USFHL Constitution

USFHL CONSTITUTION

League Commissioner:

Handles the day to day functions of the league including - schedule, annual draft, trades, website updates, Yuku board set-up, league updates, receiving results, collecting league fees, sourcing & shipping out the championship plaque and any other required activities for general operation of the league.

League Co-Commissioner:

Handles the verification of team manager files in accordance to the leagues rules, monitors each teams player usage, Yuku board moderator and compiles team and league statistics after each block of play.

League Requirements:

Strat-o-matic Hockey V11.00e
2010-2011 season rosters
$5 league dues per team in order to help pay for the Yuku Board, League Championship Plaque and League Website
Yahoo IM buddy name
Yuku membership name & Sign up to our private board named, "Ultimate Strat Fans"

League Code of Conduct:

The commissioner retains the right to remove any league member which he feels demonstrates a lack of respect and integrity to the league and its other members
All rules listed in this constitution are enforced with zero tolerance
Failure to meet deadlines and/or communicate in a timely fashion are grounds for removal from this league
All commissioner decisions are final
If you are going to miss a deadline and need assistance from the commissioner please communicate ahead of time
Only results that are complete (export and boxscore file per game are submitted) will be considered official results
The commissioner reserves the right to have a game and/or block replayed if necessary

League Structure:

24 Teams
2 Conferences
12 Teams per Conference
3 Divisions per Conference
4 Teams per Division

League Schedule:

82 game unbalanced schedule
8 games vs. Divisional Opponents (8x3=24 games)
4 games vs. Conference Opponents (4x8=32 games)
2 games vs. Non-Conference Opponents (2x12=24 games)
2 games vs. any team (2x1=2 games)

League Playoffs Format:

Division winners qualify as Seeds #1, #2 and #3
Next best five(5) Conference records qualify as Seeds #4, #5, #6, #7 and #8
Round 1: #8 vs. #1, #7 vs. #2, #6 vs. #3, #5 vs. #4
Home ice advantage belongs to the team that has the lowest seed in the Conference Playoffs
Home ice advantage belongs to the team that has the most points in the Regular Season for the USFHL Championship series.
Playoff rounds are Best of 7 with a 2H, 2A, 1H, 1A, 1H format
NHL rules regarding tie-breakers will be used in this league
In case of a tie-breaker situation the order in which the tie-breaker is settled is; #1 - Wins, #2 - Head to Head Record and #3 - Goals Differential

League Annual Draft:

Roster size per team is set to 30 players at the start of the season
Each team may protect up to a maximum of 19 players (for teams that meet all deadlines) or 18 players (for teams that don't meet all deadlines)
Any roster player from the previous season is eligible to be protected
If a protected player is non-carded they will be listed accordingly in the annual draft file.
Draft consists of the following pool of players: NHL rookies, USFHL overused players, USFHL free agents and USFHL players that were cut
Trading is allowed in accordance to our League Trade Rules
Draft order is determined as follows: League Champion picks last, Playoff teams (ranked in order by how far they proceeded in the playoffs) and then Non-Playoff teams.
The teams with the four(4) worst records will enter a lottery to determine the draft spots #1 through #4 in Round 1 only
Round 2 and beyond; teams with the four(4) worst records will be seeded according to their record
NHL tie-breaker rules will apply if applicable
Rounds 1 through to 14 are single pick selections; Round 15 allows each team to pick until they reach the 30 roster limit
Once a team reaches 30 players their draft is complete and all un-used picks are forfeited

League Play:

12 Blocks per season is used
Each Block consists of road & home games for each team
Teams will play their home games in each Block
Teams will use 4 OFF lines and 3 DEF lines for all periods except OT during the regular season and playoffs
In OT, a team will use 3 OFF lines and 2 DEF lines
Cards per OFF & DEF line change is set to 3
Computer Line changes with Human Decisions will be used
Each OFF & DEF line must see the ice in sequence before a line is repeated (example; Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, Line 4 is allowed; Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, Line 1, Line 4 is not allowed)
Players may not double shift
Visiting teams are required to keep the same OFF & DEF line order for the entire game
Home teams are allowed to match-up lines for the entire game (this is done by reviewing the opponents computer manager report)
Teams may use the lock computer manager feature in order to hide player and/or team tendencies
Teams create the following OFF lines: OFF E1, OFF E2, OFF E3, OFF E4, OT1, OT2, OT3, PP1 5 on 4, PP2 5 on 4, PP3 4 on 3, PK1 4 on 5, PK2 4 on 5, PK3 3 on 4
Teams create the following DEF lines: DEF E1, DEF E2, DEF E3, OT1, OT2, PP1, PP2, PK1, PK2
A player can only appear on one of the 2 main PP lines and one of the 2 main PK lines
Any Forward with a P** rating may play the point on the power play
The Power Play unit must consist of at least one Defensemen
The Penalty Kill unit must consist of at least two Defensemen
Teams can change OFF/DEF settings during a stop in play (example; face off and Line Change situation)

League Game Play Settings:

The "Remove if Fatigued" function for goalies should not be used (be careful with your goalie usage if you decide to use this feature)
The Following Max Rules will not be used: Home Rink Advantage, Skater Fatigue System & Enforcer Rule
The Following Max Rules will be used: Alternative Passing System & Support Low Penalty Minutes
No Rest will be used
Lock League function will be used at the start of each season
Teams will be able to use their own Lock Code for their Computer Manager
No Subs on coincidental penalties will be used
Action, Ice, Skate, Pass rule will be used
The end penalty minor on a PPG rule will be used
2009+ face off after a penalty rule will be used (face off moves to the OFF zone)
(4 on 4) OT for 5 minutes, followed by a shoot-out rule will be used (1 point is award to the team that loses in OT/Shoot-out)
OT in the playoffs is Sudden Death

