1. PAYROLL
A/ Your payroll will be determined by actual player salaries as of
the end of the previous regular season ($1-million=$1).
B/ Any player not on the salary list will be available for the NNHL
minimum, (.15).
C/ If a team does not pay its entry fee by May
30, the franchise will be revoked.
D/ A team must pay the full salary for any player playing more than
nine games in a season.
E/ A team will pay one-third of the player's salary if he plays fewer
than 10 games.
F/ A team must pay one-third of a player's salary if he has played
more than 70 career NNHL games (1750 minutes for goalies), regardless of
whether he plays any games for the team.
2. ROSTERS
A/ Each team has two rosters, a playing roster (24 players) and a expanded
roster (40 players total).
B/ Each team must name its playing roster by Sept. 25.
C/ Injured and suspended players will not count toward your playing
roster but will count toward your expanded roster.
D/ Players not on the playing roster will be sent to the minors.
3. WAIVERS
A/ To demote a player from the playing roster to the minors, the player
must clear waivers if he has played more than 70 NNHL games (1750 minutes
for goalies) in his career.
D/ A team claiming a player on waivers must surrender its last draft
pick available at the time to the team losing the player. This applies
at all times during the season except in October. There is no compensation
awarded to a player claimed on waivers in October.
4. CONTRACTS
A/ Each team will be given 100 years in contracts
to be assigned to their players (a maximum of 40 signed players).
B/ A player will become free agents when the
final year of his contract expires. Contract years expire July 1.
C/ Each year teams will be given three contract
extensions that can be used at any time before June 30 of the following
year. The extensions will allow a team to add years to the contract of
a player already signed.
D/ Extensions may be granted to any player with
an existing contract.
E/ Players do not have to be signed to a contract
until two years after they are drafted provided they do not play in an
NNHL game.
5. SIGNING FREE AGENTS
A/ Teams will submit a list of free agents they
want to offer contracts to by June 30.
B/ Teams will assign a contract offer (in years)
to each player on its list and the players will be listed in priority order.
C/ Teams will be able to remove a player from
their free agent list at any time.
D/ Free agent players will be chosen at random
each day beginning on July 1. They will sign on their designated day.
E/ The team offering the longest contract in
years will sign the player.
F/ If two teams submit the same contract offer,
the player will go to the team the player was under contract to (or held
exempt status) on June 30 of that year, if that team is involved in the
tie.
G/ If that team is not involved in the tie, whoever
has that player listed highest on its priority list will get the player.
H/ If they are still tied, the teams will be
given the opportunity to submit a another bid. They can either increase
their bid or drop out. This process will continue until the tie is broken.
If both teams drop out at the same time the player will reenter the free
agent pool and the process will start again.
6. FREE AGENT COMPENSATION
A/ Any team losing a player signed to a contract
of five years or more will receive its choice of a draft pick at the end
of the second round or an extra contract extension.
7. CONTRACT STATUS
A/ Contracts will only be voided if the player
retires before the age of 37 (age determined by the opening day of the
season).
B/ Any contract year beyond a player's 37th birthday
will be guaranteed and will not be voided even if the player retires.
C/ Players drafted by a team will be exempt from
signing a contract until they play an NNHL game. Their exempt status will
end July 1, two years after they are drafted.
8. TRADES
A/ There will be a trading deadline at the 56-game
mark (approx.) of the season.
B/ Collusion is not allowed. Any suspicious looking
trades will be subject to a vote of league members with more than 50% approval
needed to approve a trade.
C/ Any team may request a vote on a trade. The
team requesting the vote and the teams involved in the trade will not vote.
D/ Both teams involved in a trade must approve
a trade. A trade proposal or offer does not constitute approval unless
the team making the offer/proposal specifies its approval at the time the
offer/proposal is made.
E/ In order for a trade to be official, proof
or confirmation is required from both teams. If it is by e-mail, you can
forward the other team's acceptance.
9. LINE-UP/STRATEGY
A/ At the beginning of the season you will fill out strategy and lineup
sheets.
B/ Each team must dress 18 skaters and two goalies for each game.
C/ Failure to dress the required number of players
will result in a penalty against your team. For every 10-man games for
injuries/suspensions that a lineup is not submitted, a team will lose one
of its extensions.
D/ On the lineup sheet you will provide line combinations, defence
pairings a starting goalie and scratches for your team and allot ice time
for each.
E/ On the strategy sheet you will fill out the number of shifts for
each line and defensive pairings as well as other strategies, such as when
to pull the goalie and when you should start protecting a lead or pressing
for another goal.
F/ Once a game is in progress, lineups cannot be changed with the exception
of the goalie. The goalie will be changed based on criteria outlined on
the strategy sheet.
G/ Keep a copy of your lineup. Requests for current lineups will not
be answered.
H/ In the case of an injury, if a lineup change
is not submitted and no other player has been placed in the injured players
position, the injured player will be reinserted into the lineup but will
not be assigned a position. That player will count toward the penalty outlined
in 9C until he is assigned a position.
10. CHANGING LINEUPS/STRATEGIES
A/ The result of your game will be posted on the website upon completion
of the game.
B/ Your next game can be played as of 12:01 a.m. on the day it is scheduled
to be played. Consideration will be given to teams that play back-to-back
days but if not be prepared to have your lineup ready in advance.
C/ In case of injuries in the previous game, no player will be substituted
into the injured player's position if a lineup is not submitted (goalie
will be the one exception).
