2. A level of respect is expected of everyone. Disrespectful comments or personal attacks will be treated seriously. At any point, without notice a GM can be removed from his team for being disrespectful of others. This being a free league, there will be zero tolerance. No 3 strike rule applies in these situations.

3. To respond to trade offers, no matter how ridiculous, all you need is a simple no. Please try to do this within 24-48 hours. It is an offense if responses aren’t being made within a reasonable amount of time, unless you are away. You will be warned on the first 3 offenses, and then fined on your 4th.

4. We will be using SLACK as a communication tool. You are required to sign up. There is a mobile app as well. This tool is much easier to use than the default messages on the website.

5. All GM’s are responsible to submit line files under the following conditions

-A trade

-A roster movement

-Injuries

-Or it has been a week since your last submission.

There will be a 3 strike rule for non-submittals that delay the daily simulation. If you get 3 strikes your top overall player is suspended for 3 games. If you get to a fourth in the same season you inclusion in the league will be reviewed. Termination of a

6. We will follow the three strike rule, or if need be, automatic dismissal.

1.1 LEAGUE FORMAT

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1. The league will run approximately 2 full regular seasons (including offseason and draft) per NHL Entry draft. Reason being for this, is so that we can keep NHL prospects up to date by introducing half of them every season. Players will age naturally on their own birthdays. ONE year every 2 AHL seasons, and the restricted free agency age limit will be 25 years old.

2. Sims will be every day @ 5:00pm MDT.

3. Playoffs will be the same format as the NHL, with the new divisional alignment and wild card format.

1.2 ENTRY DRAFT & PROSPECTS

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1. The entry draft will follow every sim year and will be 3 rounds.

2. We will follow with the NHL and allow EVERY team who did not qualify for the playoffs into the lottery. There will be three lottery winners like the NHL.

2.1 Draft Lottery

15 Non-Playoff teams are eligible
(Fewest Points to Most) Odds

31^st place team -18%
30^th place team -12.1%
29^th place team -10.3%
28^th place team -10.3%
27^th place team -8.5%
26^th place team -7.6%
25^th place team -6.7%
24^th place team -5.8%
23^rd place team -5.4%
22^nd place team -4.5%
21^st place team -3.2%
20^th place team -2.7%
19^th place team -2.2%
18^th place team - 1.8%

17^th place team - 0.9%

There will be 3 draws. The first 3 picks will be determined by the lottery. The first draw will be for the first pick overall. Once that draw is done the winning team is removed from the draw and the second draw takes place for the second overall pick. This will be repeated for the 3^rd draw. The teams that were not drawn will be placed in positions 4-15 based on their standings from the previous season.

2.2 Playoff team 1^st round draft order

Draft order in the first round for the teams that make the playoffs is decided order of elimination from the playoffs.

All teams eliminated from the first round are placed in reverse order of their regular season standings. These teams are awarded picks 17-24.

All teams that are eliminated in the second round are placed in reverse order of the regular season standings after the teams eliminated in the first round. These teams are awarded picks 25-28.

All two teams that are eliminated in the 3^rd round are awarded picks 29 and 30 based on their regular season standings.

The Stanley cup loser is awarded the 30^th pick.

The Stanley cup winner is awarded the 31^st pick.

2.3 2^nd and 3^rd round draft order

Second and third rounds of the draft are same as above

3. Trading picks

Picks may be traded for following 3 years, but if the commissioner has deemed a GM not active, he has the right to refuse draft picks traded for future drafts.

Draft picks may be traded as conditional and future considerations in deals.

4. Drafting / Creating prospects

Prospects will be created using SHL Current Ratings – This package is available based on a link for free from the STHS website.

With the NHL only playing 56 NHL games and the uncertainty of the AHL Starting we have lowered the creation limit for 18 games for AHL GP (career) and NHL remains the same at 20 games of NHL GP (career)

Prospect ratings will be based AHL and NHL Stats only after 20 NHL Games played or 18 AHL Games played (YEAR ONE ONLY) AHL GP will go back to 38 games played once the AHL and NHL get back to normal.

