Official FNHL Rules
updated: 8/9/2022

Following red text overrides roster rules written further in the page. These are newly changed with SEASON 1 being our upcoming season as of 8/9/2022

SEASON 1 (immediately):

·  Players aged 20 and younger are eligible for the farm regardless of OV

·  Players 76 and over have to play on the pro-roster

·  Players making $4 million or more cannot be on the farm roster

·  The third-rated farm goalie can stay on the farm regardless of OV

·  If you have a player 76 and over or making $4 million or more who you no longer want, you must email the whole league that the player is being waived. If he is not claimed (lowest points to highest points priority). After two game days pass, he will either be assigned to the new team or the commissioner/VP player personnel (Graham) will email the whole league that the player is being released. The league has two game days to submit a 1 year contract bid. The highest contract wins the player. The waiving team must pay the remainder of the contract minus the new salary. That player is not eligible for trade as a rental.

SEASON 2:

·  Players drafted that immediate season are eligible for the farm regardless of OV

·  Players 76 and over have to play on the pro-roster

·  Players making $3 million or more cannot be on the farm roster

·  The third-rated farm goalie can stay on the farm regardless of OV

·  If you have a player 76 and over or making $3 million or more who you no longer want, you must email the whole league that the player is being waived. If he is not claimed (lowest points to highest points priority). After two game days pass, he will either be assigned to the new team or the commissioner/VP player personnel (Graham) will email the whole league that the player is being released. The league has two game days to submit a 1 year contract bid. The highest contract wins the player. The waiving team must pay the remainder of the contract minus the new salary.  That player is not eligible for trade as a rental.

SEASON 3:

·  Players drafted that immediate season are eligible for the farm regardless of OV

·  Players 75 and over have to play on the pro-roster

·  Players making more than $2.5 million cannot be on the farm roster

·  The third-rated farm goalie can stay on the farm regardless of OV

·  If you have a player 75 and over or making more than $2.5 million who you no longer want, you must email the whole league that the player is being waived. If he is not claimed (lowest points to highest points priority). After two game days pass, he will either be assigned to the new team or the commissioner/VP player personnel (Graham) will email the whole league that the player is being released. The league has two game days to submit a 1 year contract bid. The highest contract wins the player. The waiving team must pay the remainder of the contract minus the new salary. That player is not eligible for trade as a rental.

 

 

All rules are subject to change, but you will most likely be notified first (unless it's something minor). Remember, if something's not clear, don't be afraid to ask. Send an email to the Commissioner (fnhlwalsh@gmail.com), or you can ask one of the long-time Guru GMs, like Graham Burns

 

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I. League Offices

 

Several people are responsible for running the FNHL.

 

The Commish is Wesley Walsh. He handles most day-to-day duties and will answer any questions you have. Email is the best way to get an answer.

 

Another person who runs the league is you, the GM. Without all our GMs we wouldn't be a league and this league is always open to suggestions on how to make it better. Please feel free to email me any suggestions that may improve the league.

 

We at the FNHL do not tolerate abuse to the Commish. If you have a problem with the way things are being handled we advise you to inform us privately and calmly and do not make it a league issue or termination is possible. Any kind of negative feedback regarding the Prez can be sent to Graham Burns (Vancouver GM) as he, as a league ambassador, will handle any conflicts.

 

Commissioner: Wesley Walsh

Email: fnhlwalsh@gmail.com

 

Founder: Dave Broche
Ambassador: Graham Burns
Webmaster: Jeff Nagle
Player Agent: Peter Martin

The league wouldn’t run without these folks.

 

 

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II. Owners Duties

 

Have fun! This league is for fun, so please do not take anything that happens to heart. Be friendly to all the other owners, no matter how bad their trade offers might be.

 

Owners are to respond to all e-mails they receive and must notify the league if they are going on a prolonged vacation.

 

Owners must submit lines once in a while, make substitutions for any injuries that might occur, again if a GM fail to do this, he will be notified. Owners need to keep their teams out of debt. Managing finances is part of the league and there are plenty of ways to earn money, even with a poor team. There are mechanisms in place to force GMs to remain in the black.

