SECTION ONE - FRANCHISE GUIDELINES

• Rule 1. Franchise Eligibility
• Rule 2. Franchise Structure MODIFIED

• Rule 3. Fees
• Rule 4. Use of League Funds
• Rule 5. Distribution of Winnings MODIFIED

• Rule 6. Order
• Rule 7. Selecting Players MODIFIED
• Rule 8. Draft Breakdown
• Rule 9. Draft Scorecard

• Rule 10. Segments
• 1998-99 YYZ Schedule
• Rule 11. Work Stoppage

• Rule 12. By Game MODIFIED
• Rule 13. Segment Scoring

• Rule 14. Segment
• Rule 15. Eligibility

• Rule 16. Franchise Participation NEW
• Rule 17. YYZ Trades
• Rule 18. Moving Between Rosters MODIFIED
• Rule 19. Short-Term Injury
• Rule 20. Long-Term Injury
• Rule 21. Recallable Waivers
• Rule 22. Emergency Injury
• Injury Substitution Flowchart

• Rule 23. Franchise Rights
• Rule 24. Roster Positions
• Rule 25. Goaltender Scoring
• Rule 26. NHL Trades With Goaltenders

• Rule 27. Claiming a Player

• Rule 28. Receiving Communications MODIFIED
• Rule 29. Contents
• Rule 30. Appeals MODIFIED

Rule 1. Franchise Eligibility

(a) The YYZ Hockey League (League) will be open to include up to fifteen (15) franchises. 1997-98 franchises who have returned reservation cards and other franchises who have returned reservations until Saturday, September 19, 1998, to submit a $60 non-refundable deposit and completed Franchise Application form to the League Commissioner. After this date, any remaining Franchises can be claimed by submitting a $60 non-refundable deposit by Saturday, September 26, 1998. The balance of the fees must be paid in full before the start of the Draft on Saturday, October 3, 1998.

(b) The League will consist of no less than ten (10) franchises, and the Commissioner can reject any franchise application by returning the $60 deposit.

Rule 2. Franchise Structure

(a) A franchise may have more than one individual, but such a group must designate a General Manager (GM) prior to the Entry Draft to conduct all League transactions. A franchise is limited to 3 members who can attend the Entry Draft, but may have any number of members.

(b) Any League transactions conducted by other than the GM or designated partner are void. The GM must designate to the Commissioner which one partner will make League transactions in his place.

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Rule 3. Fees

(a) League fees are as follows for each franchise:

1) $105 Prize Pool fee
2) $20 Operating fee
3) $5 Mailing fee per individual (optional)
4) $5 3rd Partner fee (if applicable)

(c) Mailing fee is assessed for every individual in a franchise who wants to receive by mail League Updates. This fee can be waived if an individual has provided the League a local fax number or e-mail address, otherwise all long distance charges must be pre-paid by the Franchise.

(d) 3rd Partner fee covers the 3rd member of a franchise attending the Entry Draft. No more than 3 members of a franchise can attend the Entry Draft.

Rule 4. Use of League Funds

(a) League officials will use $125 plus any 3rd Partner fees for Draft Day food and drinks, and $100 for Draft Day site charge.

(b) Remaining fees collected will be held in escrow until distribution after the end of the NHL regular season. All franchises will be sent copies of the account upon formation, and any franchise can examine League funds at any time. All interest accrued on funds will be distributed as winnings.

(c) Any other use of League funds during the season must have the approval of at least 75% of the franchises.

Rule 5. Distribution of Winnings

(a) Prize Pool fees will be distributed at the end of the season to the top 5 (five) scoring franchises as follows:
 
 

(b) These amounts and/or winning places will be adjusted if fewer than 15 franchises are entered.

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Rule 6. Order

(a) Entry Draft Order will be determined by random draw of numbers by the GM's on October 3, 1998. The order of this draw will be the same as the order of finish of the previous YYZ Regular Season, with expansion teams placed at the end of the draw in alphabetical order of the last names of Franchise GM's. Previous year's franchises must have the previous season's GM as part of their Franchise to avoid being designated as an expansion team.

(b) A franchise will forfeit their $60 deposit to the League if no representative is present at the moment they are to draw for the Entry Draft.

(c) The Draft will proceed in the random drawn order for odd-numbered rounds, and then reverse order for even numbered rounds. There will be fourteen (14) rounds to the Entry Draft.

(d) Draft positions for the Entry Draft cannot be traded.

Rule 7. Selecting Players

(a) When a new Franchise announces their first selection, they must designate a team name for their franchise that corresponds to an existing NHL franchise. Existing franchise names will be determined before the entry draft. NHL team names may be used only once.

