The Ultimate Fantasy Hockey League (2010-2011)

(UFHL)

Official Rulebook

 

League Officials

 

  1. Commissioner (J.Carlos Quintana)
    1. The decision of the Commissioner supersedes the rules and is the final voice on all disputes within the league. The Commissioner has final say on all aspects of league activity and aspects: rules, contracts, transactions, drafts, schedules and expansion.
    2. The Commissioner is obliged to inform all owners of all and any changes in the aforementioned aspects of the league, but once again is the final voice in any rule changes for the good of the league.
    3. The Commissioner has the right of veto in any trade.     

 

  1. President (Patrick Teoli)
    1. The President assists the Commissioner in authority of the following aspects: rules, contracts, transactions, reports and expansion.
    2. The President is obligated to inquire on his fellow owners on all aforementioned aspects of the league in respect to any changes proposed by the Commissioner.
    3. The President has the right to veto any of the leagues proposals when appointed as a replacement to the Commissioner.

 

League Setup

 

  1. The Ultimate Fantasy Hockey League (UFHL) is a rotisserie-based, head to head league. Each club will compete in a weekly match up against other clubs to see who can compile the best overall statistics in a number of different categories.
  2. The UFHL is a dynasty league; therefore, clubs can begin each year with a core of players, since they are signed to multi-year contracts provided by the team’s owners. Minor league players also remain the property of the parent club unless given there out right release.
  3. The UFHL will select the players from the current NHL talent pool; all players drafted in the NHL are available for each owner to sign.
  4. The UFHL will have 12 franchises to begin the fiscal 2003 season.

 

Team Owners

 

  1. Owners are fully responsible for their rosters, transactions, and weekly lineups. All owners will be expected to follow all UFHL rules and regulations.
  2. Owners are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that will not disparage the league or other owners in any shape, form or fashion.

 

Scoring System

 

  1. The UFHL utilizes a category based scoring system in which each statistical category counts as one “Point”, with the score being credited to the club that finishes the week with the highest total in that category (the cumulative total after each Sunday’s games). So, if in a given week, a club scores more goals than other club, the latter would be credited with a point. But, if the other club ended the week with more wins, it would be given a point. If the two clubs end up tied in a given category, neither receives credit for the point. At the conclusion of each week, whichever club has scored the most points will get credit for a win, while the other is charged with a loss. If the two clubs end up tied in points, the game goes into overtime to break the tie (please see Overtime for details). This weekly win-loss total will be added to a cumulative season record, which will be used to determine standings and playoff seeding.
  2. The statistics are calculated over a seven-day period starting with Monday’s games.
  3. The UFHL will utilize the following 12 categories:
    1. Offensive Categories (Centers/Forwards/Rover)

1.Goals scored.

2. Assists.

3. Penalties in minutes (PIM).

4. Plus/Minus (+/-).

 

    1. Defensive Categories (Defensemen)

1. Goals scored.

2. Assists.

3. Penalties in Minutes (PIM).

4. Plus/Minus (+/-).

 

    1. Goaltending Categories

1. Wins.

2. Save Percentage (sv %)= total saves/total shots

3. Goals against Average (G.A.A) = total goals x game length in minutes (60) / total minutes played.

4. Shutouts.

 

  1. Overtime Games
    1. Overtimes are used to decide tie games, they are decided in the following order:

1. Each team must select 3 players to compete in a shootout head to head. (1 vs. 1, etc..)

   2. The team with the most goals and wins combined.

   3. The team with the most combined points (goals + assists)

   4. The team with the best G.A.A.

 

      Rosters

 

1) All Clubs in the UFHL will have an active roster of 22 players at the start of the season. In-season Active Rosters shall never be below 16 players and never exceed 22 players. Clubs may carry up to 3 Injured Reserve (IR) players and 12 Minor League Players, which do not count towards the Active Roster minimum/maximum requirements.

a. Offensive/Defensive Players (Minimum 14 players)

        1. At least 3 centers.
        2. At least 6 wingers.
        3. At least four defensemen.
        4. One rover (either winger/center/defenseman).

