Rock'em Sock'em Hockey League Rules

Index

1. RSHL Welcome 2. Definition of Terms 3. Code of Conduct 4. Game Play 5. Finances

6. Line/Line Changes     7. Trading 8. Waivers 9. Playoffs 10. Awards 11. Free Agency

12. Rookies 13. Coaches 14. Dispute Resolution 15. All Star Game 16. Strikezone 17. Player Eligibility

18. Position Eligibility 19. Drafts 20. Player Ratings 21. Team Scoring 22. Newsletter 23. Player Contracts

1. RSHL Welcome

I would like to welcome you to the Rock'em Sock'em Hockey League, RSHL. This league was created by experienced GM's to simulate a realistic hockey league that everyone can enjoy. If there is some point not covered in these rules, please bring it to someone's attention, if there are points you feel to be ambiguous or unclear, contact me.

League Commissioner         

Back to top   

2. Definition of Terms

• Franchise – corresponds to a RSHL team.
• Owners – consists of the GM, coach and all others associated with a franchise.
• GM – person responsible for roster changes of a franchise. Note: only this person's confirmation will be accepted for trades and other managerial duties.
• Coach – person responsible for the construction of team lines/goalies.
• Pro Team – these are the players with which a coach can use to form an active roster. There is a maximum limit of 25 players including injured players. Injured players from the pro team cannot be moved to the farm team.
• Farm Team – these players can not be used by a coach, unless first promoted to pro roster by GM.
• Active Roster – the 20 (18 players and 2 goalies) players who will play in a game.
• Lines – there are 18 line combinations that need to be constructed by the franchise coach. There are 3 sets for each of the following categories:
  • 5 on 5
  • 4 on 4
  • 5 on 4
  • 5 on 3
  • 4 on 5
  • 3 on 5
• Message Board – the league has a message board setup that EVERY GM is required to register for.

Back to top   

3. Code of Conduct

Every GM is required to provide to the league and fellow GM's a minimum of one Instant Messaging ID, either ICQ or MSN Messenger. It is in YOUR best interest to offer GM's more opportunity to contact you, providing both would be recommended. In addition, all GM's will be required to register an account on the League message board.

Each franchise GM is expected to respond to ALL trade inquiries as soon as possible.

Except where other matters make it simply impossible, each owner is required to respond to official business.

Each owner must inform the league of any change of address or of any significant absences to avoid your league membership from being revoked.

Every franchise owner is expected to manage his team professionally and in particular to promote the long term well-being of his team and the RSHL league.

Every GM is to respect the views of others and participate in the league to the best of his/her ability.

The league management reserves the right to remove any GM it deems nessacary for the betterment of the league.

Any owner verbally abusing any member receive 1 warning prior to being removed.

Back to top   

4. Game Play

RSHL uses FHL Software (version 1.5.3) to simulate all games.

The franchise GM is responsible for conducting the roster movement business of their franchise. This involves negotiating trades, moving players between the pro team and the farm team, and conducting drafts.
*They are also responsible for the finances of the team.

Any team that is deemed to be 'throwing games' will face the possibility of immediate dismissal from the RSHL. This is to prevent teams from forfeiting games in hopes of moving in the draft order. Teams must play lines with the full intent of winning every game they play. Anyone not confirming to this will be brought up for disipline in front of the BoG.

The franchise coach is responsible for determining a team's active roster and for sending in lines and goalie rotations to the commissioner.

The waiver rule will be implemented. Please refer to Section G regarding the constraints involved.

If an injury should occur, the coach will be responsible for sending in new lineups to accommodate the injury. If no update is submitted before game time, the commissioner will allow the FHL program to determine what it feels to be the best line combination.

Tie Breaking Procedure
If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, the standing of the clubs is determined in the following order:

1. *The fewer number of games played *(i.e., superior points percentage)
2. The greater number of games won
3. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs
   If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any "odd" games, shall be used to determine the standing.
4. The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season

Back to top   

5. Finances   
(Correcting the Luxury Tax, different in 2 locations)

Stadiums

Each team received $45 million at the beginning of season 1. With this money the team must buy a stadium and pay it's first year salaries. Bear in mind, that as teams play home games, each team receives the ticket money that can be used towards salaries. The amount of money received for home games is determined by the the ticket price (set by the GM) as well the number of tickets sold.

There will be 4 different stadiums a team can buy.

Stadium Prices

• 23,000 capacity = $35,000,000.00 (To buy)
• 18,000 capacity = $21,000,000.00
• 13,000 capacity = $13,000,000.00
•   9,000 capacity =  $8,000,000.00

Maintenance
The maintenance on arena's will be a flat annual fee based upon the seating capacity of the arena as follows:

• 23,000 base seat costs $215,000 / season
• 18,000 base seat costs $165,000 / season
• 13,000 base seat costs $132,000 / season
•   9,000 base seat costs $105,000 / season

The maintenance fees will include all repairs, cleaning staff, security, as well insurance policies which every arena require. All costs for the previous season is withdrawn prior to the Free Agency period.