(b) Any NHL player who, in the sole judgement of the Commissioner, dominates the YYZ results so as to disrupt the competitive balance for 3 consecutive seasons will be declared ineligible for selection during the following 5 seasons. After that time, the player's performance will be reviewed season-by-season to determine reinstatement. For the 1997-98 season, Mario Lemieux remains ineligible on a yearly basis. Any other player eligible to play in the NHL may be selected. A player may be selected once in the Draft.

(c) Only one goaltender per NHL team may be selected. Once a goaltender from a NHL team has been selected, no other goaltender whose rights are owned by that NHL team is eligible to be selected.

(d) For the first four (4) rounds, each franchise will have three (3) minutes to announce a selection.  After the 4th round, remaining selections will have two (2) minutes to announce a selection.  After these times have passed, they will forfeit their pick if they have not made a legal selection.

(e) When a GM announces a selection, they will state the players' name, position, and NHL team (if any). Once announced, selections are final.

(f) A franchise that selects a player who has already been drafted will be given ONE warning, and the next time that franchise selects a player who has been selected, they will forfeit that selection. (NOTE) All picks are posted on the Draft Board. If you are unsure a player has been selected, ask before you announce your selection.

(g) The Commissioner will decide on the position and eligibility of a selection. The Commissioner is allowed to answer only the following questions during the Entry Draft:

1) "How much time is left to make our selection?"
2) "Has (player) been selected yet?"
3) "What position does (player) play?"

(a) The Entry Draft consists of two parts. Part I will have ten (10) rounds to stock the "Pro" roster. Each franchise MUST select players by these positions:
 
 

(b) Part II will have four (4) rounds to stock the "Farm" roster. Each franchise MUST select players by these positions:
 
 

The "Free Pick" is 1 eligible player at any position.

Each Franchise must complete and sign the Entry Draft Scorecard and submit this document to the Commissioner immediately after the completion of the Entry Draft in order to validate their selections. The Scorecard will be distributed at the Entry Draft.

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Rule 10. Segments

The NHL regular season will be divided into "segments". Most will be two (2) weeks long with the exception of Segments 1, 5 and 7. Segments will begin at the starting time of the earliest NHL games of that date.
 
 

Rule 11. Work Stoppage

(a) In case of a NHL work stoppage, the League will suspend operations and resume with possible revisions to the League Schedule if play resumes.

(b) If, after a NHL work stoppage, the NHL schedule has more than 10% of the original games cancelled, the League will refund each franchise a percentage of fees equal to the percentage of NHL games cancelled.

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Rule 12. By Game

(a) Scoring is earned in each NHL game as follows:
 

(a) One goaltender per franchise will earn points by this breakdown of save percentage in a Segment:
 

(c) All players will be penalized for penalty minutes accumulated in a segment by the following breakdown:
 

(1) Goals
(2) Assists
(3) Game Winning Goals
(4) Power Play Goals
(5) Short Handed Goals
(6) Fewest Penalty Minutes
(7) Coin Flip

Rule 14. Segment

(a) Each franchise can submit their segment roster to the League Office prior to the start of the first NHL regular season game in the following breakdown:

i) PRO TEAM:

6 Forwards     3 Defensemen       1 Goaltender

The Farm Team of each franchise can have no more than 4 players, and only 1 can be a goaltender. Before the start of the NHL season or when a roster change is submitted, the Farm Roster will be ranked by the franchise in the order the franchise would want to call up the players by position.

(NOTE)  Here is an example Farm Team roster:
 

POS	PLAYER
F	Jim
F	Bill
F	John
D	Tony

In this example, there is no farm goalie.

(c) After the Entry Draft, Farm teams may have any combination of players by position, with a maximum of 1 goaltender. Minimum players are 2 active farm forwards and 1 active farm defenseman after each Waiver Draft.

(d) Roster changes after Segment 1 must be received by the League Office prior to the beginning of the segment. If no changes are communicated, the previous segment's roster will carry over to the following segment.

(e) If no roster is communicated to the League office before the beginning of Segment 1, the players picked in Part I of the Entry Draft will be the "pro" team and players drafted in Part II will be the "farm" team, and ranked by their draft order.

Rule 15. Eligibility

(a) Players must come from that franchises' roster. Any ineligible players' position submitted will not be filled from the farm team. No substitutions are permitted during the segments except for Injury Substitutions. A player who is property of a franchise cannot be claimed by another franchise.

(b) A goaltender claimed by a franchise also includes any goaltender whose professional playing rights are owned by that NHL team. These "goaltending teams" occupy one roster spot for each NHL team.

