it remains the highest bid for 72 hours. Once the bid is won, the GM who holds the RFA'S rights has 72 hours to either match the offer, or take the compensation. If there is no answer from the GM, he must take the compensation.
If a player is not bid on, then the GM of that team can come up with a number to extend that player for 1 season. If the player is still an RFA next season the GM will be able to redo the process again. The LEB will vote on the 1 year deal representing the player and determine if the value is fair. You will get 2 attempts to extend the player for the money of your choice. If the LEB feels it is not enough they will determine a value (Vote) which they deem fair and the GM will get the option of extending the player for the next season or not. If they elect not to then the player will enter free agency and can be bid on by any GM.
4.5 - Bidding On Minor League Players
Bidding on minor league players is the same as bidding on normal UFA and RFA players. However, they do not count towards your cap hit should they be placed in your minor league team. The only time they take up your national league cap is if you bring them up to your main roster. Please remember there is a salary cap for your minor league roster as well.
5. Contract Extensions
Each year your team has the option to extend 4 players from your team. This will allow you some assistance in keeping your core together.
You only get 4 per year, these do not carry over if you don't use all 4. You can only sign someone on an expiring contract.
There will be a contracts extension thread where you will post the Player and the team he plays for as well as position. Then write a little blog on what you are offering this player and why you are offering him that amount of money and term. Use comparisons from within the league based on the players position, if there aren't any you may use contracts from the NHL.
The LEB will then vote (5 votes are needed to approve/3 votes to deny), and if it is passed you will have extended your player. If you fail you will get two more attempts for that player. If you fail all 3 attempts you are able to attempt to re-sign another player on your team.
Max term on an extension is 5-years.
6. Buying Out Players
Teams will realize that juggling cap space is very difficult to do. In some instances you may make a bad choice on signing or drafting a player. You are able to buy out a player on your team however you get a penalty for doing so.
The penalty for buying out a player is half of the players salary as a cap hit for the remainder of said players contract.
(e.g. If Player A is paid $3m for the next 3 seasons, a team will be penalized $1.5m against the cap for the next 3 seasons if they wish to buy him out. Player A would then enter waivers where the team in last place could claim him, going up threw the waiver wire. Any team can claim him at his full salary, and the original team will still be penalized. If Player A does not get bid on during waivers (72 hours) he will enter Free agency in which he will then be able to be bid on by all teams (for any contract value).
6.1 Compliance Buy-Out
Each team is issued 1 compliance buy-out. This compliance buy-out can be used to buy-out any player, with no penalty. Compliance buy-outs do not replicate each season.
If you choose to buy-out any player. You lose the ability to bid on them for 365 days.
7. Waiver Priority
The teams in last place will have high waiver priority while the best teams will have a low waiver priority.
If your team elects to claim a player throughout the NHL season, you will move your team to the lowest waiver priority and will not be able to move up unless other teams make waiver pick-ups themselves.
8. Playoffs
The Playoffs will have the best 16 teams from around the league battle it out for the IFHA Cup.
The playoffs will be held the last 4 periods of the NHL regular season schedule and will be single elimination. If you lose, you are out.
9. Injured Reserve
- 2 injured reserve spots available.
- Players need to be on the NHL's injured reserve list to be capable to be in IFHA's injured reserve.
- Once a player is off of the NHL's injured reserve, GMs have 72 hours to move him back to their active roster.
- Injured reserve spots do not count towards the roster minimums (unless it keeps you at the minimum).
- Injured reserve players do not count towards your salary cap. However when you want to bring them back (which you have to when there off the IR of the NHL club) you have 72 hours to make that room (trade, waivers, whatever it takes). If you are over the cap, a General Penalty (see section 3.3) will apply.
This league is operated by Oilers GM (Julian). The League Executive Board (LEB) (See section 1.9) will act as a democratic governing board to authorize league changes.
The goal of this league:
To create a competitive, fair, and deep fantasy hockey league with very active and knowledgeable General Managers (GMs), that replicates the NHL to the best of its abilities.
1.1 - League specifics
Managers will be responsible for the upkeep of both their major league team and their minor league team. The league will consist of 24 teams. Each team will have a maximum roster size of 23 players (19 minimum) plus an additional minor league team with no max roster (see section 1.3 for salary cap)
4C
4LW
4RW
6D
1G
4 Bench (max 1 goalie on the bench)
League will be hosted on Fantrax (http://www.fantrax.com), and will run head-to-head on a week to week basis. Not daily changes. Once a roster has been submitted, it is locked until the following week/period begins.