Increasing Stadium capacity
The GM may request stadium changes (Added seats) at any time, but any changes may only be implemented during the off-season. The Commissioner will quote the cost of the changes to the GM according to the matrix below, and the GM must take a decision in the timeframe given by the Commissioner whether or not to add the seats. If the decision is taken too late the changes will not be finished in time, and cannot be done until next off-season. The amount to be paid is reduced from the teams account directly after the decision is taken

If a new arena have to be built, it will be constructed in parallel with the season following the decision, and will be available at the start of the new season.
(Ex Toronto wants to upgrade its stadium seating capacity at Air Canada Center from 13,500 (already have had seats added) to 18,000. This cannot be done without building a new arena. The decision is taken during the current (example Season 2) season. The old arena will be used during the following (example Season 3) season, and the new arena will available for the start of the next following season(example Season 4))

Please note that the controlling factor is the increase as a percentage of the original capacity, see example below

Capacity Increase Cost
The matrix below is used to decide the cost for added capacity. No arena may be expanded more than 10% each year, and the maximum potential is 15% compared to the original capacity. No expansion beyond that is possible without building a new arena.

Please note that increases must be rounded to the nearest 100.

New Arenas
The money to maintain your stadium and to determine your following years budget will depend on your year performance.

Ticket Prices

Before the start of the regular season, all GM's should set their ticket price by e-mailing the Commissioner The GM's will then have the opportunity to change the price approximately at every 20th game, or 4 times during regular season. Each change has to be in the range of +/- $5. The last is to avoid to sudden changes in any direction. A GM may file a request to change the price outside of the +/- $5 range, but must explain the reasons for the request. If a team changes GM, the new GM may set a new ticket price without being limited by the old GM's price.

Before the Playoffs, each GM in the Playoffs will have the opportunity to set their ticket price for the Playoffs. The +/- $5 applies to this change as well. The Commissioner has the responsibility to maintain a balance of the ticket prices in The League, and may regulate ticket prices at any time, but must of course give GM's advance notice before doing any changes

Salary Cap

Each team MUST maintain a 45 million dollar (Pro payroll only) salary cap during the regular season and the post-season (playoffs). There is no salary cap restriction in place during the off-season or the pre-season (exhibition schedule). Any team exceeding the salary cap during either the regular season or the post-season (playoffs) will be assessed a luxury tax in the amount 35% of the amount above $45 million... example Pro Payroll $48,500,000 (3.5M * 35%) Tax = $1,225,000. This luxury tax will be assessed each day that the Salary Cap has been violated. If after 3 successive days the cap is still in violation, the player on the roster with the closest salary over the difference of the cap will be assigned to the farm team regardless of waiver status, as well a strike will be assessed.

Team Bankruptcy

If a teams Current Funds, as presented on the Finances Page, drops below zero for an extended period of time, the GM of the team will be required to take action. If this action is not sufficient, and the Current Funds is still below zero at the end of the season, the team may be declared bankrupt by the Commissioner. Following this decision, one of the following occurs:

1. The Board of Directors can inject more money into the team. This is based on what the GM's plan to turn the financial situation around is. The amount of money is not likely to be very large, so the release or fast trading of expensive star players will probably be required, or even requested by the Board.
2. The RSHL may grant a loan according to the same rules as for building new arenas. The maximum amount that may be loaned is $10,000,000 per season, and the ability to loan money depends heavily on the GM´s plan to turn the finances around.
3. The RSHL might remove the GM from the league and replace them with an new applicant.

If a team is being threatened by bankruptcy due to inactivity by the GM, the GM will loose the team, and the commissioner will take responsibility for the team until a new GM can be appointed

Bonuses

There will be money awarded for playoff performance as well, the breakdown is as follows.

• Stanley Cup Winners = $ 2,000,000
• Runner up = $ 1.000,000
• Conference Finalist = $ 500,000
• Division Finalist = $ 250,000
• Playoff Berth= $ 100,000

Press Releases
Writing Press Releases, and posting them on the RSHL Message Board, News Releases. Each Press Release will earn the team $50,000, up to the maximum revenue/season $1,000,000. In order to be eligible for the payments this requires to have substance to the release, and not merely a few sentences. The Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer have the right to decide if the release is insufficient, the writer will have an opportunity to correct his work and resubmit in order to receive the cash award.

Each Press Release will earn the team $50,000, the maximum revenue per season is $1,000,000

Prospect News
This section of the rules has been added at the end of Season 3, in an attempt to drive up activity for the RSHL Futures website. Now any prospect related Press Release can earn you additional money each season. This type of press release MUST involve at least 1 player listed on your prospect team page. Seeing as this may be more difficult than regular every day events, each of these press releases will earn you more money, each post will be worth $75,000, up to a maximum per season of $750,000. In addition any team reaching the max with quality posts, will receive a $750,000 bonus bringing the total earned to $1,500,000.

Each Press Release will earn the team $75,000, up to a maximum of $750,000, reaching this level will earn a bonus of $750,000 bringing the total to $1,500,000.