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Rule 16.  Franchise Participation

(a) Every Franchise must, after each of the first three Waiver Drafts, have a roster of 14 active players.  Failure of a Franchise to make the moves necessary to fulfill this rule will result in expulsion from the League for the following season.

(b) A Franchise is exempt from this rule if they are kepping one (1) roster spot open for the purpose of having a player on IR resume his spot on the Active Roster.  This exemption must be approved by the Commissioner.

Rule 17. YYZ Trades

(a) After the Entry Draft is completed, franchises may trade players, Waiver Draft selections, or any combination of players and selections with other franchises up to the beginning of the Segment designated as the "YYZ Trading Deadline", with commissioner approval.

(b) The proposed trade must be submitted to the commissioner by BOTH FRANCHISE GM'S. If the trade submitted by each GM differs in any way, the trade will be declared invalid and the franchises involved will be prohibited from trading with each other until the next Segment. BE SURE TO HAVE THE SAME PLAYERS AND/OR WAIVER PICKS CLEAR WITH THE OTHER FRANCHISE GM.

(c) Once the proposed trade is submitted and verified by the Commissioner, the Commissioner will rule on the validity of the trade based on keeping the competitive balance of the League intact. If the Commissioner is involved in a trade, the Assistant Commissioner will assume the duties of the Commissioner to rule on the trade. The Commissioner will then contact the GM's on his decision.

(d) If a trade is approved, the trade will become effective at the beginning of the next Segment.

(e) PLAYER POINTS DO NOT TRANSFER FROM TEAM TO TEAM.

(f) If roster movements due to a trade to keep the 6-3-1 balance of players by position are not communicated to the League, the Commissioner will make these movements without consulting the Chairman.

Rule 18. Moving Between Rosters

(NOTE) A skater is defined as a non-goaltender, and a player is either a skater or goaltender.

(a) Each player drafted or acquired in a trade by a franchise will have 4 options to his total.

(b) Each time a player is moved from Pro to Farm or Farm to Pro, with the exceptions detailed in Rule 20, an option will be used.

(c) An attempt by a Franchise to move a player with zero options between rosters will cause that affected position on the Pro roster to be void for the following segment, and the player attempted to be moved shall be placed on irrevocable waivers by that franchise, and is prohibited from being acquired by that franchise for the remainder of the season.

(d) A Franchise may not re-acquire via trade a player they have traded until that player has been absent from the Franchise's roster for at least 2 segments.

Rule 19. Short-Term Injury

(a) "Injury" can refer to any suspension given to a skater by the NHL or an NHL team, or a skater who is eligible to play in the NHL, but is not signed by an NHL team.

(b) If a skater on the Pro roster of a team is found to have missed AT LEAST 2 CONSECUTIVE games due to an injury, the highest-ranked Farm skater at that position from the current roster is automatically placed on the Pro roster from the day the injured Pro skater misses one complete game. This is considered a short-term transfer and will not count against a players' options.

(c) This short-term call-up will be effective for up to one FULL segment. If the substituted skater remains on a roster after 1 full Segment, the injured skater and his substitute are governed by Rule 20, Long-Term Injury.

(d) Once the injured skater plays in 1 NHL game, the substituted skater will automatically be sent down without an option unless the substituted player was on the Pro roster for at least one full segment.

(NOTE) Say Joe is on your Pro team at defense, and is playing for Vancouver. You might not know for weeks Joe got hurt. The League sees Joe has been injured for 2 consecutive games, and the first full game Joe was hurt was November 8, just after the start of Segment 4. The League looks at your farm team and sees you have Tony as your highest-ranked farm defenseman. Tony is then called up to your Pro roster on the DAY Joe misses his first FULL game due to injury. Joe must miss at least 2 consecutive games for Tony's stats to count. Tony stays on your roster for the rest of Segment 4 if Joe is hurt, and he can stay up option-free until the end of Segment 5. He's automatically sent back down without an option on the day Joe plays in a game in Segment 4 or 5.

Rule 20. Long-Term Injury

(a) A skater injured for more than 1 FULL segment will automatically be placed on Injured Reserved (IR). A skater called up from the farm roster to take the place of an injured skater on the pro roster will not have an option deducted.

(b) A skater on IR is considered re-activated when he plays in one game and there is room on the franchise's roster to insert him. A skater on IR does NOT count toward the 14 active player maximum.