A website (SHL Ratings Site) will come available once the season starts based on that we can track there ratings and decide when to create them are based on Current stats of any given season you can create at any point during the season as long as 20 NHL games or 18 AHL Games have been played by that respective player. You can hold and or create 5 extra players besides your 20-23 PRO player roster. Since the league is a sim rerate league it would be advised not to play your players unless u plan to play them 42+.

Creation limit during the season will be within our season would be 30 GP by your Team that way they can be created in enough time to play at least 42+. This would also mean that since we can carry 5 extra players we can create after this mark but will not be able to play till the following season. Since u have a chance to decrease in ratings this is in place to protect there ratings.

Contracts -> 22 and under will receive a 3 ELC contract of 875,000

è 23 will receive a 2 Year ELC of 875,000 **NEW

è 24 will receive a 1 Year ELC of 875,000 ** NEW

** NEW: This is in place for the fact that most 22/23/24 year old players are normally NCAA that play NCAA for 4 years and some European players that come over after a few years of play in there countries if at all. This is also in line with the RFA Max age of 25.

4.1 Prospect additions

If after a GM has reviewed the list of prospects and would like to draft someone that is not on the list he will need to request that said player is added to the list. Then said player will be added to the list, including his ratings and released back to the league. Everyone will know the ratings for the prospect they wish to draft.

The only example of off the board picks that will be allowed is any player that has NHL statistics that is not in the AHL. This will not occur for the first 2 seasons. These players are not required to be included on the list. When created these players they will be given their NHL contracts.

4.2 Prospects post draft

You will have rights to all the prospects that you have drafted. However, the ratings will not be visible. The prospects will be listed on your team page.

1.3 SALARY CAP

==============

1. The salary cap will be 82.5 million Plus a 5 Million Dollar revolving amount for Retaining salary and will be a firm cap number, and the floor will be 54 million.

2. Farm salary cap will be 50 million dollars though the sim only takes 10% of that value as the cost of the salaries on the farm.

3. Teams who go over the cap will face subsequent fines if under the floor or over the cap. The commissioner will fix roster issues and issue penalties.

Note The first offense will ALWAYS be tacked on to further offenses, for example, if it is your fourth offense, your player will still be suspended that 5 games.

-First offense is a 5 game suspension of current leading scorer

-Second offense is a loss of a third round pick in the current year

-Third offense is a loss of a 2nd round pick in the current year

-Fourth offense is a loss of a 1st round pick in the current year

-Any further offenses are deemed to be grounds for removal.

4. If a team’s draft picks are removed, if a new GM is put in place before the upcoming draft, the picks will then be given back to the team.

5. Offenses are calculated every 2 seasons and will reset upon completion of the playoffs of that season.

6. The maximum amount per year of a deal in a contract is 14 million. The minimum is 650k.

7. Maximum Salary for Farm players is 3mil (Goalies / Players)

8. We are using Current Salary plus Special Cap in the determination of on Site and In Program Finance Salary Cap.

1.4 UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENCY

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1. Unrestricted free agency will be done via the Site. Any player 26 years and older on the first day of the given AHL Season is considered an unrestricted free agent.

2. Signing Bonuses are added to special cap in the next season as a separate item that affects Salary Cap – This is kept track of in Slack under #signing-bonus. When trading make sure you are still above 54,000,000 and below 75,000,000 when including this amount

3. The maximum length of a contract is 5 years.

4. Teams can only have TWO players on their team with No Movement Clauses.

5. Front Loaded Contracts will NOT be allowed

6. Players who are signed via free agency CANNOT be traded until the 41 game mark of that season.

7. UFA Rights are allowed to be traded – this only apply during the playoffs as during the season we would just make the trade and the new team would have a certain amount of chances to sign. Technically in the Sim any player that is not signed or has requested a trade would ultimately be released into FA once the playoffs are over. So We are using the Leagues Signing Spreadsheet to sign PENDING UFAs that are TRADED to another TEAM.

3 CONDITIONS:

1: The UFA has chances left to sign

2: The UFA has requested a trade – Willing to Negotiate: Certain Teams

3: The UFA has requested a trade – Willing to Negotiate: Any team in the League

4. NOT ABLE to trade if The UFA has requested a trade – Willing to Negotiate: NONE

When trading these types of players we need a screenshot of the contract extension page along with the trade confirmation.