News and Analysis
The difference between this and the Press Releases, is that this activity spans multiple teams and is more objective in the sense an analysis is not done just for the own team, but may be for a division, conference or the whole league. Examples are ratings of the teams in the league, analysis of the teams prospects, their finances or PP results during the season. If unclear please verify with the Commissioner, your ideas validity, prior to writing the article. It is OK to post it on the team site, or submit it to the commissioner for publishing. In order to be eligible for the payments this requires to have substance to the news article or analysis, and not merely a few sentences. The Commissioner has the right to decide if the release is insufficient, the writer will have an opportunity to correct his work and resubmit in order to receive the cash award.

Each Newsarticle or Analysis will earn the team $100,000, the maximum revenue per season is $3,000,000

Back to top   

6. Line/Line Changes   
(Teams are no longer allowed to email lines, everything must be handled via the website)

Your team lines can be updated in 1 of 2 ways.

1. GM Editor installed on a Windows based PC
2. RSHL's Online GM Editor

Even if you opt to use the PC based GMEditor, you'll need to upload you teamname.lns file to the server via the Online GMEditor, which can be found in your teams Intranet. If a GM has not provided valid lines before games are simmed or if the files are corrupt or causing an error within the simulator the Commissioner has the right to use Auto Lines.

You may use a player out of position* at any strength (Even, PP, PK), so long as you have the minimum number of each position dressed:

*Using a player out of position can cause their attributes to slightly decrease for that shift.

Back to top   

7. Trading

Trades may involve players, draft picks and money. Teams have a duty to provide all information necessary to a GM to analyze a trade. This includes the injury status of all players involved. However, once a trade is finalized, it is assumed that all GMs have full knowledge of the status of the traded players.

Once the deal is confirmed BOTH parties MUST submit to the league within 24hrs (of each other) otherwise the first submission will be considered as NULL and VOID.

Trades are submitted to the league by using the Trade Form located on the left hand navigation menu. Both parties are required to submit this step in order to have the deal considered. Once the deal has been submitted it will be considered official and no changes will be accepted.

Once a GM submits a trade confirmation, line/roster changes will be required.

The League Commissioner reserves the right to veto any trade if, in the belief of the commissioner, the trades violate the spirit of competition and goodwill of the league.

Current season draft picks are the ONLY picks to be used in any trade or any other form of transaction.

The Deadline for incoming trades is set at 80% of the Regular Season. The actual date will be set by the Sim and shown in the Schedule for each season. Once the deadline has passed no further trades will be accepted until trading reopens again. The GM's however, are free to negotiate trades with other GM's. Each negotiation is handled as usual, but the trades are not finalized, but rather put on hold until trading reopens.

Once a player leaves a team they may not be returned during the same season, this includes trades & waivers (exluding the waiver draft). Teams attempting to regain a player will be fined $1,000,000 and strike(s) will be awarded, in addition the player(s) in question will be deemed ineligibile for the remainder of regular season (if found after the deal is finalized). The purpose of this rule is to ensure GM's are thinking about their team's future, and not just making trades then regretting it.

Back to top   

8. Waivers

Any player 20 or younger may be sent up and down from pro to minors as the general manager sees fit without having to clear waivers. All 21 and older must clear waivers if they have played 18 or more games that season. The Waiver Rules apply regardless of contract, which mean you cannot sign a player to a contract that allows him to be sent back and forth. The waiver rules apply to all players at all times during Regular Season.

Once a player is placed on waivers, there is a '36hr' window in which teams can put in a claim on that player. If more than one team places a claim, the team with the higher priority on the Waiver Priority List (based on lower number of points in the previous season) is awarded the player at the end of the timeframe, during the first 24 hrs the team that has placed the player on waivers can supercede all claims and 'reclaim' the player by bringing them back up to the pro team. If no team places a claim, the player remains property of the original team. A player that has been claimed off waivers must be put on the Pro Team of the signing team, otherwise he must clear waivers again. This is the GM's responsibility, and the Commissioner will place players on waivers as the Sim calculates. The team that claim a player off waivers must pay $50,000 to the team losing the player as compensation. The Claimed player cannot be traded to the team from which he was claimed until after the current season is over.

Please note that players must clear waivers, and can be claimed off waivers also after the trade deadline

Priority List
The Priority list for waiver claims is initially based on last season Regular Points, meaning the team with the fewest points has the highest priority, and the team with the highest point has the lowest priority. When a team has claimed a player off waivers, they will be moved to the last spot of the list, which mean they have lowest priority at the next claim.

Two Way Contracts
When a player has played 40 games or more during Regular Season, automatically gets a Two Way Contract. The Two Way Contract does not mean the player doesn´t have to clear waivers when sent to the Farm. Instead it means the player must clear waivers, and gets the Pro Salary when he is playing in the Farm Team

Playoff and Waivers
Waivers do not apply during Playoffs, which mean players can be moved up and down as the GM sees fit without having to clear waivers regardless of age, contract or games played

Priority List
The Priority list for waiver claims is initially based on Last Regular Season Points, meaning the team with the fewest points has the highest priority, and the team with the highest point has the lowest priority. When a team has claimed a player off waivers, they will be moved to the last spot of the list, which mean they have lowest priority at the next claim

Expansion Teams automatically have highest priority when the season starts. If there are more than one Expansion Team, the order of those teams will be random

Back to top   

9. Playoffs

The top 8 teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.