 

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III. Participation

 

Participation is vital to the league and your own team’s success. Participation will be tracked and rewarded. The way this is done and the rewards given could vary season to season, but what is current will always be laid out on the GMs Participation page.

In general you are asked to update lines, or confirm no changes are needed to your lines, and are rewarded money for doing so. You also can submit an article to the website, earning more money. Shoot for 175 words, and it can be about anything… your team, a recent game, someone else’s recent game, a player, whatever. Nobody is judging your content, you are rewarded the same as everyone simply for doing it.

Some people will inherently do much more than others, but it is important to understand there will be a maximum any team can earn, and doing far and above that cannot earn you extra credit, as GMs with not as much free times as others need to be respected.

GMs may at times be rewarded for extra help provided to the league, at the Commissioners discretion. An example would be the creation of the draft list and scouting, or handling some of Player Agent’s duties when the commissioner’s own team is involved.

 

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IV. Finances

 

It's a fun and excited aspect of the game, so learn what it's about. Basically, go to your team page and click "Finances". Make sure you understand where your team is at, and how those numbers work. It's really not that hard at all.

 

And the most important thing is just to KEEP YOUR CURRENT FUNDS OVER $0. This is very important. You will be given a warning if your team goes below $0. Once you are below $0, your highest paid player will be held out until you can get back in positives. If after a while of having your highest paid player hold out and you are still not over $0 you will be given a final warning. A while after the warning if you are still in negatives, the commissioner reserves the right to take the path of least resistance to return your team to the black. A trade could be made on your behalf, if you are unresponsive past the multiple warnings. The league will consider a team’s minimum revenue bump (if applicable) before taking action against a negative balance team.

 

Whenever your team is financially negative, the league will not approve any trade that does not lower your costs, unless it includes enough money to put you positive.

 

Move your ticket prices around to find the sweet spot. Keep an eye on your revenue every game to determine this. The league will change your ticket price whenever you ask.

 

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V. Salary Cap

 

When figuring out the salary cap and your own personal cap balance. Please refer to the salary caps page under the "Teams" menu option on the home page. You want to use the "Total Cap Balance" to figure out how much actual cap space you have. Injured or suspended players do not count on the cap. If you have questions on this, contact the league.

 

There is a current salary cap in the FNHL of $72,000,000. If your team is over the salary cap certain penalties can apply. However, we can’t expect all GMs to be daily participators, so consider this.

GM Jimmy has a player injured on Monday.  He sends lines on Tuesday, calling up a guy to replace the injury. Wednesday his team plays, after the game the injured player is ready to play again, putting the team over the cap. GM Jimmy is not expected to send lines Thursday to avoid a fine. However, if the league notices your team over the salary cap for 2 or more games, fines may start applying.

 

First Infraction: $200,000
Second Infraction: $300,000
Third Infraction: $500,000
All Subsequent Infractions: $5,000,000 per game

Your warning is the couple games grace you got after the injury ended. In most cases GMs are not willfully breaking the salary cap, and they just have not sent down their farm callup(s), but these penalties are in place to avoid breaking the cap.

 

There is NO Salary Cap in the playoffs. For this reason the 4th and subsequent infractions are a very large penalty to avoid teams going over the cap intentionally at the trade deadline.

 

If you go over the cap because of a simulator error then please notify me of the error so I can check it out and possibly waive the penalty. There are times when the simulator will auto-arrange the rosters and this can cause the problem.

 

 

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VI. Switching A Player’s Position

 

Players can play other positions than they are listed at, but they will not play to their full potential when they play out of position. (This is why editing lines are important).

 

If you provide proof in some way that a player does play more than one position in the NHL, then you can ask me to change him. For example, a player came up in the real world as a C, but was converted to a winger while in the NHL, sources at each position will likely exist. Only certain sources are accepted. Please send me an email explaining you want to change a players position and provide a credible link that shows that that players has played the position that you are changing him to.

What is currently accepted in changing a player’s position: NHL.com, Official NHL Team Websites, HockeyDB.com, TSN.ca Player Profiles, Sportsnet.ca Player Profiles, Espn.com Player Profiles, HockeysFuture.com (ceased in 2016, but old pages exist), and EliteProspects.com. Only player databases, profiles, and roster pages are considered, not box scores or articles which may only represent one night at the position. The position “F” does not give you an option, it must be specific LW-C-RW.