1.5 RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

==========================

1. The age for a restricted free agent is 18-25

2. Restricted free agent compensation will go as follows

2017-18 Averaged Salary Draft Pick Compensation

$1,295,571 and below No compensation

$1,295,572 to $1,962,986 Third-round pick

$1,962,987 to $3,925,975 Second-round pick

$3,925,976 to $5,888,960 First- and third-round pick

$5,888,961 to $7,851,948 First-, second-, and third-round pick

$7,851,949 to $9,814,935 Two first-round picks and a second- and third-round pick

$9,814,936 and above Four first-round picks

3. RFA ELECTED ARBITRATION

The league will look at the following factors

The player’s ability and potential

The player’s ability and potential when compared to others of his age

The other players average salaries

The league will then look at these factors and send an arbitration offer on a ONE year deal. If this offer is rejected, the team still holds the RFAs rights, but must be traded before the following season.

1.6 RETIREMENTS

===============

1. We will use a basic percentage system to judge retirements; all retirements will take place immediately after the conclusion of the playoffs, and players will be removed from rosters.

Percentages are

36 years old 10% chance of retirement

37 years old 20% chance of retirement

38 years old 30% chance of retirement

39 years old 40% chance of retirement

40 years old 60% chance of retirement

41-43 years old 75% chance of retirement

44 mandatory retirements

2. There is no penalty for signing a player over 35 to a multiyear deal. This is a rule from the NHL that does not translate to our simulation. There will be a progression curve instituted for older players, so they will get worse as they get older. For example if a 38 year old player is signed to a 6 year deal he will be much worse at the end of the contract then at the beginning.

1.7 TEAM, PLAYER AND GOALIE RESTRICTIONS

==================================

1. Goalies will be restricted to their games based on a League Maximum Game limit of 67 Games for Pro Goalie and 15 Games for a Farm Goalie

2. No Double Shifting

3. The Maximum amount of contracts for any AHL franchise to have is 50

5. The roster minimum will be 42. This is to reduce simulation errors and headaches to the simmer due to injuries that force teams under 40 players.

6. In the case of a tie in the standings, if there is any conflict with a team going over their goalie maximums, that team will forfeit their playoff spot. It would not be fair to a team who has followed the rules all season to lose a playoff position to a team who has played their starter too many games, which could have potentially lost them games if they played their backup.

7. A team must play their 4th offensive line at least at 5%. You may play your defensive 4th pairing at 0%.

ENTRY POTENTIAL

AGE ENTRY PO

18 92

19 87

20-21 82

22-23 76

24-25 67

26-27 52

28-29 40

30-31 25

>31 1

1.8 COACHES

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1. Teams who fire a coach mid-season and need to replace him will pay a fee of 300 000 dollars for an unassigned coach, and 2 million dollars to take a coach from another GMs farm team, which in turn that team will be able to replace that coach free of charge.

2. Coaches contracts will be 3 years in length, and will be released into the free agent pool after 3 years, where GMs will compete and bid on coaches.

3. Teams have the option of creating an NHL coach once they are fired, and that coach will be created based on the opinions of the commissioners.

4. Coaches contracts will expire at the end of their tenure to allow everyone a fair shot at them. Coaches are very easy to re-sign in the portal and we feel this must be added for equality

1.9 POSITION CHANGES

====================

1. Position changes are allowed, and you can request them via the portal

The position must be specific, W will not be allowed to mean to play any wing, nor F doesn’t not mean they can play any forward position.

It must state C, RW, LW, D, G. You need proof of the player playing that position, and as of right now, legitimate websites will include

www.tsn.ca

www.nhlpa.com

www.nhl.com

www.theahl.com

www.capfriendly.com

www.eliteprospects.com

www.hockey-reference.com

You get the position of the one site you submit. You cannot combine sites. If one site lists as a C and another as a RW. You need to choose which site you want to go with. If one site lists a player as a C/LW and another as C/RW. You need to choose. You cannot combine the 2 to make the player C/LW/RW.

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2.0 PLAYER BUYOUTS

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1. Players can be bought out, at 2/3 of their remaining contract, and the team will be forced to pay the money upfront. The remaining 1/3 of their contract for the time that was left on that contract will be counted towards that teams salary cap.

2.1 ROSTER MINIMUMS

===================

1. Both pro and farm, will have a minimum roster requirement as follows

12 Forwards

6 Defensemen

2 Goalies

2 Extra

The exception being that farm rosters have 35 player maximum. Any team caught violating the roster minimum rule frequently, could be removed from the league.

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2.2 WAIVERS

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1. Players on entry level contracts, considered rookies by the sim, do not need to pass through waivers. (Realistic age limit will apply)

1a. Players under 26 years old also can pass through waivers provided they have not met the minimum games played to be eligible for waivers (160 games)

1b. All UFAs are eligible for waivers

1c. If a player gets claimed off waivers, he goes to the PRO roster of the claiming team, and must officially PASS through waivers to be eligible for the minors

2. Teams are required to pay compensation to the team that the player was claimed from.

-500 000 in compensation

This is to reduce teams from claiming just to claim, and to have to pay significant compensation.

3. A waiver priority board will be drawn up and used, in which 31 teams based on previous season final standings, team 1 having first priority and 31 last. If team 1 were to make a claim, they would drop down to 31 and everyone would move up the ladder.

For the first season, the standings will be used based on reverse draft order.

4. Any player may be put in waivers to see if any teams are interested in claiming them, regardless if they are eligible to be waived or not.

5. Players take 48 hours to clear waivers.

6. Waivers will be allowed during playoffs for exempt players. This will be handled manually. Please contact the commissioner to move your exempt players down.

7. Waivers will be no allowed for no exempt players during the playoffs.

8. Waivers will continue after the trade deadline. However, he is not eligible to play in the playoffs for the claiming team.

TWO things to know about waivers according to the CBA...

1: If a player is waived and claimed, then waived again. And the original team claims the player on the 2nd waive. The player can automatically be assigned to the AHL, but only if re-claimed by the original waiving team.

2: If a player is claimed off waivers, he cannot be traded without 1st being offered to the other teams that put in a claim.

Let's say 3 teams put a claim in on a player. He goes to the highest team. That team cannot trade the player to the highest bidder unless the other 2 teams pass on another claim.

In other words, the 2nd highest team can say they will take him for the $500K price and he would be theirs. Or if the 2nd team passes, the 3rd team can claim him. If both teams pass, the player can be traded to anyone.

If only one team put a claim on a player, the player can be traded.

2A: If a player has played 10 pro games with the team that claimed them, all former claims will be considered void. The player can be traded or waived with no former rights attached.

2.3 TRADING

===========

1. Trading in the AHL can involve anything including the following

-Players

-Picks

- AHL Cash

2. You may not retain any portion of the contract. There is a major flaw in the portal contract system that creates a very large loophole and ruins

3. Future draft picks CAN be traded, but if the commissioner deems a team inactive or new, he has the right to refuse the team to trade picks for future years.

4. Trade Committee

The trade committee will be made up of 4 GM’s, one from each of the four divisions. They will review EVERY trade. They will vote on EVERY trade. The only exception will be trades being made during any draft. These trades are on a time limit. The commissioner will review and accept these deals.

If there is a tie vote between the 4 trade committee members, the commissioner will cast a vote.

If you wish to get your trade processed as quickly as possible send an email or SLACK message to the trade committee members.

Nick Caughell: atlantichockeyleague@gmail.com

Until the trade has been reviewed by the trade committee it will not be made official.

5. A team dealing a pending RFAUFA player has to disclose his negotiation situation if requested by the other team.

This information however does not need to be disclosed if the other gm does not request it. If the gm with pending free agents wants to, it is their prerogative to when this information becomes available during trade talks. It can be withheld until both teams agree on the deal and confirm it. However, If a deal is confirmed, and that information was requested, but withheld, the withholding team is fined 2 million, and the trade is reversed.

7. UFA negotiations are 3 strikes you’re out rule on the portal. This is due to the fact that errors in coding on the portal can cause players who have requested to test free agency and have offered to re-negotiate with 0 more teams to be negotiated with when trading. This was an often exploited glitch in the AHL and has been eliminated from this. You are allowed to trade a player with 3,2 or 1 requests and that player can re-negotiate with his traded team but not 0.

8. You cannot trade for a player at the deadline, and then trade the player back to the original team until 41 games into the next season. You can trade him to other teams, but not the originating team.

2.4 FINANCES

============

1. As in real life, a franchise losing money is a bad franchise. No team in the AHL is ever allowed to be in the negative, any GMs that finish the season negative, will be reviewed by the commissioner, and if neglect or bad spending was obvious, the GM will be terminated.

2. This prevents teams from being, well, idiots with their money, and also prevents teams from purposely tanking (attendance will drop) There is a difference between a rebuild and an outright tank.

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2.5 LONG TERM INJURED RESERVE

============

Players who are below 92CO will not be counted against the salary cap. Players at 92CO and above will count against the salary cap. This is an automatic IR for teams.

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2.6 NHL RERATES

============

Once per calendar year (every other season), each team will be given one NHL rerate. You may choose any player from your NHL or AHL team to have their stats adjusted according to the most recent NHL seasons success. A full rerate comes with both the stats being re-rated and the players’ current NHL real contract cap hit and term.

2.7 SALARY RETENTION

============

Salary retention is allowed in this league. We created a system which involves a 5 million dollar revolving amount in Special Cap and We add 5 Million to each Teams Bank Account every season to cover this amount. Also the Salary Cap is 75 plus 5 Million (Special Cap). This system allows us to keep the original contract amount for each players contract cause for example if we reduced the players contract in the system it would create issues when teams go and resign these players. An Example of this is Nikita Kucherov(Red Wings) is traded to the Sharks and the Red Wings retain 1million in Salary for Joe Pavelski. I would remove 1 million of salary from Special Cap on the Sharks Finances and add 1 million to the Red Wings Special Cap.

2.8 REASONS FOR DIMISSAL

============

1. Collusion - This should be obvious. Any teams trying to load one team from two separate rosters to increase the chances of winning more cash awards. If anyone is found to be colluding with another team or teams. All parties can and will be dismissed.

2. Failure to participate. Failure to respond to trade offers, load lines on a regular basis, or be gone for long periods of time without prior notice, or do not show up for drafts without lists being created for your team, is cause for dismissal.

3. Tanking. Any team found to be offloading talent or benching talent in order to lose to gain a better draft position is cause for dismissal.

4. Inappropriate behavior. Failure to act with respect for other GMs is cause for dismissal. Fun and games, trash talking are fine. But to make it personal or go over board will not be accepted and is cause for dismissal.

5. Acting in any way detrimental to the league. We are here for fun. But it is a lot of work. Trying to subvert the league in any way, can and will, be deemed as a removable offense.

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2.9 TIE BREAKS

============

Tie breaks will be handled by the STHS default

3.0 PROGRESSION CURVE

============

24 YEAR OLDS

A Player will rerate If a player is 27 at the start of the season and this is determined by a date that is in line with the start of the season. The first season started on July 14, 2017. The start of the following season would be technically Feb 24, 2018 as the ages of players age per season and so on.

To more align us with the real expectations of an NHL player’s career we will use a general progression curve that covers all players. It is understood that not every player regresses the same.

Players in the 18-27 age group will progress according to the default settings. Which is, at most, players will improve 3 points per rating per NHL season and 6 points per rating in the AHL.

Players in the 27-30 age group will have no progression at all. This is when players usually plateau. Ratings that are exempt are EX, LD and DI. These will continue to rise to the default settings.

Players in the 31-35 age group will begin to regress. This is the period of gradual regression. Each offseason each rating will drop by 1. Ratings that are exempt are EX, LD, DI, FO and PA.

Player in the 35+ age group will be in steep decline. This is the period where a player’s play really drops. Each offseason each rating will drop by 2. Ratings that are exempt are EX, LD and DI.