1.2 - Scoring
Skaters:
Goals - 3 points
Assists - 2 points
Power Play Points - 1 point
Short Handed Points - 1 points
Game Winning Goal - 1 Point
Plus/Minus - 0.5 point
Blocked Shot - 0.25 points
Hit - 0.25 points
Faceoff Win (Centre position only) - 0.2 points
Faceoff Loss (Centre position only) - -0.2 points
Goalies:
Win - 1 points
Shutout - 2 points
Saves - 0.2 points
Goals Against - -1 point
1.3 - Salary Cap
Each team has a major league salary cap, and a minor league salary cap. GMs are responsible for staying under the cap for both rosters (main roster & farm team).
1.3.1 - Major League Salary Cap
The salary cap is set according to the NHL Salary Cap:
$71.4 million with a base salary of $52.8 million.
1.3.2 - Minor League Salary Cap
The minor league salary cap will be set at:
$10 million with no base salary.
Minor league players will not count toward the major league salary cap as long as they are on the farm team (minor league).
1.4 - Contracts
Contracts from league inception have a 2019/20 expiration date if the player is signed for longer. Players with contracts from league inception should replicate the contracts found here: www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/.
(e.g. if you draft Crosby, you are to pay him $8.7m until 19-20, even though he is signed by the Penguins for longer)
The Minimum contract any free-agent can be given is $525,000.
Please see Section 4 for rules and instructions on how to issue contracts.
1.5 - Code of ethics
This is simple. Treat everyone with respect. Things can get heated, that’s a given, but this is fantasy hockey, opinions differ, and it’s not meant to be taken personally. If anyone is having a personal problem with another GM, it is strongly suggested that you contact your admin and the issues we be resolved as swiftly as possible. Judging on the wide range of issues that could fall under ethics, each issue will be taken on a case by case bases and decisions by the LEB will be made accordingly.
1.6 - Activity
All members are expected to check the ProBoard website once every 72 hours. As long as you check the boards once every 72 hours, you will never miss a signing/trade/rule change/etc.
1.7 - Starting the League
Before the fantasy draft, each GM will choose 1 player to be their team captain. Any player currently in the NHL or eligible for the 2015 NHL draft may be selected as team captain. This is a first-come first-serve basis.
GMs will then choose an NHL hockey club to represent their team (mostly just for team name + logo). This can be any team in the NHL, past or present.
1.7.1 - Fantasy Draft
The fantasy draft will be held sometime in the off-season (will be announced far in advance). This will be an offline 19 round draft in which you will have 2 hours to pick. (Please prepare a pre-ranking for yourself). Trades can be made during the draft.
Each team will pick in the reverse-order that they selected their captain. For example Oilers GM chose his captain first, so he will draft last in the fantasy draft. Each round draft order will be snaked based on the reverse-order of the last round. For example if the league has 24 teams, Oilers GM will pick #24th and #25th, then again at #72nd.
1.8 - Tie-Breaker
All tie-breakers (Playoff seed position/draft order) will be decided as follows:
1. Overall Record
2. Head-to-Head Record (2 teams only)
3. Overall Points For
4. Overall Points Against
1.9 - League Executive Board (LEB)
The LEB will be the most important aspect of the league. The LEB is responsible for the general upkeep of the league including, but not limited to, rule changes, trades and GM penalties. The LEB is here to ensure we have a fair league and that all league changes and trades are fair.
The LEB will consist of GMs who have proven two things:
- Strong knowledge of hockey and NHL trades
- Ability to not lobby rule changes to benefit their team (i.e. No suggesting rule change for higher salary cap just because your team is at cap capacity)
The LEB's primary job will be approve/disapprove trades based on realistic circumstances.
If Team A tries to trade Sidney Crosby for Morgan Rielly, the LEB will be responsible to step-in and disapprove the trade. This is to ensure a fair and competitive league, as well as not throwing any future replacement GMs under-the-bus.
When making trades, teams are required to give their reasoning for the trade (see Section 3.5).
Realistic reasons include (but are not limited to):
- Cap Space
- Player value
- Push for the playoffs/cup
Unrealistic reasons include (but are not limited to):
- Personal dislike
- Player's hometown
2. Minors (Prospects), drafts, draft picks, and farm teams
2.1 - Minors (Prospects)
A prospect is defined as a player who has been drafted via the prospect draft or has played fewer than 82 NHL games. Playoff games do not count.