(c) If there are less than 14 players on a roster on the day the injured skater returns, the skater on IR will assume the same roster position he had before being injured, or any other position designated by the Chairman before the start of that segment. If the injured player was on the Pro roster, then either the substituted skater or another skater designated by the Chairman will be sent to the farm roster with 1 option counted against him.

(NOTE) Back to Tony and Joe, say Joe is still hurt when it is time to submit the Segment 6 roster. Joe is now on IR. If you have not acquired another player by that time and still have 13 active players, Joe will resume on the Pro roster as soon as he plays a game. Tony or any other skater you choose will return to the farm with 1 option against him. If your roster is at 14 active players and you think Joe is coming back during Segment 6, you must reduce your roster to 13 active players, and inform the League who is to be sent down when Joe returns. If your roster is already at 13 or fewer, and you have not said to keep Tony up, he would be sent down as soon as Joe plays. You can designate another player to send down before the segment begins.

(d) A franchise may immediately place a skater on IR subject to League approval. When a Franchise places a skater on IR he MUST stay on IR for at LEAST 1 FULL SEGMENT.

(e) If a franchise has a skater who is eligible to come off IR and the roster is at 14 active players, then at the time a franchise places one or more active players on IR subject to paragraph (d) above, they may re-activate an equal number from IR to the active roster.

(NOTE) You find out Joe broke his arm 2 days into Segment 4 and will be out for 6 weeks. You contact the League and place him on IR. You cannot activate Joe until he start of Segment 6. He must stay on IR for Segment 5. You call Tony up as his replacement. Tony does not have an option deducted, but he, or any skater on your Pro Roster, can be sent down with one option being used when you activate Joe.

(f) Injured Farm players may be placed on IR, but may only be re-activated onto the Farm roster.

(g) A franchise notified by the League a skater on IR has played in a NHL game has until the start of the next Segment to re-activate the skater to an active roster. If a franchise fails to notify the League of roster changes needed to activate this player, the League will waive the lowest-ranked farm skater at that position and make any other appropriate moves to make room for the injured skater.

(h) If a franchise is notified less than 2 days before the start of a segment, they will have until the start of the next segment to make appropriate roster moves.

Rule 21. Recallable Waivers

(a) If a franchise sustains an injury or series of injuries where there is no skater on their active roster to substitute based on the previous rules, the League will recall the most recently waived player at that skater's position who has not been claimed by another franchise since being waived by that franchise, and place him as an Emergency Substitute on the Pro roster.

(b) The playing rights to a recalled player are not permanent. Once an injured player returns at that position, the recalled player is released. If a recalled player is active at the time of a Waiver Draft, then he is eligible to be claimed by ANY franchise subject to Section 9.

(c) A franchise using a recalled player at the time of a Waiver Draft must either re-claim the recalled player or acquire another skater at that position. Failure to do either will cause that spot on the Pro roster to be blank until another eligible skater returns.

Rule 22. Emergency Injury

(a) If there is no injury substitution available to a franchise based on Rule 21, they will be allowed to use Rule 21 with a skater at the other position. If no player can be recalled from the other position, then the lowest-ranked farm player at the other position will be allowed as an injury substitute until a player is available at the injured players' position.

(b) A franchise is NOT eligible to use Rule 21 or Rule 22 if they failed to use the Waiver Draft to stock players at the exhausted position to their minimum requirements AT ANY TIME DURING THE SEASON.

(NOTE) The most common occurrence is you occur a rash of injuries at defense. During a segment, one defenseman gets hurt and at or near the same time, you farm defenseman also gets hurt. It's 3 weeks until the next Waiver Draft. You will then have the last defenseman you waived, who hasn't been claimed by another franchise since you waived him, recalled automatically and used as an injury sub until ANY injured defenseman eligible to return plays. You can keep using him until the next Waiver Draft. At that time, you or any franchise can claim your recalled defenseman. In either case, you MUST permanently acquire a defenseman. If you have not waived any defenseman, or all of your waived defensemen have been claimed, you can use your latest-waived forward as your defensive sub or your lowest-ranked farm forward. If you had only 3 defensemen on your roster of 14 and in any previous Waiver Draft you neglected to select at least one defenseman, you cannot use this rule any time during the season. The position remains empty for the next defenseman to return from injury or you acquire a defenseman by waivers or trade. The same is true injured forwards.

(NOTE) The League will explain to franchises what their options and consequences are when dealing with an injured skater. This flowchart should simplify the injury substitution rules.

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Rule 23. Franchise Rights

(a) Franchises have the rights to all of the goaltenders of a NHL team, and NOT to individual goalies.

(b) Once an eligible goaltender has been acquired by a franchise, no other goaltender from that NHL team may be acquired by another franchise.