 

b. Goalies.

        1. At least 2 starting Goaltenders.

 

2) Any player can be placed on the IR at any time during the season so long as they are on the IR in the NHL.. Any player on the actual IR cannot be claimed on waivers unless given his outright release by the parent club. Once a player is on the IR, he can remain there for the entire season, even if he returns to action (players are still compensated at full salary). If you elect to take a player off the IR or call up a minor league player then you to make room on the active roster by placing a player on the IR or giving them their outright release. In order for the player to be added to the active roster the request needs to be made no later than midnight (Eastern Time) Friday to be eligible to play the following week.

 

3) All clubs can carry a Minor League roster of up to 12 players. In doing so, clubs are able to draft talented players, wait for their development, protect the rights to these players and build for the future. The Annual Draft will take place, enabling clubs to select minor league players, rookies and major leaguers to add to their Active and Minor League Rosters.

 

4) Players on a club’s Minor League Roster do not count towards a club’s budget unless released. When released they will immediately be added to the salary cap for no longer than 3 years or the length of the contract if less than 3 years at the time of their release.

 

 

 

 

Weekly Lineups

 

1) Weekly lineups in the UFHL consist of the following.

1.      Offense

1. 3 centers.

2. 6 wingers (left or right).

3. A rover- counts as an extra attacker/defender.

2.      Defense

1. 4 defenseman

2. A rover- counts as an extra attacker/defender.

3.      Goaltending

             i.    2 goalies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4-  In addition, if a team constantly plays an injured player for more than one week....this is not day to day injured players, these are players who we know are on the IR, been released retired or are in the minors.... the team will be subject to fines such as loss of cap space in the next season (4 Million dollar increments, reduction of minor league spots and possible loss of draft picks starting from the highest and moving on down....this is to ensure competitiveness throughout the year, if you’re a team fighting for a playoff spot and your rival team is playing someone who is playing injured players and has been doing so because they do not bother to sign players off waivers or make necessary trades, it makes it easier for that team then you who will be trying to make the playoffs against a team who is fully stocked....if your team is weak is one thing but not complete is another and well no longer be tolerated....extra back up goalies will be added to the waivers to help teams that may have lost a goalie and have no recourse....

 

5- Goalies must play a minimum of 2 games....this is not 2 games started, but two games for all 4 categories to count, should your goalies only play one game, then the opposing team would win GAA and Sv% regardless of the amounts, however the team with only one game played in the goalies can still earn points for wins and Shut outs
 

 

 

2) Weekly lineups in the UFHL are due by the start of the first game on Monday.

 

3) As of 2010 all weekly line ups are subject to review.  It will be at the commissioner’s discretion to review line ups for competitive fairness.  Should you not be compliant, for example, playing 2 back up goalies when you have starters on your roster, resting star players who are not injured, etc…

 

The team will be subject to harsh penalties, including loss of draft picks and fines up of 10 million dollars per infraction, as well as possible removal from the league should this continue.

 

As stated previously, the UFHL is about competitive fairness and no teams should benefit from someone not playing the best line up possible or not having player’s necessary to field a complete line up on a weekly basis.

 

There will be ZERO tolerance.

 

 

 

Player Salaries and Contracts

 

1) Beginning in the 2003-2004 season an annual Free agent signing period (Auction) in which clubs will be able to bid on available free agents and sign them to contracts.

 

2) All UFHL contracts shall not exceed 3 years in length.

 

3) All players drafted and placed in the minor league roster may remain with the club for a total of 6 years and are not eligible for free agency until said time.

 

4) Once a player is activated by the parent club, he loses his minor league status and is subject to free agency after 3 years.

 

5) Players signed though the auction or draft have guaranteed contracts, if any player is released during the contract period the club will be held liable for the total contract, i.e. if Joe Sakic is signed for 3 years at 10 million a season and is released the club will be held liable for 10 million per year until the contract expires. If a player retires, he can be released without penalty of a buyout, release must occur prior to UFHL draft, in season releases will result in a contract buyout.