2.1.1: Minor Eligibility
In the case that a player is on a team's farm team and passes his 82 NHL game mark, that team is not required to call up the prospect until the off-season. (e.g. Ekblad has 81 games played. If a team drafts him and places him in the minors, that team can keep him in the minors until next season. (By this time Ekblad will have passed his 82 game mark and will then be required to call up)
2.2 - Draft Picks.
Each team will be awarded three draft picks each season. Draft picks can be traded. Also, draft picks can be traded from up to three seasons in advance. For example, following this year’s draft, a GM will have access to is 15’-16’, 16’-17’, and 17’-18’ draft picks.
2.3 - Prospect draft:
The prospect draft will be held annually. The date of the draft will be announced by league officials. Picks CAN be traded during the prospect draft.
A 3-round Entry Level Draft will occur every pre-season after the NHL Entry Draft. This draft is for NHL Rookies that were eligible for the most recent NHL draft (including undrafted players). Players that were eligible for a previous year's NHL draft are considered free agents and are no longer eligible to be drafted.
Draft order for non-playoff teams will be in the reverse order of the final regular season fantasy hockey standings. Playoff teams will draft in the reverse order of their playoff results (teams eliminated the same week will follow the tiebreaker rules (see Section 1.8) based on their regular season finish).
Teams will be OTC (On The Clock) starting from the exact time the previous selection was made or skipped. The time to make a selection or trade the draft pick will be 30 minutes in round 1, 30 minutes in round 2, and 30 minutes in round 3.
(e.g. If the draft starts at 10am, Team A will draft sometime between 10:00-10:30am, if Team A drafts at 10:17am, Team B will be required to draft between 10:17-10:47am. - This will allow teams to only commit to a short period of time for the draft instead of sitting through an entire draft. (The Fantasy draft to start the league will not be this way, it will be conducted live.))
All NHL rookies not drafted during the rookie draft become Free Agents 72 hours after the conclusion of the draft.
2.3.1 - Skipped Draft Picks:
If a team misses their pick, they will be skipped and the next team will be "on the clock". Skipped teams may pick anytime and will not affect the current clock. If a team has a draft pick skipped, then any of their subsequent draft picks will be immediately skipped until the GM signs on again.
A team will not be skipped more than two selections during the first 2 rounds. The draft will be paused and the LEB (see section 1.9) will make the pick based on that team's needs. This ensures no franchise gets truly hurt by an owner that that is unavailable. After the 2nd round, the LEB will no longer make selections for skipped picks (except for available teams without GMs). Teams with skipped picks may still pick anytime up until 72 hours after the final pick of the draft. At that time all skipped picks will be forfeited.
2.3.2 - Prospect Contracts:
All prospects (from the draft) will be given Entry Level Contracts:
18-21: 3-year deal
22-23: 2-year deal
24+: 1-year deal
Round 1: $925,000
Round 2: $800,000
Round 3: $725,000
All other prospects and free agents can be offered regular contracts as described in section 1.4.
2.4 - Lottery Draft Picks
To ensure there is no "tanking" in this league, The IFHA will impose a Lottery Draft. Every team that does not make the playoffs will have a chance at the first overall pick. The likelihood-percentage for each team will be selected by the LEB after league inception.
2.5 - Minor league (farm team):
Each team will have access to a minor league team. These players will not count against your cap until they have lost their prospect status via 2.1. However, minor league teams have their own salary cap (see Section 1.3.2) The farm team has no maximum size.
3. Fines, penalties, and final rulings
LEB reserves the right to all final decisions.
3.1 - Salary penalties:
Any team that exceeds the salary cap will be subject to the following penalties as listed. The contract that lead to the cap violation will be considered null and void. LEB reserves the right to punishment leaguing up to removal from the league.
First offense – Warning
Second offence – $1,000,000 against cap
Third offence – $2,000,000 against cap
3.2 - Bidding Penalties:
Please see section 4 for rules regarding UFA/RFA bidding. Teams are expected to have the cap space and compensation available when bidding on all and any RFA/UFA. If this rule is violated penalties are stated in Section 3.3.
3.3 - General Penalties:
Penalties of all origin will be issued under the following list.
1st strike - warning
2nd strike - $1,000,000 against cap
3rd strike - $2,000,000
4th strike - $3,000,000 as well as a vote by LEB to kick GM out of league
5th strike - Automatic ban from league
Replacement GMs will not be punished.
3.4 - Retaining Salary in Trades:
Just like the NHL, you may retain salaries in a trade. However, there are rules to abide by.
- You may only retain salaries of up to 2 players per season.
- You may only retain half of the players current salary PER SEASON. If a player is getting paid $2 million, the max you can retain is $1m.