 

Player's age will be updated at the end of each season BEFORE the free agent signing period begins.

 

 

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VII. Drafts & Draft Lottery

 

Entry Draft:

 

A list of eligible players for the draft will be given during the FNHL season. The entry draft will be done each off-season. Most players in the draft are real players entering the draft, and some may be no-namers, etc. Every year we have three rounds in our draft.

 

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THESE ARE NOT OFFICIAL RATINGS. Every year these numbers are subject to change but I am showing this as a close example so you know what your draft picks are worth.

 

 

As far as the 1st round picks, they will be given the following ratings:

 

1 = 76/75

2-4 = 75/74

5-8 = 74/73

9-15 = 73/72

16-22 = 72

23-29 = 71

30 = 70

 

*Please note that some seasons these numbers may change but this is the standard we follow.

 

As far as the 2nd round picks, they will be given the following ratings:

 

31-38 = 70/69

39-49 = 69/68

49-60 = 68/67

And the third round:

61-70 = 67/66
71-80 = 66/65
81-90 = 65/64

 

 

Draft order will be determined by a lottery where all non-playoff teams will be entered in with the exception if that year is an expansion year. In that case, expansion team(s) will draft second overall with the first pick going to the lottery winner. Draws are performed for the top-3 picks. Odds as follows, starting from 32nd in the league:

18.5%
13.5%
11.5%
9.5%
8.5%
7.5%

6.5%
6.0%
5.0%
3.5%
3.0%
2.5%
2.0%
1.5%
0.5%

0.5%

The odds for the remaining clubs will increase on a proportionate basis for the 2nd Lottery Draw, based on which club wins the 1st Lottery Draw, and again for the 3rd Lottery Draw, based on which club wins the 2nd Lottery Draw.

 

The FNHL does not rank the remaining picks by playoff elimination like the NHL, it is reverse standings after the non-playoff teams.

 

 

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VIII. Entry Level Contracts

 

Drafted players will be given contracts 3 years in length and the $ amount will be based on where the player was taken in the draft (see chart below).

 

Chart:

 

Round 1 1 $1,200,000

Round 1 2-4 $1,100,000

Round 1 5-8 $950,000

Round 1 9-14 $850,000

Round 1 15-30 $750,000

Round 2 1-14 $700,000

Round 2 15-30 $650,000

Round 3 1-14 $600,000

Round 3 15-30 $550,000

 

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IX. Injuries Explained, Specialist Doctor

 

All players are subject to injury, including goaltenders. The injury report will show the type of injury and the expected amount of time the player will miss. Players that are injured will have to be replaced in the lineup. This will have to occur before the next game played. Note that if a player's condition goes down to for example 97 or 98, they are not usually injured unless it says but they are just exhausted from playing so much and they won't play as good as they usually would. 95 is the lowest condition a player can have without being "injured." However if a player is playing at a 95 condition it is very easy for them to get injured since they are so tired. When a player is injured (with the unplayable status) he will NOT count towards your salary cap.

 

If a player is injured for an extended period of time and you really want that player back sooner than the injury report shows. You can take that player to a specialist doctor for a second opinion. The cost for this is $5 million. It entirely cures the player back to 100.

 

A good rule to go by is to NEVER EVER let your goalies get to a 95 condition. That is as fatigued as possible and they will not player any near as good as they could if non-fatigued. Plus, it may take 4 or 5 games for that goalie to get back to 100%. Nobody wants their backup to play 4 or 5 games in a row near the end of the season in a playoff push. Good rule of thumb is to let the backup play 1 time every 5 games. That is at least 16 starts for the backup, which is pretty common in the NHL as well.

 

 

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X. Rosters & Waivers

 

Each team has to have a minimum of 20 players on their pro roster, including at least 2 goaltenders, 6 defenders, and 3 of each forward position. Teams can have a maximum of 25 players on the pro roster (20 dressed and 5 scratched). You can have as many farm players and prospects as you want, up to a limit of 50 players in the whole organization (not counting prospects).

