Expansion, etc. - Votin' time

Post date: Aug 22, 2011 9:49:57 PM

Gentlemen. The pre-season quickly approaches, and there is some business that needs taking care of first.

This is a very important, albeit lengthy post. I ask for 15 minutes of everyone's time to give a thorough read. Maybe twice.

Expansion:

As you're probably well aware, there has been lots of talk about adding a 13th member to the league in the name of Matt Lewis.

An off-season change of this sort does not come without complication, as a vote for 'YES' requires bending of an important rule in the NoVarks charter:

4. Any changes to upcoming season’s rules (roster sizes, number of keepers, keeper rules, etc.) must be agreed upon (by league vote) prior to the final waiver draft...

Nevertheless, this topic and its various scenarios made up a large part of the competition committee meetings, as we tried to find universally fair solutions to this problem.

At the bottom of the post, I've drawn out all the various decisions tied to Lewis-expansion in a flow diagram. I did this so that everybody has visibility into the process that we went through, and can have a better understanding of the implications of each decision.

I highly encourage each of you to take a few minutes and absorb the details of this diagram before casting your votes. I hope it makes sense to all.

Proposed votes:

1. Expand to allow Matt Lewis in 2011?

(YES) or (NO)

2. If league votes NO to item #1, allow expansion to 13 teams in 2012?

(YES) or (NO)

3. If league votes YES to item #1, award the following 'sandwich picks' to Lewis after rounds:

(A: 2nd/4th/6th/8th/10th - as per existing rule 54b) or (B: 1st/2nd/3rd/4th/5th)

4. If league votes YES to item #1, use the following 13-team payout breakdown:

(A: $1000/$500/$300/$150) or (B: $1000/$500/$250/$100 w/ $100 for playoff top-5 bonus pool)

As a final unrelated item, the competition committee has put forth a recommendation in an attempt to increase the value of top tier defencemen, to be on par with the top tiers of forwards and goaltenders.

It is believed that the proposed rule will help stabilize the trade market, with minimal impact to the Entry-Draft talent pool (one of the concerns re: adding keepers).

Here is the proposal:

5. Add a 6th keeper starting Sep. 2012, and make it mandatory for each team to keep at least 1 defenceman?

(YES) or (NO)

Notes:

• • You must vote for all FIVE items, regardless of how you vote for item #1.

  • Email me your responses directly to nweckworth@gmail.com.

  • Answer the 5 voting questions accordingly with either YES/NO or A/B. Feel free to add comments.

  • Please respond by 5PM this Friday (Aug. 26)

  • 7 votes are required to form a majority.

Expansion Rule Change Diagram:

The diagram includes options in red that were considered in the competition committee meetings, but we/I have made the decision to drop from voting consideration, due to their added complexity, or because they are redundant.

Beside each decision point, I've made note of the rules that would require changing immediately for the upcoming season (see rule 4 above):