- All salary retention must be paid in 1 year. If you choose to retain $2 million dollars on a player for the next 3 seasons, your cap penalty will be $6 million for the current season.
- This is to ensure if a GM drops out of the league after a season, the new GM will not be forced to endure the faults of the last GM.
3.5 - Trades
When making a trade, one of the teams in the trade is required to open a new thread under "Trades" with the following format:
"Team A & Team B Trade:"
Each GM must give their reasoning for acquiring the assets they are, and the reasons for letting go the assets they are.
For Example
Team A Acquires:
S. Crosby $8,700,000 (19-20)
NYR 3rd Round Pick (15-16)
Team B Acquires:
A. Duclair $2,000,000 (17-18)
A. Ekblad $3,000,000 (17-18)
MON 1st Round Pick (15-16)
TOR 2nd Round Pick (16-17)
Team B is acquiring Duclair, Ekblad and two draft picks to help develop our young core for the future. We are a little tight on cap space so this deal helps relieve some of that as well. We are sad to let S. Crosby go, but he is hitting the peak of his career and the young players will be of more value in the future when we make a run for the cup.
Team A to confirm.
Team B will then confirm the trade and state his/her reasons for the trade as well.
Once Team B confirms, the LEB will then vote on the trade to either approve or disapprove the trade. Each LEB vote must give his/her reasons for either approving or disapproving. "Fair Value for both sides" is a good reason to approve a trade.
For a trade to be approved, a trade must receive >51% of the vote.
It is expected that most trades will be approved, but the role of the LEB is to ensure each GM is getting a fair value for their trade.
3.5.1 - Trade Restrictions
A GM....
Can Trade:
- Players
- Draft picks
- Prospects
- RFA rights
Cannot Trade:
- Salary or cash
- Extension rights
- Compliance Buyout
4. UFA/RFA and signings
4.1 - UFA:
A UFA is defined as a player who does not have a contract or his contract has expired and exceeds the age of 27. A date will be announced by the LEB when UFA bidding seasons is open. Any team can bid on a UFA.
4.2 - Signing a UFA:
The highest bidder will win the free agent. His salary bid will be the salary for the player. The maximum length for a contract is 4 years.
To quantitatively value a contract offer, a bidding structure will be set as follows:
- 1 point + 1 point per $1m (e.g. $2.3m = 3.3 points)
- A 0.5 multiplier for each additional year.
You must always win a bid by at least 0.2 points.
Example:
1 year @ $2,000,000 = 3 points
2 years @ $2,000,000 = 3 points + 3(.5) = 4.5 points
3 years @ $2,000,000 = 3 + 3(.5) + 1.5(.5) = 5.25 points
4 years @ $2,000,000 = 3 points + 3(.5) + 1.5(.5) + 0.75 (.5) = 5.625 points
Let's say Team A wants to offer free-agent Kris Russell a contract of $2,500,000 for 3 years.
Team A will make a post saying:
"Team A would like to offer Kris Russell a contract of $2,500,000 for 3 years = 6.125 pts
Time Stamp: 2:20pm"
If Team B would like to out-bid Team A, he/she must make an offer that results in a point total of at least 0.2 points higher than Team A.
Not Valid: "Team B would like to offer Kris Russell a contract of $2,600,000 for 3 years = 6.300 pts"
Valid: "Team B would like to offer Kris Russell a contract of $2,700,000 for 3 years = 6.475 pts
Please see the Bid Table Thread for further reference.
4.2.1 - Minimum wage
The minimum a GM may sign a player is $525,000.
4.2.2 - Winning a bid
A bid will be won once it has been the winning bid for 72 hours.
You do not have to have salary cap space available for a bid to be valid. However, you must have the appropriate cap space when the bid is won. No bid shall be allowed after trade deadline day.
*Hint*: It is acceptable to say "Team A would like to offer Player A a contract of $x for x years. If won, Player B will be waived to make the appropriate cap space room.
4.3 - RFA
A player will be counted as an RFA if he is 27 or younger before September 15th of the current year.
When signing a free-agent, if he is 27 or younger he automatically becomes an RFA and is subject to the prospect contract rules described in section 2.3.2.
During free-agency season, a player can be bid on as an RFA but the team who has the rights to the player has the choice of matching the highest offer.
4.3.1- Compensation for RFA's will be as follows:
$999,999 or less - no compensation
$1,110,250 - $1,499,999 - 3rd round draft pick in present season
$1,500,000 - $2,999,999 - 2nd round draft pick in present season
$3,000,000 - $4,999,999 - 1st and 3rd round draft picks in present season.