 

Players with an overall rating of 76+ can't be sent down to the farm unless they are 23 or younger OR pass through waivers first.

 

*The only exception to this rule is each team is allowed to have 3 76+ goalies and can keep the lowest rated one in the minors. There is a known calculation for OV, and if you have two 76OV goalies, the league can tell you which is the “lower rated”.

 

A player MUST go through waivers if ANY OF THESE conditions are true

- Player has played 20+ games in the pro level AND is OLDER than 23 years old

- Player is 76+ OV and is NOT the 3rd rated goalie on your team

- Player makes $5,000,000 or more in per year salary (Re-Entry Waivers needed)

 

If you place a player on waivers and he gets claimed by another team, you will lose that player and his salary without any compensation. The team that wins that player must pay the full contract remaining on that player.

 

If you win a player on waivers he will go to your pro roster. You will NOT be able to send him to your farm without putting him on waivers once again.

Waiver priority is reverse standings at the end of the claim period (the next sim after 48 hours have passed). If you successfully select a player off waivers, your priority is last for the rest of the season. Re-Entry waiver priority is separate from regular waivers, and is still reverse standings. In either type, if a player is manually waived by a team before all teams have played their 20th game, prior year’s priorities are used.

 

Also, players can NOT go down to the farm if they are making $5,000,000 or more in annual salary. Regardless of age or number of games played this rule applies. In this scenario, the player must go through Re-Entry Waivers (see the XI section).

 

 

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XI. Re-Entry Waivers

 

Players making $5 million or more can no longer be sent down to the farm.... ever....

 

If you have a player making $5 million or more and you no longer want him on your team you can use the reentry waiver system. What you do is send an email to the commissioner telling him you are putting a player on reentry waivers. Teams have 72 hours to claim him. If the player is claimed, the team that LOST the player will pay HALF of the remaining contract in cash (does not count against the cap). You can either pay it all off right away, or pay it per year. The team that CLAIMS the player only has to pay the player half of his salary for the remainder of the contract. I will use Roberto Luongo on Minnesota as an example.

 

Jamie Jacobs sends an email out stating they are putting Roberto Luongo on reentry waivers. Luongo has a 2 year deal making $9 million per year ($18 million total)

 

Teams have 72 hours to respond....

 

The WORST team to accept Luongo in that time span wins Luongo.

 

Let's say Tampa Bay wins him. Tampa Bay now has Luongo on a 2 year deal for $4.5 million per year.

 

Minnesota has to pay the league $9 million in cash (half the remaining contract). Jacobs can pay $9 million right now or $4.5 million per season for two seasons.

 

IF NOBODY CLAIMS HIM ON REENTRY WAIVERS. Then Minnesota still has the option of a full buyout $18 million in cash. Must be paid upfront. If the player is unclaimed he STILL can not go to the farm. You are stuck with him....

 

It is prohibited to agree to place a player on re-entry waivers as part of a trade.

 

 

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XII. Releasing Players

 

When you want to release a player from your team, you only have to email Walsh and let him know that a player is to be released. You can release players to make room for more players (max roster size is 50), save money, or save cap space. There is no penalty to release a player that is UNDER a 70 OV. If a player is over 70 OV then the following penalty is applied.

 

- You must buy out the remainder of the players contract. If he has 2 years left at 4 million per year, it will cost you $8 million to release him.

- If you release the player mid-season then you only have to pay the pro-rated remainder of his salary. So if you are 20 games into the year and you release a player that has 2 years left at $4 million you will have to pay the following to buy him out

- (62 games remaining / 82 possible games) * $4 million = $3.02 million

- One full season at $4 million

TOTAL of $7.02 million.

 

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XIII. Player Ratings and Rerates

 

All players rating are based on the player's FNHL performance. So basically, what happens to players in the NHL has nothing to do with your team here in the FNHL.

 

At the end of each season most players will be re-rated on how they did in the FNHL. You probably won't see huge differences in the re-rated players but we will do our best to have the most accurate sets of player ratings.

 

# Player          PO H CD IT SP ST EN DU DI SK PA PC DF SC EX LD OV

14 Theoren Fleury RW R OK 94 82 62 88 92 64 83 85 82 58 73 85 86 82

 

SKATERS:

 

99 = HIGHEST, 25 = LOWEST

 

PO - Position - Indicates the position the player plays.

