League Vote: 2010-2011 Rule Changes

Post date: Jan 24, 2010 5:38:1 PM

Thanks to everyone filling out the survey. You can look at the raw results here (I'm not 100% sure this will work).

I've taken a good look at the results, and put together 2 proposals that I think we can get the majority to vote on at the waiver draft. A simple Yay or Nay type of vote.

I really don't want to debate each point - that was the point of the survey - but if anyone sees a serious flaw with any of the fine details, I'll consider opening them up for further discussion.

If you're not able to attend the waiver draft, please email me your vote in advance. Remember, these are majority votes and require 7 'Yay' votes in order to pass.

Anyway, here's the 2 proposals:

Rookie Keeper rule:

This is the same general idea as what I had suggested in December. There's a few things that weren't a part of the survey, so be sure to read through these and understand the proposal in full.

However, the highlighted parts = the Coles notes version.

1a. Expand rosters by 2 additional bench positions. These extra spots are equivalent to the existing bench positions.

1b. Increase salary cap just by an additional $900k per rookie position (eg: 22 players x $3.15M/player + 2 players x $0.9M/player = $71.1M cap) <-- the $3.15M is not set in stone.

2. Introduce a rookie keeper system: up to 2 extra keepers positions reserved for 'rookies', who are defined as any position player with 82 or fewer NHL games played / any goalie with 50 or fewer games played (according to nhl.com as of the date Sept 1. preceding the keeper deadline).

3a. Change to roster rule 18b - Now up to 4 goalies may be carried, PROVIDED at least one goalie qualifies as a rookie. (ie. 2 rookie goalies may be carried on a roster)

3b. If a team has is carrying 4 goalies, and no goalie currently qualifies as a rookie at the time of a waiver draft, at least 1 goalie must be removed from the team during the draft (dropped or traded).

3c. Change to keeper rule 36b - Now up to 2 goalies may be kept, PROVIDED at least one goalie qualifies as a rookie. (ie. 2 rookie goalies may be kept as rookie keepers)

4. Managers may decide not to keep the maximum number of rookie players. For each rookie keeper slot left void, the team will receive one 'compensation pick' in the upcoming draft. Compensation picks will be awarded after rounds 6 & 10, following the normal draft order. eg. a team keeping only one rookie would get an extra picks after round 6. a team keeping no rookies would get extra picks after round 6 and 10. There are no restrictions on how to draft using compensation picks.

5. Players must be DRAFTED by an NHL club in order to be eligible for the NoVarks draft.

6. Unsigned players may be drafted at the cap hit of $900,000 (increase to $925,000 in 2011). As these players are signed, their salaries shall be immediately adjusted according to their new NHL contract.

7. *New* Increase the total amount of waiver moves per season from 6 to 7 (8?). With more roster spots, more holes to fill, etc. - I suggest we'll want a bit more flexibility at the waiver drafts. This can be up for debate as a separate item from the rookie keeper rule.

Substitution rule:

Take a look on the Poolexpert standings, and you'll notice that any one of our teams has missed 10-15% of our games so far. Unfortunately, the injury bug can strike at any time of the month.

I think anybody who's lost a player to injury in the first few days of a month has felt about 25 days of helplessness. I'm hoping to strike a balance by recommending:

1. Bi-weekly roster changes. In addition to the 1st of each month, teams can also go to the bench on the 16th of each month.