Every playoff series is a best of seven game series.

The first place team in the division will host the eighth place team. The second place team will host the seventh place team, etc. The winners will then play for the Division Championship, etc.

Back to top   

10. Awards

The following trophies will be awarded based on voting by each RSHL participant

• Hart Trophy (League MVP)
• Lady Byng Trophy (Sportsmanship)
• Jack Adams (Top Coach)
• Executive Trophy (Top GM)
• Frank J. Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward)
• Calder Trophy (Top Rookie)

The Commissioner selects a number of candidates among the players, and the GM's vote for the player they regard as the best candidate for each award. A GM is not allowed to vote for a player on his teams roster at the end of the regular season, or for a player that has played more than 25^% of his games for the season on the GM's
team. If the voting result in a draw, the Commissioner has the final vote.

The following trophies are awarded based on season stats

• Art Ross Trophy (Most Points in a Season)
• Maurice Richard Trophy (Most goals in regular season)
• William Jennings Trophy (Lowest Goals Against)
• Presidents Trophy (Most Points in a Season by a Team)
• Clarence S. Campbell Bowl (Western Conference Champions)
• Prince of Wales Trophy (Eastern Conference Champions)
• Norris Trophy (Top Defenseman)
• Vezina Trophy (Top Goaltender)
• Player of the Week (POW) Winning team receive $10,000
• Player of the Month (POW) Winning team receive $25,000

The following trophy is awarded by the RSHL Awards commitee:

• All Star MVP
• Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP)

$200,000 will be awarded to the team whose player or GM wins any of these listed awards. Except for POW whose team will receive $10,000 & POM whose team will receive $25,000.

Back to top   

11. Free Agency   
(Adding the sophomore contract spreadsheet)

There are two types of free agents in the RSHL.

Restricted free agents (RFA) are players whose contract expires at the end of the current season, and are 29 years old, or younger. The teams they are on have the right to match any offer given to them, or they have the right to receive compensation.

Unrestricted free agents (UFA) are players 30 (anyone turning 30 before July 1^st of the current season) and over whose contracts expire at the end of the current season. The team they are on has no right to compensation from the team signing them. Any team losing a UFA will be compensated by RSHL.

RSHL Free Agency is comprised of 2 main phases, Contract Extension & Bidding.

Contract Extension:
In the case of both restricted and unrestricted free agents, there will be a period where teams may re-sign players and avoid the free agent process. Each team will be allowed to offer contract extensions up to 3 of their free agents. Each free agents' contract will be determined based upon their overall rating & the length of offered contract. View the calculations for the pre-sign amounts. Any player who has a salary of $0 listed on the players vitals page will take their NHL counterparts current salary to determine pre-sign calculations.

*Any RFA not being offered a contract extension must be given a qualifying offer in order to maintain their restricted status. Any player receiving a qualifying offer will still be eligible to be bid on by any other team during the bidding phase, with the owning team still owning the right to match the highest offer. Any RFA not receiving a qualifying offer will be given Unrestricted status and will enter the bidding phase as such.

Qualifying offer:

• 1 year: 65% of last salary
• 2 years: 75% of last salary
• 3 years: 90% of last salary
• 4 years: 100% of last salary

Sophomore Contracts:
During contract extension phase, any players who are finishing on their Rookie contract (first contract signed within the league), they will next move into a Sophomore Contract. These have been specifically calculated to try to balance the early contracts into realistic terms. You can find the full set of calcuations by downloading this spreadsheet.

Bidding:
There will be 3 rounds of bidding. Each team will present a list of the free agents they wish to bid on including the amount they are willing to pay (max 5 RFA's in Total including all three rounds – not including RFA's from your own team), as well the length of each contract. At the end of each round the following scenarios would be happen:

*in the event of a tie, it will carry over to the next round of bidding, no contract will be won, unless the FA has ended.
The highest 5 bids move on from round 1 to round 2, and the highest 3 bids move on from round 2 to round 3. You cannot bid a lower amount in any subsequent rounds that you move on to. You can however bid the same amount, or cancel your bid entirely. If your bid is determined as the highest, then you MUST take that player at the salary you have stated. Participation in the bidding process is indication enough that you are willing to pay for the player. In the case of a tie bid at the end of round 3 (ie.. both bids are tied in value and length ($10 mill / 1 year) or neither team will pay anymore) then one of two things will happen:

1. If the player being bid on is RFA, the original team is given a chance to match. If he decides to release the player, then tied teams (tied bids) send in a compensation package to a contact on the Free Agency Committee. Once the Free Agency Committee has determined which package is better (while conferring with the original team) the player will be awarded. THESE BIDS ARE TO BE PRIVATE AND SENT ONLY TO THE FREE AGENCY COMMITTEE.
2. If a tie involves in the case of an unrestricted contract then a random draw will determine which team gets said player.