Rule 24. Roster Positions

(a) An NHL goalie, and all of his possible backups, occupy 1 roster position per NHL team. Franchises may have no more than 2 NHL goaltending teams on their roster.

(b) Goaltenders, or goaltending teams, cannot be placed on IR. If a franchise has two NHL goaltending teams on their roster, they must designate which NHL team will be on their Pro roster for a segment. Goaltending teams cannot be changed during a segment.

Rule 25. Goaltender Scoring

(a) Franchises will be eligible for points in EVERY NHL game played by their NHL goaltending team, regardless of the individual goaltender.

(b) Save percentage points will be awarded based on the save percentage of the goaltender who plays the most minutes in a segment, as mentioned in Rule 13.

Rule 26. NHL Trades With Goaltenders

(a) If a member of a franchise's goaltending team is traded by his NHL team to a NHL team whose goaltenders are unclaimed by another franchise, that franchise will have until the beginning of the next segment to make room on their roster for the new goaltending team. If the NHL trade is completed less than 48 hours before the start of a segment, the franchise will have until the start of the following segment to make room for the new goaltending team, or that goaltending team will be available in the next Waiver Draft for all franchises.

(b) If a member of a franchise's NHL goaltending team is traded to a NHL team whose goaltenders are property of another franchise, or if 2 or more franchises have members of their goaltending teams traded for each other, the franchises will NOT keep rights to individual goaltenders.

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Rule 27. Claiming a Player

(a) When submitting rosters for segments 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 12 every franchises may submit a list, in order, of up to three (3) roster positions, or more if any were acquired by trade, and for each position rank up to fifteen (15) eligible players for each position. For each player the franchise must specify which Roster (pro, farm, or IR), playing position, and/or farm rank he is to be placed on if he is selected.

(b) The lists will be placed by the League in reverse order of the Standings up to the end of the previous segment, with adjustments made for any trades. The League will then proceed through the lists and make the changes indicated by the franchises until all possibilities are exhausted. New acquisitions will be placed on the appropriate roster indicated by the franchise.

(c) Only the players the franchise wants waived in exchange for any of the 15 possible new players will be waived.

(NOTE) Say you want to waive: 1) Joe 2) Ken 3) Larry and some of the 15 you are interested in are ranked 7) Bob, 8) Jiri, and 9) Carl. You are 10th in line. By the time you are up, Bob has been selected, but Jiri is available. Joe will then be dropped, and Jiri will be on your roster where you have decided to place him. If none of your 15 players you want are available, you will not lose a skater you want to drop.

(d) If a franchise wants to release a player or players who are running out of options or are out of options, and then re-claim him, they must indicate to the League the player or players who will be waived when submitting lineups for the segment BEFORE the Waiver Draft. This allows all teams to be notified which players will be available. They can then either re-claim the player or players during the Waiver Draft, or if unclaimed after the Waiver Draft, recall the player or players with 4 options to their credit

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Rule 28. Receiving Communications

(a) When a franchise indicates they are able to receive faxes, the League will fax all Updates and communications instead of mailing.

(b) If ALL franchises indicate before the season they can receive faxes, the League will distribute immediate League news and trade needs throughout the season.

(c) If a franchise or a partner is unable to receive faxes, they can pay the Mailing Fee for each person requesting League communications. At least one person per franchise must receive League communications by either fax or mail.

(d) The League has a website set up for viewing and printing all League information.  Announcements of changes to this website will be sent via e-mail to all interested members.

Rule 29. Contents

(a) Before the end of Segment 1, a Franchise Directory and Draft Review will be made available to all Franchises.

(b) No more than 10 days after the end of a segment, the League can make available Updates, League News, Standings, Transactions, Injury Reports, Rosters, or other League information pending functional equipment and availability of statistics.

(c) A franchise may call the League for updates beginning 3 days after the end of a segment. They can also call to verify one of their players' accomplishments, such as hat tricks, 50 saves, ect. before the Updates are sent.

Rule 30. Appeals

(a) A franchise may appeal to the League any mistakes they think have been made involving any franchise. The deadline for appealing an Update is 5 days after the postmark or 10 days after the time the fax or e-mail is sent to the Franchise Chairman, depending on the type of communication chosen. Any corrections made will be noted on the next Update.

(b) Appeals must be about a specific player or event. Once the deadline for appeal has passed for a segment, then Updates are final, and no item from that segment can be appealed for the remainder of the season.

(c) Proposals for Rule changes in the following season must first demonstrate the failure of the current rules to adequately cover the situation the proposed change deals with.

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