11. OFF-ICE INJURIES
A/ Anything that happens in real life other than a game or practice
situation will be transferred to the NNHL.
B/ A player who announces his retirement is no longer eligible to play
as of the day of the announcement. The exception is if a player retires
at the end of his team's NHL season. The player will then be allowed to
complete the NNHL season.
C/ A player injured in an off-ice accident in real life (car accidents,
etc.) or who is sidelined by a non-hockey related illness is not eligible
to play until he returns from that injury.
E/ A player who leaves the team on his own for reasons other than a
contract dispute (drug rehab, personal problems, police charges) is not
eligible to play until he returns to the team.
F/ A player suspended by the league for an off-ice matter (drugs, etc.)
is not eligible to play.
G/ A player suspended for an on-ice incident is eligible to play.
H/ A player suspended by the team management is eligible to play unless
the player is suspended after leaving the team.
I/ A player injured in a game will remain eligible to play
J/ It is the responsibility of all team owners to bring players falling
into any of the above categories to the attention of the
commissioner.
K/ All rulings on eligibility will be based on
media reports. If a team can produce a media report that says the injury
is related to an on-ice injury, the player will be eligible to play. If
there are contradictory reports, the player will remain eligible to play.
12. SUSPENSIONS
A/ A player will be suspended for any match penalty or gross misconduct.
B/ Length of the suspension will be chosen randomly and will be between
one and four games.
C/ A second and subsequent suspensions will be added to the length
first suspension.
13. SCHEDULE
A/ Teams will play an 80-game schedule.
B/ Each team will play four teams, seven times (four home, three away);
four teams, seven times (three home, four away) and three teams eight times
(4 home, 4 road).
14. PLAYOFFS
A/ The top eight teams will make the playoffs.
B/ Teams will be seeded one through eight. One will play eight, two
will play seven, three will play six and four will play five.
C/ Teams will be reseeded following each round.
C/ All series will follow a 2-2-1-1-1 format.
D/ Payoffs as a percentage will be:
Regular season: 1st (10%); 2nd (7%); 3rd (6%);
4th (5%); 5th (3.5%); 6th (3%); 7th (2.5%); 8th (2%); 9th (1.5%); 10th
(1%); 11th (0.5%); most improved team (2%); 2nd most improved (1%).
Playoffs: 1st round series win (4%); 3% pooled
among first round losers and divided by number of wins; 2nd round series
win (5%); 3% pooled among second round losers and divided by number of
wins; Final, loser earns 2% per win; Winner earns between 17-23% depending
on number of losses.
E/ Teams penalized under rule 9C will not be
eligible for the most improved team in the following season.
15. ENTRY DRAFT
A/ The entry draft will be held on the same day as the NHL draft.
B/ The draft will be seven rounds.
C/ A lottery will be used to determine the draft order. Non-playoff
teams will be eligible for the lottery. Odds of winning are 9th (10%);
10th (20%); 11th (30%); 12th (40%).
C/ Playoff teams will draft in reverse order of finish. The draft will
follow the same order each round.
D/ To be eligible for the draft a player must 1/ have never been on
an NNHL roster 2/ have played in the NHL, IHL, AHL, ECHL or Europe the
previous season 3/ have been drafted or signed by an NHL team. 4/ be over
the age of 19 if playing in major junior or college.
16. WAIVER DRAFT
A/ Any player with 70 or more career games or 1750 minutes (for goalies)
that is assigned to a minor league team when the rosters are cut to 24
will be eligible for the waiver draft.
B/ The draft will continue until each team passes.
C/ There is no compensation for losing a player in the waiver draft.
D/ Players selected in the waiver draft must
stay on the 24-man roster until the 15-game mark of the season.
17. USE OF NON NHL PLAYERS
A/ Teams will not be able to use players that
are not included on the season disk unless they have no other eligible
player on their roster. The exception will be players who were on the previous
season's disk.
B/ Players who were on the previous season's
disk but are not on the current disk will have their highest rating dropped
by one point.
C/ Players who were not in the NHL last season will have statistics
pro-rated.
Group 1 (OHL, WHL, QMJHL, U.S. college, ECHL)
25%
Vincent Lecavalier 44 goals, 115 points
becomes 11 goals, 29 points
Group 2 (IHL, AHL, Germany, Italy, Swiss, Slovakia)
50%
Daniel Briere
36 goals, 92 points
becomes 18 goals, 46 points
Group 3 (Russia, Sweden, Czech, Finland)
75%
Olli Jokinen
14 goals, 41 points
becomes 11 goals, 31 points
D/Players from these leagues will also be given a lesser fatigue rating
so they will tire more quickly during a shift and a game. Group 1
will have a 30 second shift fatigue, 5 minute game fatigue. Group 2 (60
seconds, 10 minutes) Group 3 (90 seconds, 15 minutes).
E/Goaltenders will have their goals against multiplied by Group 1 (1.75),
Group 2 (1.5) and Group 3 (1.25).
F/Players who split the season between the NHL and another league will
have their statistics combined to reflect their play for the entire season.
Example: Chad Kilger
Phoenix NHL 24-4-3-7
100% 24-4-3-7
Springfield IHL 52-17-28-45
50% 52-9-14-23
Total
76-13-17-30
E/ Players who played less than 20% of their games in a league other
than the NHL will not have the stats from the other league included in
their totals.