In the event where all of the teams have cancelled their bids in the second or third round, the highest bidder from the previous round will be considered the team who one the highest bid and the player bid upon will be signed to an offer sheet at that bid.

Once it's determined that a team has won a contract, the player becomes signed. An unrestricted free agent automatically becomes a member of the new team. A restricted free agent is considered to be signed to an offer sheet. The player's original team is then given the option to match the offer and thereby retain the player or, they can release the player for the appropriate compensation. The original team has 48 hours to decide which of the two options they are going proceed with. Should the owning team choose not to match the offer for their restricted player, the new team then has 48 hours from the time notification is sent to work out compensation with the player's current team. If an agreement can not be met within the 48 hours, the Free Agency Committee will use the RFA Compensation Table to award the appropriate compensation.

Each team is allowed a bidding cap of 10 Million dollars in each round.

1. Teams may bid on as many players as they wish as long as all of the offers do not total to more than 10 million dollars. (if at any time your RFA bids exceed the maximum number of 5 in total, the last RFA bid on in order of appearance will be automatically be dropped from your bidding list)
2. Teams can sign a player to a contract of up to 10 million dollars.
3. NO Team may have more than 10 million in bids out at any one time. If a team exceeds their 10 million dollar cap in any round, all the bids the team has made in that round will be removed and the owner will be disqualified from any further bidding in subsequent rounds.
4. NO team may bid on their own RFA during the bidding process. Teams will be given the right to match the highest bid or accept compensation should another team sign a player to an offer sheet. *Matching a bid does NOT count towards the 10 million cap.
5. You are eligible to bid on UFA's currently on your team.
6. Once a player is signed to a contract during the Free Agency Period, that player will be removed from the eligibility list and will no longer be available for other teams to make offers on.
7. In order to place a bid on a RFA you MUST already have the appropriate compensation as shown in the RFA Compensation Chart. Should a team make a bid on a Restricted Free Agent and not have the minimum required compensation as shown in the RFA Compensation Chart, the bid will be considered invalid and be removed immediately.
8. Any Goalie that has 50's in all of the stat categories is considered an emergency goalie and is ineligible for teams to bid on.
9. The league Salary Cap ($45 mill) is NOT a factor during free agency and the off-season.
10. Any bids on RFA's must be equal to or greater than the follow guide:
• 2 years: 115% of last salary
• 3 years: 125% of last salary
• 4 years: 140% of last salary
11. Any bid on an RFA must be for a minimum of two years. One year offers on RFA’s are not permitted

Example.
The Devils submit the following:

1. Ian Laperriere – 3 million / 4yrs
2. Steve Begin – 1.2 million / 3yrs
3. Luc Robataille – 1.8 million / 4yrs
4. Pavel Bure – 3.2 million / 4yrs
5. Joel Hulbig – 800K / 2yrs

The Devils have submitted the maximum of $10,000,000 in offers to Free Agents for the round. Once the round has closed for bidding, the free agency committee will determine if any of the offers will qualify as offer sheets or outright contracts, should any of these offers qualify as either an offer sheet or a contract the amount of those bids will become available for the bidder for use in the next round under the 10 million dollar cap.
For instance Ian Laperriere is signed for 3 mill and the 1.2 mill offer made to Steve Begin is matched by the players current team. This would mean the Devils have 4.2 million available to make offers in the next round.

Furthermore, if the Devils feel the bidding for Pavel Bure is getting to high for their team to afford, they can indicate in the next round of bidding that their offer for Pavel Bure is withdrawn and they are eligible to use the 3.2 million previously offered to Pavel Bure in the next round. However, should all of the teams drop out of the bidding for Pavel Bure and the Devils are the highest bid of the previous round at 3.2 million, this would be considered an offer sheet. This however will not count towards the bidding in the current round.
Important points to remember:

• Contracts can range between 1 – 4yrs (Offers on Restricted Free Agents however must be for a minimum of 2 years)
• Contract values can range from $150,000 (league minimum) – $10,000,000 (FA bidding cap)
• A player will accept a shorter contract over a longer one should two teams offer the player the same dollar amount.
• Once the maximum bid has been reached ($10,000,000), the only way to outbid another team for a player is to reduce the contract length.

If there are any remaining unrestricted free agents not signed after free agency bidding is completed, those players will be placed in a free agent pool and teams can sign them at any time during the season for the league’s minimum salary. If no team is willing to pay a player the assigned amount, it can be assumed that they are "holding out" or are in the minor system. If at the end of the following season, there is still no interest in the player, he will retire.

If a member of the FA Committee bids on a free agent, the bids will be sent to another individual for verification purposes.

*REMINDER* Should any team run out of money at ANY point during the season, the league commissioner will have the GM removed and replaced with a new GM without any warning.