HD - Stick Hand - Indicates the player's stick hand (which way he shoots).

CD - Condition - How healthy the player is. "OK" indicates 100%.

IJ - Injury - How long the player is injured for.

IT - Intensity - Hitting, forechecking and fighting.

SP - Speed - This indicates the player's skating speed.

ST - Strength - Indicates the player's strength and power.

EN - Endurance - Ability to play long, more productive shifts.

DU - Durability - The player's tendency to get injured.

DI - Discipline - The player's tendency to get penalized.

SK - Skating - Player's ability to stop, turn, accelerate and skate.

PA - Passing - The player's ability to pass the puck.

PC - Puck Control - The player's ability to control the puck, stickhandling.

DF - Defense - Ability to backcheck and play defense.

SC - Scoring - Player's shooting and goal scoring ability.

EX - Experience - The amount of experience the player has.

LD - Leadership - The player's leadership skills.

OV - Overall - The player's overall effectiveness.

 

 

GOALTENDERS

 

IT - Player's likeliness to play the puck and cut down the angles.

SP - Player's overall speed. Glove quickness and reaction ability.

ST - Size in goal. A bigger goalie can take up more of the net.

EN - Same as above.

DU - Same as above.

DI - Same as above.

SK - Ability to move around in his crease, side to side movement.

PA - Ability to play the puck out to the forwards.

PC - How well the player controls rebounds and gathers the puck.

 

When a forward or defenseman is rerated, USUSALLY only the intensity, endurance, durability, discipline, scoring, puck control, passing, experience, and leadership will be adjusted. Everything else must be increased through workouts

 

Once a player reaches around the age of 33 they will start losing attributes in all the categories. Obviously as a player gets older, his strength, speed, skating, etc. will take a hit. The older they get the faster these vitals are decreased.

 

Feel free to challenge as many rerates as you want. You can challenge 1, 2, 50, doesnt matter. If you present a good case that makes sense I will take it in consideration and there is a good chance the player will be adjusted. If your reasoning isnt very solid, I will let you know I am not changing it. If you dont think its worth it, guess again. You can get a players OV adjusted by 1 or so and in workouts that could cost you millions. Unfortunately there is no debating on this. I will read your argument and decide. I dont want any fights to break out. You have until free agency begins to challenge rerates

 

 

 

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XIV. Trades

 

Owners can trade players, draft picks, money, prospects, and future considerations. Both teams must confirm all trades. A trade will not occur until this happens. The trading deadline is approx. 80% through the season and trading will resume after the playoffs are over. A trade must be emailed to the league. Below is an example of the proper format:

 

To: fnhlwalsh@gmail.com
CC: thegmyoutradewith@gmail.com

Subject: FNHL Trade: SJ & DET

 

Both parties have agreed to the following deal:

 

(your team) receives: Who and what you are getting

(their team) receives: Who and what you are giving up

 

Make sure you include all money, draft picks, etc. that are included in the trade agreement.

The second GM replies to the email that they agree to the trade.

Trades are processed after games for the day are simmed.

 

The League Offices reserve the right to void any trade if, in the belief of the offices and the league (who will be asked for their input), the trades violates the spirit of competition and goodwill of the league.

 

 

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XV. Suspensions

 

Suspensions are levied based on a straight CD-to-Games system. Any suspensions handed out by the sim are revoked or adjusted to meet the standard below.

There is no appeals process, as every suspension will only be based on the injured parties CD, nothing else. There will be no assessing of “the play” or “the game”, no assessing of the type of injury suffered, nothing. There is nothing to appeal as any subjective has been removed from the process.

The simulator will select penalty names (Hooking, Slashing) at random, leading the potential of something like an injury on an Unsportmanlike penalty. There is no way we can interpret words on the screen or infer what an incident was like and not end up having inconsistency.

FIGHT EXCEPTION: Suspensions given by the sim for fighting are revoked. Suspensions will not be applied for injuries suffered in a fight. If the Instigator penalty is applied to a player for a fight, the below suspension chart DOES apply.