$5,000,000 - $6,499,999 - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round draft picks in present season.
$6,500,000 - $8,499,999 - two 1st's, a 2nd, and 3rd round draft picks in present season (except for one 1st, next season)
$8,500,000 or more - four 1st round draft picks (next 4 seasons)
These picks do not have to be the picks of the team making the offer sheet. They can be picks acquired through other trades.
Each team may elect to bid on 3 RFA's a year, and once they have bid if the lose it still will count as a # against the RFA's allowed to be bid on.
(e.g. Penguins offer Giroux 4 years @ 5 mil and then hawks out bid them. If the pens decide not to create a counter offer then they will only have 2 more RFA's which can be bid on even though they lost.)
If you are bidding on 2 or 3 RFA's in total you must ensure that you have the adequate picks to do so. If not you will forfeit the offer as well as get a penalty (see section 3.3 General Penalties).
A bid is won once it remains the highest bid for 72 hours. Once the bid is won, the GM who holds the RFA'S rights has 72 hours to either match the offer, or take the compensation. If there is no answer from the GM, he must take the compensation.
If a player is not bid on, then the GM of that team can come up with a number to extend that player for 1 season. If the player is still an RFA next season the GM will be able to redo the process again. The LEB will vote on the 1 year deal representing the player and determine if the value is fair. You will get 2 attempts to extend the player for the money of your choice. If the LEB feels it is not enough they will determine a value (Vote) which they deem fair and the GM will get the option of extending the player for the next season or not. If they elect not to then the player will enter free agency and can be bid on by any GM.
4.5 - Bidding On Minor League Players
Bidding on minor league players is the same as bidding on normal UFA and RFA players. However, they do not count towards your cap hit should they be placed in your minor league team. The only time they take up your national league cap is if you bring them up to your main roster. Please remember there is a salary cap for your minor league roster as well.
5. Contract Extensions
Each year your team has the option to extend 4 players from your team. This will allow you some assistance in keeping your core together.
You only get 4 per year, these do not carry over if you don't use all 4. You can only sign someone on an expiring contract.
There will be a contracts extension thread where you will post the Player and the team he plays for as well as position. Then write a little blog on what you are offering this player and why you are offering him that amount of money and term. Use comparisons from within the league based on the players position, if there aren't any you may use contracts from the NHL.
The LEB will then vote (5 votes are needed to approve/3 votes to deny), and if it is passed you will have extended your player. If you fail you will get two more attempts for that player. If you fail all 3 attempts you are able to attempt to re-sign another player on your team.
Max term on an extension is 5-years.
6. Buying Out Players
Teams will realize that juggling cap space is very difficult to do. In some instances you may make a bad choice on signing or drafting a player. You are able to buy out a player on your team however you get a penalty for doing so.
The penalty for buying out a player is half of the players salary as a cap hit for the remainder of said players contract.
(e.g. If Player A is paid $3m for the next 3 seasons, a team will be penalized $1.5m against the cap for the next 3 seasons if they wish to buy him out. Player A would then enter waivers where the team in last place could claim him, going up threw the waiver wire. Any team can claim him at his full salary, and the original team will still be penalized. If Player A does not get bid on during waivers (72 hours) he will enter Free agency in which he will then be able to be bid on by all teams (for any contract value).
6.1 Compliance Buy-Out
Each team is issued 1 compliance buy-out. This compliance buy-out can be used to buy-out any player, with no penalty. Compliance buy-outs do not replicate each season.
If you choose to buy-out any player. You lose the ability to bid on them for 365 days.
7. Waiver Priority
The teams in last place will have high waiver priority while the best teams will have a low waiver priority.
If your team elects to claim a player throughout the NHL season, you will move your team to the lowest waiver priority and will not be able to move up unless other teams make waiver pick-ups themselves.
8. Playoffs
The Playoffs will have the best 16 teams from around the league battle it out for the IFHA Cup.
The playoffs will be held the last 4 periods of the NHL regular season schedule and will be single elimination. If you lose, you are out.
9. Injured Reserve
- 2 injured reserve spots available.
- Players need to be on the NHL's injured reserve list to be capable to be in IFHA's injured reserve.
- Once a player is off of the NHL's injured reserve, GMs have 72 hours to move him back to their active roster.
- Injured reserve spots do not count towards the roster minimums (unless it keeps you at the minimum).
- Injured reserve players do not count towards your salary cap. However when you want to bring them back (which you have to when there off the IR of the NHL club) you have 72 hours to make that room (trade, waivers, whatever it takes). If you are over the cap, a General Penalty (see section 3.3) will apply.