SALARIES: Salaries are shown on the player vitals page, as well as the length of their contracts. A player who is on the pro team will receive his full contract amount. A player who is on the farm team will receive 10% of his salary. When a player is called up to the pro league, you must pay him his full salary. Players cannot sign for contracts greater than 4 years in length. Players cannot extend their contracts unless their current contract has expired. Prospects do not have salaries, but do cost the team $1500 per person. This is for the junior club to take care of your player. The league minimum is $150,000 per year.

** NEW ** CONTRACT BUY-OUT OPTION: During the pre-signing stage any team wishing to get out of a contract may buy out a maximum of 2 player’s contracts for 50% of the player’s salary. These “buy-outs” must be submitted at the same time as a team submits their pre-signings. If a player receives a buy-out, that player will immediately become an Unrestricted Free Agent and will be available for bidding in that seasons Free Agency Period. Although a team is able to buy out a player’s contract, that team will be allowed to place bids on the player as a UFA.

**NEW** REVERSE ARBITRATION: After player re-rates have been updated in the off-season, teams will be awarded a 1 week period prior to the start of the exhibition season to take players to Reverse Arbitration. In order for a player to be eligible for Reverse Arbitration, the player cannot be in the first year of a contract. ie: a 4 year contract or player who has just received a new contract during free agency of that year.

Reverse Arbitration –“Lack” of Performance
Teams have the ability to take any player to a maximum of 2 players per season to reverse arbitration if their re-rate have dropped by a minimum of 3 OV rating points. Players who qualify will have their salaries adjusted as per the table below and will receive no contract extension or reduction.

RFA COMPENSATION:
Compensation can either be negotiated between the two teams or if no agreement can be reached, the compensation will be as described below:

*If a team has more than one applicable draft pick then they will offer whichever is highest in the draft order unless an alternate compensation package can be agreed on by the two teams involved and approved by the Free Agency Committee.

Back to top   

12. Rookies

Rookies will maintain their rookie status until they meet particular criteria.

• Any player who is 26 years old, or greater, at the start of the RSHL season
• Any player playing 25 or more games in any 1 season
• Any player who's played 6 or more games in 2 or more seasons

During the off-season if any of the triggers have been met, the player will be converted to Veteran status.

Back to top   

13. Coaches

The RSHL, uses the setting "Coach Affects Play". So Coaches will play an active role in the productivity of your team. Each GM must hire, and when needed fire & replace the coach throughout the year. Coaches will not received any type of contract, and are able to have their services terminated at any time without penalty. Coaches will be re-rated based upon the NHL coach with the same name. The Values have minimum& maximum values, they can range from 55-95. Any adjustment that would take the category outside of those restrictions, will be ignored.

Coaches have 4 categories

• OF – Offensive prowess
• DF – Defensive prowess
• EX – Experience
• LD – Leadership

Back to top   

14. Dispute Resolution

Where two or more teams are in dispute over some matter, and these rules do not cover the matter in dispute, the league will use the following procedure for resolution of the problem:

1. The Commissioner will work with a segment of the RSHL Board of Governors, once the BoG has made its decision, the original parties will have up to 36 hours to dispute the ruling.

Back to top   

15. All Star Game

Will be played at approximately Game 50.

All-Star starters will be voted upon by all team owners.

Team owners must submit their top 4 choices fore each position (LW – C – RW – D – D – G) for each conference consisting of who they feel are the top players in the RSHL. This is a subjective question but you should be prepared to explain your decisions if you're asked for an explanation.

Seeing as you'll be voting upon your top 4 choices, you can vote for members from your own team, but only for the #3 & #4 spaces.

The Commissioner own the final determination.

Involved players will represent the conference / division they played within their last five games before the All-star Game, because choosing up sides will be determined earlier.

Each owner who wants their team to host an all-star game must submit an application to the Commissioner and must not only be about why they want to host it, they must also include what's so unique about their city that would drive them to want to host their game (example, but in less detail than what it's supposed to be "Milwaukee is famous for their beer and has many hockey-loving residents"). Applications will be accepted anytime after the start of regular season, and host city will be awarded no later than approximately game 25.

Each team will receive $150,000 / player present at the All-star game.

The team that host the All-star Game will receive $1,000,000 (from ticket sales & concessions).

There will be an All-star MVP Award with an additional $250,000 awarded to his team.

Voting will take place approximately game #35 – game #40.

In addition to the All-star game, there will be an All-star Competition. Once the All-star roster has been decided GM's will be requested to determine the competition lineup for their conference for the following events:

• Puck Relay:
  • Race One involves 3 players per squad in a relay. The 2^nd player participating must be defenseman.
  • Race Two is a one-on-one match race involving a player from each squad.
• Fastest Skater:
  • Three players per squad.
• Hardest Shot:
  • Four players per squad. Each player has two attempts.
• Rapid Fire
  • Six players, three goaltenders per team.
    
• Accuracy Shooting
  • Four players per squad.
• Breakaway Relay
  • 18 Skater and 3 goaltenders per squad. Skaters are separated into 3 groups of 6 players per squad.
• Goalie Goals
  • Three goalies per squad.

