USFHL CONSTITUTION

ITEMS IN RED & IN BOLD WERE CHANGED AND/OR UPDATED FOR SEASON XVI

League Requirements:

• Strat-o-matic Hockey 2018c

• 2017-2018 season rosters

• $3 USD league dues per team in order to help pay for the League Championship Plaque/Shipping Expense and server for the League Website

• SLACK TEAM membership

League Code of Conduct:

• The commissioner retains the right to remove any league member which he feels demonstrates a lack of respect and integrity to the league and its other members

• All rules listed in this constitution are enforced with zero tolerance

• Failure to meet deadlines and/or communicate in a timely fashion are grounds for removal from this league

• All commissioner decisions are final

• If you are going to miss a deadline and need assistance from the commissioner please communicate ahead of time

• Only results that are complete (export and boxscore file per game are submitted) will be considered official results

• The commissioner reserves the right to have a game and/or block replayed if necessary

League Structure:

• 24 Teams

• 2 Conferences

• 12 Teams per Conference

• 2 Divisions per Conference

• 6 Teams per Division

League Schedule:

• 82 game unbalanced schedule

• 8 games vs. Divisional Opponents (8x5=40 games)

• 3 games vs. Conference Opponents (3x6=18 games)

• 2 game vs. Non-Conference Opponents (2x12=24 games)

League Playoffs Format:

• Top 4 teams in each division qualify for the playoffs.

• Division winner receives Seed #1 and the 4th place team receives Seed #4 and so on.

• Round 1 will be:  Seed #4 Vs. Seed #1 and Seed #3 Vs. Seed #2

• Round 2 will be: Winners in Round 1 will play each other for the Divisional Championship.

• Round 3 will be:  Each of the 4 Divisional Champions will be Seeded #1 through #4 where Seed #4 will play Seed #1 and Seed #3 will play Seed #2

• Round 4 will be: The winners of Round 3 will play each other for the Stanley Cup Championship.

• The lower Seed # goes to the team with the most points. 

• Home ice advantage belongs to the team that has the lowest seed in any given round.

• Playoff rounds are Best of 7 with a 2H, 2A, 1H, 1A, 1H format

• NHL rules regarding tie-breakers will be used in this league

• In case of a tie-breaker situation the order in which the tie-breaker is settled is; #1 - Wins, #2 - Head to Head Record and #3 - Goals Differential

League Annual Draft:

• Roster size per team is set to 30 players at the start of the season

• Each team may protect up to a maximum of 19 players (for teams that meet all deadlines) or 18 players (for teams that don't meet all deadlines) or less if a team has been penalized the previous season for claiming too many Free Agents or Overusing Players.

• Any roster player from the previous season is eligible to be protected

• If a protected player is non-carded they will be listed accordingly in the annual draft file.

• Draft consists of the following pool of players:  NHL rookies, USFHL overused players, USFHL free agents and USFHL players that were cut

• Trading is allowed in accordance to our League Trade Rules

• Draft order is determined as follows:  League Champion picks last, Playoff teams (ranked in order by how far they proceeded in the playoffs) and then Non-Playoff teams.

• The teams with the four(4) worst records will enter a lottery to determine the draft spots #1 through #4 in Round 1 only

• Round 2 and beyond;  teams with the four(4) worst records will be seeded according to their record

• NHL tie-breaker rules will apply if applicable

• Rounds 1 through to 14 are single pick selections;  Round 15 allows each team to pick until they reach the 30 roster limit

• Once a team reaches 30 players their draft is complete and all un-used picks are forfeited

League Play:

• 12 Blocks per season is used (Approx. 10 calendar days for each block)

• Teams will play their home games in each Block

• Teams will use 4 OFF lines and 3 DEF lines for all periods in both the regular season and playoffs