Any Player Shots (AS) Rule:

A home team must restrict his shot candidates to those with the highest OFF rating for "any player shots" opportunities
If two or more candidates have the same OFF rating, he must select the player with the least previous any player shots (rotate these opportunities)
A home team may choose any player with no restrictions for "any player rebound shots", "inside shot any player", "outside shot any player", "Lose puck - inside shot any player" , "Lose puck - outside shot any player" opportunities
The above rule will allow the shots on goal to be spread out throughout the game to other players (not just your best player every time) who had a lot of shots on goal too

League Rosters:

Once the season has started, each teams must maintain a minimum of 25 to a maximum of 35 players on their roster
Once a team reaches either limit, a player must be either waived or claimed accordingly
Once the season starts, Free agents are players that have not been selected in the draft
Free agents claimed during the season are not eligible to be protected at the end of the year unless the player was previously waived and not overused

Player Limitations:

Players are only allowed to play at positions listed on their card except, where permitted by SOM hockey rules
Exceptions are: RD can play both RD and LD on the PP Unit, C may play either RW/LW on the PK units and in OT
Notes: RD must play RD and LD must play LD in PK units

Player Usage:

Regular Season (Forwards & Goalies):

Any player that has played 70 or more NHL games is unlimited in the regular season
Any player that has played 69 or fewer NHL games is limited to the actual number of games played in the regular season
Goalies are limited in games played to their actual NHL games played in the regular season
Any goalie and/or forward overused in the regular season become free agents

Playoffs:

Forwards:

Any OFF/DEF player that has played 61 games in the NHL is unlimited in the playoffs
Any OFF/DEF player that has played 60 or fewer NHL games is limited in games per series by taking their number of games played and dividing by 10 (rounded up)
Example; a player that has played 41 games in the NHL is limited to 41/10 = 4.1, Rounded Up = 5 games per series in the playoffs
Any forward that is overused in the playoffs become free agents

Goalies:

To be eligible for post season play a goalie must start in 10 NHL games
At the start of each playoff series a team must select a minimum of 2 goalies that have a combined fatigue level of 7
If more goalies are selected than 2, then these additional goalies must have a minimum fatigue rating of 3
A goalie can start as many games per series as indicated by their fatigue rating (Example: A Goalie fatigue rating of 3 = 3 playoff games per series
Any goalie that is overused in the playoffs become free agents

Free Agency:

A team may claim a free agent under the following circumstances: 1) to fill a roster spot for usage help*; or 2) to make up a roster spot for an unbalanced trade**
* penalty applies (See League Penalties)
** no penalty applies
* & ** the player is eligible for protection if he was previously waived and not overused
See League Rosters for details on the min/max roster sizes allowed

Waivers:

A team may waive a player under the following circumstances: 1) to make room for a free agent*; 2) to make up a roster spot for an unbalanced trade**; or 3) overused player***
* no penalty applies
** no penalty applies
*** the player is not eligible for free agent claiming and protection at seasons end
See League Rosters for details on the min/max roster sizes allowed

League Penalties:

All league penalties will be enforced with zero tolerance
Any overused player becomes a free agent and is not eligible to be protected at seasons end and is not eligible to be claimed
Overuse Penalties: 1 Player - no penalty, 2-3 Players - Lose 1 player protection, 4-5 Players - Lose 2 player protections, 6 or more Players - Lose 3 player protections
Free Agent Penalties: 1 Player - no penalty, 2-3 Players - Lose 1 player protection, 4-5 Players - Lose 2 player protections, 6 or more Players - Lose 3 player protections
Player protections referenced above apply to the very next USFHL season
New owners to the league will take over the team roster as is except as follows: Overused players are still lost to free agency but, no penalties are applied, Free agents are still not eligible for player protection but, no penalties are applied

League Incentives:

Teams that meet all deadlines in the USFHL season are rewarded with an extra player protection (19 keepers)
Teams that meet at least one deadline in the USFHL season earn no reward (18 keepers)
New owners that join the league mid-season will have their incentive standing reset to perfect and will be monitored from the day they join to the balance of the USFHL season
Any owner that fails to meet 3 deadlines without any communication will be removed from the league

League Trading:

Trading is allowed at any point in the off-season and during the regular season to the start of BLOCK 7
Unbalanced trades are allowed as long as the applicable teams involved in the trade meet the League Roster requirements
Trading of future draft picks beyond one(1) season from the current season is not allowed (Example In the 2010-11 Season, a team cannot trade picks beyond 2011-2012 season)
Only teams that have been in the league for one(1) full season are permitted to trade picks beyond the current season
Trading for players and/or draft picks to be named later is not allowed
Any trade that is viewed by the commissioner as being clearly unfair and not in the best interest of the league will be revoked

New League Rules:

In the off-season, an owner may suggest a new and/or change to a current rule in the USFHL
The commissioner will review all ideas and will decide based on the interest of the league which ones qualify to be voted by all league members
In order to change an existing rule; 18 votes approving the change are needed
In order to add a new rule; 13 votes approving the new rule are needed
Any non-votes will be automatically counted exactly as the commissioner voted
The commissioner reserves the right to implement and/or change any rule that is the best interest of the USFHL and his time to properly manage the league

League Championship

The winner of the USFHL Stanley Cup will receive an awesome plaque for their accomplishment!