Once asked for, please submit your selections to the commissioner ASAP.

Back to top   

16. Strikezone

The RSHL is equipped with a STRIKE ZONE. League participation is a MUST if you wish to be part of the RSHL. In other words, if you plan on not participating, do not join! If you, already, own a team and neglect and refuse to participate, well, you will soon be removed from the league. Once you get 4 strikes, you will promptly be warned that your 5th will remove you from the league without further notification. On your 5^th strike, you will be removed from the league, and a new candidate will have the honors of owning your team. You will receive strikes for any of the following:

• Failing to hand in monthly Team Newsletter.
• Failing to replace injured player with a healthy player.
• Failing to update roster and lines after a trade.
• Failing to respond to trade offers.
• All errors in roster or lines.
• Any form of harassment, as seen by the Commissioner, towards any other member.
• Subject to change

NEW OWNER PROBATION PERIOD

New GM's are subject to a probationary period, during which time all trades must be reviewed by the board. During this time, either the commissioner, or the board may have the new GM's moves reversed or his franchise revoked. This probationary period may be extended if, in the view of the commissioner or the board, it is warranted. Reasons for extension of the probation may be for questionable trading behavior during the initial probation or for lack of activity. Additionally, in order to avoid any circumvention of the above rule, the time period of the probation will not be public knowledge.

STRIKE REDUCTION (after completing a minimum 1 season tenure)*

The owner* now has the option to have 1 strike removed in exchange for an in depth team (selected by the commissioner) commentary known as 'TEAMSCOPE'. The team owner will have to contact RSHL's head office voluntarily of your interest in the following assignment. You will not be forewarned or asked to write up a commentary to reduce strikes from the league. You, personally, must notify the league office yourself or the RSHL will assume that you have NO further intentions to continue your services as a league owner after your 5^th strike.

During this assignment, the commentary titled 'TEAMSCOPE' must include the following subtitles with your personal views/advice/opinions and so on. This is an opportunity to be as honest as you'd like, this is NOT the chance to be vindictive without reason. Your report must include the following headings:

1. Team Name
2. Season Record
3. PP% and PK% with overall ranking
4. Management and Coaching – is coaching staff overachieving or underachieving.
5. Goal Production – your personal views listing key players or what is lacking or off-season acquisitions/departures, etc.
6. Goal Prevention – your personal views listing key players or what is lacking or off-season acquisitions/departures, etc.
7. Goaltending – your personal views listing their key players or what is lacking or off-season acquisitions/departures, etc.
8. Past Drafts Success or Failures – evaluate prospects or possible trades for upgrades or rebuilding
9. Over-all Outlook – conclusion

Other ideas may be implemented but the above must be included.

Another method to remove 1 strike is to recommend a new and successful applicant to the RSHL.

Back to top   

17. Player Eligibility

A player will be considered part of the RSHL unless the following occurs:

1. The Player retires from the NHL
1. If the player retires from the NHL between RSHL seasons, the player will be remain in the RSHL for 1 more year, based upon them playing a minimum of 1 game in the NHL the preceding season.
2. If the player retires from the NHL during an RSHL season, the player will play out the season/play-offs and 1 more full season before being removed from the RSHL files/team.
2. If a player signs a contract to play in a league other than the NHL (meaning international play, or minors) or decides to holdout for whatever reason(s):
1. The player will be remain in the RSHL for 1 more year, based upon them playing a minimum of 1 game in the NHL the preceding season. After the additional year the player will be considered as retired.
3.  If a player does not play a minimum of 1 game in the previous season in the NHL.
   1. Any player with 0 games played in the NHL from the previous season will not be eligible to be used in the following RSHL season, they will be placed on the teams prospect list.
      1. With the exception of goalies, due to a shortage of goalies, this minimum 1 game played stipulation will not be counted towards those with a G as their position and have a OV of 69 or less.

Back to top   

18. Position Eligibility

This purpose is to make league members more aware of each players qualified position, it also promotes player movement by giving owners flexibility

Players are eligible to change their position based upon 1 condition being met.

1. Player is listed on at least 1 of the following sites:
1. NHL.com
2. NHLPA.com
3. www.waymoresports.com
4. TSN.ca
5. CBS Sports
6. NHL Official team site

If requesting a change you MUST forward the link that verifies the condition has been met.

Note: It is the owners' responsibility to request a position change. Strikes will still be accumulated if the owner does not change a players position to cover a shortage. It is not the commissioner's duty to follow individual team needs.

Back to top   

19. Drafts

RSHL holds two different types of Drafts

• Entry Draft
• Waiver Draft

Entry Draft

There will be 5 rounds of drafting, this number, should remain constant.

This draft will include all teams.

Only players named on the official league list will be eligible to be drafted, any missing players can added to the list but only up until a time prior to the draft as determined by the commissioner.

Draft Order will be determined by the reverse overall standings, with the exception of possible movement due to the draft lottery in the first round.

Lottery system – The FHL does the Lottery randomly, 1 non playoff team can move up in the draft to a maximum of 4 positions

The Lottery:

Each team that did not make the playoffs will get tickets thrown into a hat.