 

6) All Players drafted in the first year of the UFHL will be subject to actual NHL salaries found at sites such as http://www.nhl.com. The players will remain at such salaries until their UFHL contract expires and then are subject to the auction.

 

7) Beginning in the draft of the 2006-2007 season the round in which a rookie player is drafted will determine the worth of said player.

1.      3 million for a first rounder (1-1), 2.5 million for first rounder (1-2) and 2 million for first rounder (1-3), 1.5 million for a first rounder (1-4 to 1-12)

2.       1 Million For a second rounder.

3.      .800 Million for a third rounder.

4.      .650 Million for a fourth rounder.

5.   .500 Million for a fifth and sixth rounder

 

8) Rookies will remain at said worth until their contract expires.

 

9) During the 2005-06 season all unsigned and released players will be placed in a waiver wire and made available to all teams. Their salaries will be determined trough sealed bids. .

 

10) All clubs will have a salary cap to respect; at no time can the total of the contracts on the roster exceed the salary cap, should a team during the regular season be in violation of the cap, the players acquired that aided in busting the cap will be ineligible to play for the team, Penalties for cap violation in terms of players or salary will be no longer subject to a two point loss for games, the team will also be fined 4 million for a first offence (reduced from cap in following year), in addition the fine will increase to 8 million for a second offence and so forth in increments of 4 million dollars...should a team be penalized more than twice during league existence, then the team will be subject to a loss of draft pick, again starting from the first round and moving downward for the following season...a freeze will also at that time be placed on any trades involving draft picks for said team as a way to not have the team avoid being penalized in this fashion. The salary cap is 80 million beginning in 2008-2009 UFHL season. No left over money can be carried over from year to year.

 

11) Any Player dropped following the trade deadline, will have the buyout reflect on the teams salary cap for the following year, the players salary will not be removed from the teams’ payroll until after the season, only the roster spot will be vacated.

 

 

Trades

 

1) The trading period begins at the Annual Draft and continues until, the trade deadline at midnight on TBD. 

 

2) All kinds of transactions are permitted, such as multi-player trades, three way trades and draft picks. Although no trading involving cash will be allowed.

 

3) All trades must be confirmed by phone or e-mail at mailto:j.carlos@sympatico.com, to the Commissioners’ office by all clubs involved. Trades will be posted on the message board by the commissioners’ office upon approval, trades posted on the message board by the teams involved does not signal an official trade

 

4) In order for a trade to be effective during the regular season for the following week of play, it must be completed by Friday at midnight eastern time.

 

5)      Trade protests. At no time, will trade protest be made public by other teams in the league. The commissioner’s office will review all trades before they are made public and if posted is because of approval by the office.  If after such time there are strong sentiments against the trade, any and all Owners can contact the commissioner’s office in writing or by phone and provide their opinions.

 

Waivers

1) All unsigned players and released players are available on waivers.

2) If a player is dropped Wednesday afternoon, he will be made available the next waiver period (following week).

In order for a claim to be effective for the following week, waiver claims need to be made no later than midnight (Eastern Time) Friday of the previous week.

3.      Waiver signings are by blind bidding by all teams interested in signing the available player, league minimum is the starting salary for all players.

4.      If more than one club bids the same amount on the same player, the club who submitted the first bid receives the player.

5.      All players claimed on waivers are only signed for the remainder of the season and will be made free agents for the following season.

6.      Waiver wire will be available till the last Friday of the regular season, after which time no claims will be processed due to the start of the playoffs.

7.      Waiver claim bids begin at $500,000 and can only be increased by a higher bid of no less than $250,000 (ex. 500, 750, 1.0, 1.25 and so forth)

 

 

 

Drafts

1) The worst two division teams will be placed in a one game sudden death match to determine who will pick first overall, the remaining clubs will be slotted according to regular season finish. The annual draft will consist of 4 rounds, this although does not limit your team to 6 picks. Draft picks can be acquired through trade.