85CD: 1 game suspension

84-80CD: 2 game suspension

79-75CD: 3 game suspension

74CD-70CD: 4 game suspension

69CD-65CD: 5 game suspension

64CD-60CD: 6 game suspension

59-55CD: 7 game suspension

54-50CD: 8 game suspension

49-45CD: 9 game suspension

44-40CD: 10 game suspension

39-35CD: 11 game suspension

34-30CD: 12 game suspension

29-25CD: 13 game suspension

24-21CD: 14 game suspension

IN: 15 game suspension

 

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XVI. Restricted Free Agents  

 

There are two types of free agents in the FNHL; Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) and Unrestricted Free Agents (UFAs). RFAs are players who are in the last year of their current contract and are age 28 years old or younger. UFAs are players who are in the last year of their current contract and are 29 years old or older. So in the offseason, UFAs appear as 30+ years old and 0 years on their contract. The Commissioner will determine which players will retire each year and which UFAs will express an interest in staying with their current teams. Contract negotiation is only done in the offseason, after the entry draft.

 

You have exclusive rights to negotiate with this player.  If you cannot come to an agreement during the signing period, you can give him a qualifying offer (can be given at any time). A qualifying offer must be at least 110% of his current salary for a one year deal. If the player chooses not to accept the qualifying offer and an agreement cannot be made regarding his contract. He will become a RFA subject to compensation for your club. If no qualifying offer is given, he will become an Unrestricted free agent and you are subject to no compensation. Here is the compensation table

 

OFFER COMPENSATION

$1,200,000 or below: None (1-year contract max)
$1,300,000-$1,750,000: 3rd (2-year contract max)
$1,800,000-$3,500,000: 2nd (3-year contract max)
$3,600,000-$5,500,000: 1st, 3rd (4-year contract max)
$5,600,000-$7,000,000: 1st, 2nd, 3rd (5-year contract max)
$7,100,000-$8,500,000: 2 1sts , 2nd, 3rd (6-year contract max)
$8,750,000+: 4 1sts (7-year contract max)

 

These draft picks do not have to belong to your team, but you MUST have them for concurrent years. So lets say Anaheim doesnt have their own first round pick but they have the NY Islanders first rounder next year. They can still use that pick when offering for compensation. Also, if you have multiple first rounders in the same year you can use those too. You can NOT skip over picks. Picks must come from no later than the next 3 drafts, except in the highest bracket, 4 drafts.

For players left unsigned after initially rejecting a qualifying offer and being passed on by others, you’ll be given two arbitration offers, 1 and 2 years in length (players will also automatically re-consider their qualifier and sign it if desired). You can walk away from the qualifier or the offers, and they’ll be a UFA. The arbitration offers will be determined by average recent deals of similar players. If you want your RFA for longer than 2 years, your chance is including an offer during the RFA phase.

 

I HIGHLY recommend giving your players a qualifying offer and letting them go to RFA. Most times you will get them cheaper than if you just sign them on your own. Obviously, currently overpaid players you will NOT want to offer them a 110% contract raise. For example, say you have Player X making $900,000. You can offer him a 1 year deal worth $990,000. If he accepts it, GREAT. If not you may get compensation for him. If he doesn’t accept it AND nobody bids on him, then you start from square one and negotiate. Nothing is lost by this process.

 

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XVII. Unrestricted Free Agents  

 

 

Any players that are 30 or above with 0 contract years in the offseason are Unrestricted Free Agents. You can negotiate contracts with them but they are subject to sign with any team they want. Reasons to not stay with your team could be anything from money offered, years offered, team situation, playing time, previous attempts to be traded from team, etc. If an Unrestricted Free Agent leaves a team, no compensation will be given to the team


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XVII(b). Contract Rules

 

There are currently no signing bonuses or performance bonuses in the FNHL. However, you have the ability to offer modified year-to-year contracts, as long as it follows the following:


- The league minimum salary is $500,000
- No year can be greater than a 35% increase or decrease from prior year
- No year can be greater than double or less than half of any year

There is a maximum of 4 modified contracts per team. This only means you cannot tender an offer in this way if you have 4 or more on your team. Being over by way of trade is fine. There is currently a 2-season moratorium:
For this and the next off-season, players in the last year of their deal won’t have their status, allowing teams close or over a little flexibility easing in to a hard-4 limit after (status kept until they’re off roster).