The Commissioner, in some form, will randomly select a number, the number will collaborate to the original draft ranking. The team in that position will be determined to be the winner. The team that wins the lottery can not move up more than four spots in the drafting order. The rest of the positions in the draft will be shifted accordingly.

Examples..

Lottery Example #1

Lottery Example #2

NOTE: Teams can not drop more than one spot in the order.

Rookie Contracts

The drafted rookies can be signed to a contract between 1 – 3 years, and the salary will be determined by where they were drafted. The 1^st round is broken down into 3 categories, rounds 2 & 3 into 2 categories, and rounds 4 & 5 are as one batch. Full details are shown in the table below.

Waiver Draft

Possible reasons for a Waiver Draft
This is non-complete list of reasons to hold a Waiver Draft, and should be seen only as an example:

• There are too many players on the Unassigned Players List
• A team needs surgery in order to sort out Financial Problems, and releases players to the Unassigned List
• To get the rosters more balanced before start of next season. Typically this type of Waiver Draft will occur every other or every third season

When the league is advised a Waiver draft will take place it will take place shortly after playoffs and while trade freeze is still on. Below are a few rules we need to begin the process.

1. The waiver draft will be comprised of a total of 3 rounds
2. As you draft a player you must 'un protect' one of your roster spots (to keep you within the allowable limits).
3. In the 1^st round, only the non-playoff clubs participate. The last place team overall will choose first, followed by each subsequent non-playoff clubs, in order of points, fewest to most. In each subsequent round, teams will choose by reverse point order.
4. No club may lose more than two players in the Waiver Draft.

Waiver Draft Exemptions

1. up to twelve forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders (20 total)
   or
   any combination of 19 skaters and 1 goaltender (20 total)
2. All RSHL prospect players and rookies (players with an asterisk before their name in Players Vital page) are exempt.

Protected Player List:

You can determine your protected list once the commissioner activates the process which will be found on your team intranet. You can protect the appropriate number of players based upon the types you're protecting. Rookies will automatically be marked as protected, and can not be unprotected.

Back to top   

20. Player Ratings

Back to top   

21. Team Scoring

Back to top   

22. Newsletter

All GM's must submit 1 newsletter per month. Your newsletter must be emailed to the entire league. Failure to do so will result in a strike. Below is the ideal type of enthusiasm that should be used, but must cover at least the Bolded points.

Team Name: Detroit RedWings

Most Recent Trade: Not applicable

Players on Trade Block: Trading Deadline has passed, looking forward to upcoming Free Agency

Current Development: The RedWings have been playing steady hockey as of late. The team is currently playing .500 hockey, after spending much of the season below that mark. What this means is GM Martels hopes are currently ahead of schedule. After finishing 27th overall last season, his plan for the team was to play .500 hockey for Season 7, and make the playoff in Season 8, well with only 8 games remaining on their current schedule, the team has good chance of fulfilling the Season 7 hope, but in fact also making the playoff this year! The team currently sits 7th in the West, with the same number of points as 6th place but by virtue of head-to-head hold the lower position but will play them 3 more times prior to the end of season, and have an 8 point lead over the 9th place team. "If we do get in, I'm not saying we'll be marching downtown Mo-Town with the cup, but we may cause some of the bigger teams some trouble" said GM Martel. Against the top 3 teams in the West the Wings have been able to play at least .500 hockey when they've played more than 1 game, vs Colorado 1–1–0, vs Los Angeles 1–1–1 vs Minnesota 0–1–0 (this was also prior to acquisition to solidify our defensive corp).

Over the teams last 14 games the Wings have a record of 7–3–4, and in those games have outscored the opposition 37-32, with 6 of the 14 ending with a 1 goal differential, including 2 of the 3 losses. Management believes a reason for that is the play of the defense/goalie. The team has been able to push the "Team Defense" rating continually down and currently sit 4th overall in the league. This is a stat management has been keeping its eye on all season, and believe that if they can continue to lead with that, this is how the team will have success.

Back to top   

23. Player Contracts

All players who are rated 75OV or above are considered to be on ONE WAY CONTRACTS and if sent to the minors must clear waivers. Players who are rated 74OV and below are given 2 way contracts and are able to be sent down to the minors, but regular waiver rules would apply.

Goalies over 74 OV rating can be sent to the minors, regular waiver rules apply, only if they are the 3rd string goalie on that team based on Overall ratings. If a team's 2nd and 3rd string goalie are the same rate ie; Hedberg 75OV & Thibault 75OV, then the goalie with the higher salary automatically becomes the 2nd string goalie.

This rule change is designed for two purposes. The first is so that no team can load up on talented players which rightfully should be on the pro-roster and put them in the minors for the sole purpose of preventing other teams from being competitive.

Secondly, this will help keep salaries of players down at free agency as teams will not be able to pay huge dollars for players who they do not intend to keep on the pro-roster. (Due to salary issues).

Back to top   

RSHL Inaugural season 2003