 

Position Eligibility

1) All position eligibility will be clearly listed on the salary list provided by the UFHL. Players are given multiple positions if they have played at least 10% of their games at a position (during even strength situations). This is a fair representation of a player's position and it is created by a non-biased source.

2) The position for all unlisted and minor-league players will be determined by projecting their possible positions for the upcoming season.

3) The Sergio/Lindros rule....Position eligibility must be addressed to the Commissioner at the beginning of the season following the draft and prior to the start of the season, no player can change position or be added a second position once league play has began and the change will have to wait till the following season

 

Free Agency

1) When a player’s contract expires he is eligible for free agency. Contracts are officially expired as of July 1st.  All players whose contract expire and are under the age of 30, as of July 1st, will become a restricted free agent. Teams can protect up to a maximum of 4 RFA per year.  Restricted free agency breaks into three classes. Class 1 is for players aged 18-23, Class 2 is for players aged 24-27 and Class 3 is for players 28-30.  A team with a restricted free agent can match the final offer for the player; the team has the right to final bid. Any restricted free agent signed away from their team is compensated by a 1st rounder. The 1st round pick lost is the highest first round pick if new team has multiple, should the team bid again, then they will lose their next highest pick and so forth.  When a player over the age of thirty, as of July 1st and has an expired contract the player becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with the highest bidder. The players former team has no right to final offer and must submit a bid like every other team in the league

2) Any player signed off waivers can only be signed to a one year contract and becomes an unrestricted free agent at year’s end regardless of the players’ age.

3) If a restricted free agent re-signs with his own team without ever being bid on his salary cannot be less then established by the RFA Class he falls into, Class 1 minimum salary is 3 million, Class 2 minimum salary is 4.5 million and Class 3 minimum salary is 6 million. All UFA bidding begins at 500,000 regardless of his previous salary.

4) As per rule 3 of Free Agency no opening bid can be less than 500,000(the minimum opening bid is subject to change annually and will determined by the Commissioner’s office prior to the upcoming season) and continue in increments of 250,000 per bid.

5) The maximum a player can be signed to contract is 3 years.


      Scheduling

1) All clubs will play a TBD game schedule. The regular season schedule will begin TBD.

2) All clubs play 2 games against their division opponents, one against the other division and 2 against a pre-selected rival.

Standings

1) Standings are based on a club’s overall winning percentage, which is calculated by taking the win total and dividing the sum by the total number of games played.

2) The following tiebreakers will be used to in order to separate two or more clubs that are tied in the standings:

1.      Head to head.

2.      Record within the division.

3.      Points For and Points Against differential

4.      A team’s statistical total vs. another team’s season stats in a showdown game.

5.      Record against the other division.

6.   A coin toss

 

 

 

Playoffs

1) No more than 6 clubs will make the playoffs, the three top teams from the Lamontagne Division and Pisanelli Division, regardless of the size of the league.

2) All Players on IR or Minor League teams that teams wish to use in the playoffs must be activated by the last week of the regular season.

3) The format will be the 1st place team in the respective division receives a bye into the conference finals, the 2nd place team plays the 3rd place team in a one game sudden death elimination.

4) The Conference Finals will be a best 2 out of 3 series, with the winner advancing into the UFHL Cup finals.

5) The UFHL Cup Finals will be a best 2 out of 3 series; the team that wins will be declared the Esposito Cup Champion.

 

League Fees

1) The entry fee will be $50.

2) All fees must be paid before the start of the playoffs and can be paid in full or partial throughout the season.

 

Prize Money

1) UFHL Cup winner will receive 300$, while the Cup finalist will receive 150$.

2) In subsequent seasons the prize money may vary depending on the amount of teams in the league.

3) The league fee will include a $12.50 league fee for webs server and trophy maintenance and other league needs