The league does not calculate an AAV like the NHL. Your cap hit for the player is whatever his salary is in that year.  However, players will negotiate based off their AAV league-wide.

In general, players do like upfront money. And enough of it could trump a higher AAV on the open market. However, if a contract ending at RFA age trends to something low, a player may not like this, as his qualifying offer will suffer. A player whose deal expires as a UFA will not have this same feeling.

All contracts that are not straight salaries across each year are available on the Modified Contracts page on the website.

 

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XVIII. No Trade Clauses

 

No Trade Agreements are not currently part of the FNHL

 

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XIX. Revenue

 

1. Teams will earn revenue by selling tickets to their games. The amount a team earns depends on the arena size, attendance, and ticket prices. (You can determine your ticket prices, but cannot change your arena size unless special awards are given, or they’re purchased).

2. Attendance will be based on whether a team is playing well and if the team has any star players, (80 plus in ratings), for the fans to watch play.
 

3. Participation outlined previously is a great way to earn revenue, regardless of your team’s success.

 

4. Players are not paid in the playoffs, meaning you will earn a lot here.

 

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XX. Lines

 

Centers – 3 (min)

Left Wings – 3 (min)

Right Wings – 3 (min)

Defensemen – 6 (min)

Goalies – 2 (min)
Dressed Players – 20 minimum

You must dress at least 3 forwards at each position, 6 defensemen, and 2 goalies.  You must dress 2 goalies and 18 total skaters for a 20-man game. Tricking the GM Editor to dress more or less than 20 players is against the rules. Your lines will be reset by the league if it is noticed. If it is felt you’re doing it intentionally, you will be punished.

Teams must assign at least 9 forwards and 6 defensemen in the 5-on-5 portion of the lineup.


Lines can be submitted with the online editor on the site, the online upload lines function, or by emailing a .LNS file generated by your own GM Editor to the league via email. If you are new to FHLSim, ask for help.

 

 

 

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XXI. Chat

 

The league uses a Slack channel. Joining it is not mandatory. It is great for communicating with other GMs and discussing what’s going on in the league. It is not for GMs to post line changes or trades to be processed, please use the official channels for this (uploading or emailing lines, and emailing your trade). However, you can post that you made a trade for it to be discussed.

 

 

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XXII. Retirement

 

This is a tough time for GM's, I can fully understand. A great star on their team could have retired from their team and can impact their success. But retirement has to happen one way or another. If you think about it, each season, the whole league will get about 150 new draftees and you can imagine nowhere near even half that many retire. A player can only retire during the ages of 34+. If you're player is under 34 years old, he cannot retire. There are certain ways that players can retire. If they are in this age group and they:

 

-receive a big injury

-don't perform like they are capable of performing

-have won the Stanley Cup and they can retire happily

-or any other reason the League Offices feel fit

 

This may seem unfair, but like I said before, life isn't fair and this is how the dice are rolled. Another reason for this is to give other teams a chance at success. Some teams may have superstar players that are old and need to retire and whatnot. So there will be no complaining about one of your players retiring, if you have any at all retiring. This is a decision made by the League Offices and that's it. Now, if you wish to further discuss the retirement of your player, that is fine. A page will be displayed of the players that have retired (with the reason why) for all to see. This page will later be taken down once its purpose has been served.

 

 

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XXIII. FNHL Hall of Fame

 

The FNHL will have a Hall-of-Fame displaying the FNHL greats of all-time. There will only be a select few each season to be displayed here with their Name, Team, Picture, Position, Stats, Great Moments in the FNHL, etc. This will be a highly-respected and enjoyable aspect of the FNHL.

 

 

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XXIV. Situations Not Covered

 

If a question comes up that the rules cannot answer or anything else like that, the League Offices possess the right to make the decision on it. They can revise the rules at any time if a flaw is found or a better and more accurate rule is found.

 

Please remember that all of the preceding rules have been made for the spirit of competition and goodwill of the league. Nothing more.