• In Playoff OT, a team will use 5 man lines

• Cards per OFF & DEF line change is set to 3

• Computer Line changes with Human Decisions will be used

• Each OFF & DEF line must see the ice in sequence before a line is repeated (example; Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, Line 4 is allowed;  Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, Line 1, Line 4 is not allowed)

• For Periods 1 and 2 the sequence is:  OL1, OL2, OL3, OL4;  DL1, DL2, DL3 (Playoffs & Regular Season)

• For Periods 3 and Playoff OT the sequence is:  OL1, OL2, OL3, OL1, OL2, OL3, OL4;  DL1, DL2, DL1, DL2, DL3

• For Regular Season 3 vs 3 OT the sequence is: OT1, OT2, OT3;  DL1, DL2
• OT LINES - you may move your best offensive player to the C position to ensure he is on the ICE for the shift.  See SOMH game rules on how the game treats 3 on 3 OT.
  

• Players may not double shift

• Visiting teams are required to keep the same OFF & DEF line order for the entire game

• Home teams are allowed to match-up lines for the entire game (this is done by reviewing the opponents computer manager report)

• Teams may not use the lock computer manager feature.

• Teams create the following OFF lines:  OFF E1, OFF E2, OFF E3, OFF E4, OT1, OT2, OT3, OT4, PP1 5 on 4, PP2 5 on 4, PP3 4 on 3, PK1 4 on 5, PK2 4 on 5, PK3 3 on 4

• Teams create the following DEF lines:  DEF E1, DEF E2, DEF E3, OT1, OT2, OT 3, PP1, PP2, PK1, PK2

• A player can only appear on one of the 2 main PP lines and one of the 2 main PK lines

• Any Forward with a P** rating may play the point on the power play

• The Power Play unit must consist of at least one Defensemen

• The Penalty Kill unit must consist of at least two Defensemen

• Teams can change OFF/DEF settings during a stop in play (example; face off and Line Change situation) 
  

League Game Play Settings:

• The Following Max Rules will not be used:  Home Rink Advantage, Skater Fatigue System, Enforcer Rule & Don't Force Shorthanded Skating Breakaway

• The Following Max Rules will be used:  Alternative Passing System, Support Low Penalty Minutes & Alternative Penetration System

• No Rest will be used

• Lock League function will be used at the start of each season

• No Subs on coincidental penalties will be used

• Action, Ice, Skate and Clear rule will be used

• The end penalty minor on a PPG rule will be used

• 2009+ face off after a penalty rule will be used (face off moves to the OFF zone)

• (3 on 3) OT for 5 minutes, followed by a shoot-out rule will be used (1 point is award to the team that loses in OT/Shoot-out)

• OT in the playoffs is Sudden Death

Any Player Shots (AS) Rule:

• A home team must restrict his shot candidates to those with the highest OFF rating for "any player shots" opportunities which are "inside shot any player", "outside shot any player", "Lose puck - inside shot any player", "Lose push-outside shot any player" opportunities 

• If two or more candidates have the same OFF rating, he must select the player with the least previous any player shots (rotate these opportunities)

• A home team may choose any player with no restrictions for "any player rebound shots"

• The above rule will allow the shots on goal to be spread out throughout the game to other players (not just your best player every time) who had a lot of shots on goal too

League Rosters:

YEAR XI (STRIKE SHORTEN SEASON ONLY):

REGULAR SEASON:

SKATERS:

• NHL Games Played >= 40 Games = Unlimited in USFHL
• NHL Games Played < 40 Games = NHL Games Played x 2 = USFHL Games Allowed to be Played

GOALIES:

• See CHART BELOW

PLAYOFFS:

SKATERS:

• NHL Games Played >= 35 Games = Unlimited in USFHL Playoff Games Per Series
• NHL Games Played < 35 Games = NHL Games Played x 2 / 10 = USFHL Playoff Games Per Series (ROUNDED DOWN)

GOALIES:

• See CHART BELOW

GOALIE USAGE CHART FOR BOTH THE REGULAR SEASON & PLAYOFFS: