GCFHL Rules & Procedures

Chapter 1: General Info, Contacts & Responsibilities

What is the GCFHL?
The Great Canadian Fantasy Hockey League is a lifetime rotisserie-style fantasy hockey league that has been providing the ultimate gaming excitement for franchise owners since 2001. The GCFHL is owned and operated by Permanent Solutions:the digital workshop. Directed by Chris Hilbert, the GCFHL is managed from its headquarters in Ontario, Canada. GCFHL wants owners in the league that are committed to improving their team every week of the season. Potential owners interested in joining the GCFHL should contact the commissioner/vice-commissioner with their qualifications and to request information on expansion franchise availability.

GCFHL on the Web
The success of the GCFHL has been the design of the website to what it is known as today. In 2002, the league purchased a number of services that helped the league's website to improve to the incredible state that it now holds. A goal was set that not only did the League Office want to bring our General Managers the current statistics and standings but also we wanted to bring everyone a full range of information that would fulfill every hockey lovers dream. Under the domain name www.gcfhl.com, the league broke apart all the activities and information into separate sites all supporting a similar design and linked closely together to provide our General Managers with the best and the most information that we possibly could.

www.gcfhl.com The hub of the GCFHL, the main site allows owners to browse any league website or link to the message forum for true fanatic hockey talk!

GCFHL Contacts

Website URL: www.gcfhl.com

League Emails
League Office Email: gcfhlcommish@gmail.com

League Commissioners
Commissioner/ Chris Hilbert
Website Administrator: gcfhlcommish@gmail.com

Deputy Commissioner: [need to appoint]

Director Of League Properties: Stephane Demers

Public Relations
GM Representatives: [need to appoint]

League Responsibilities

Commissioner
Runs draft, approves trades, keeps score, interprets the rules, maintains waiver wire, acts as league treasurer, distributes match results and runs the GCFHL in general.

Deputy Commissioner
Performs duties of the Commissioner when the Commissioner is absent, or is an involved party in a trade or rule dispute.

Rules Committee
The rules committee consists of the Commissioner and Vice-Commissioner as well as GM representatives of the league. GM representatives serve a one-season term and are selected by volunteers at the beginning of each season. The rules committee will meet prior to the start of each season to determine if rule changes or new rules should be made to better the competition within the league. The commissioner's vote, in any rule challenge or vote will be used as a tie-breaker if it occurs. Rule changes made by the rules committee will be distributed after meetings. Changes to the rules or new rule proposals after the meeting but prior to the draft can only be made by a 3/4 majority vote (75%+) of the league owners. Upon the start of the season, there can be no rule changes or additions unless conditions warrant. All decisions made by the committee are final and may be followed by a majority vote of the ownership group. Rules committee members can serve multiple-season terms if the league offices and general membership group are confident in their abilities and they wish to continue to serve on the committee. The commissioner and vice-commissioner reserve the right to modify rules or procedures as abuse or conditions warrant at any time during the season. These modifications may or may not involve ownership votes depending on the situation.

Chapter 2: General Rules & Operations

The GCFHL prides itself on its professionalism and as an act of such, guarantees that no personal information about any General Manager will ever be given out without first receiving consent from the person(s) involved. This information may include; name, age, address, email or YIM number.

The preceding information as well as any other vitals you provide will be kept in the strictest confidence. This pertains to any source outside the GCFHL as well as any other General Manager within the GCHFL. Your secrets are safe with us!

GCFHL Terms of Termination
All Owners/General Managers may be given notice of termination for any of the following reasons:
1. If it becomes apparent that a General Manager is not participating in any league activities, (roster changes, voting, message forums, and viewing results), or otherwise disrupting the league by their actions or communications they may lose their franchise and another General Manager will be appointed. All teams are property of the GCFHL.
2. Any General Manager using the message forums for advertising purposes or abusive behaviour will be immediately terminated. No exceptions!
3. Any General Manager may propose that another General Manager be removed from the league. Email reason to gcfhlcommish@gmail.com and if there are sufficient reasons to support your case that General Manager could be terminated.
4. The leagues head office will determine how much notice a General Manager will be given before dismissal and can perform actions without warning if the need if felt.

For more information on terms and conditions please see our copyright and disclaimer links found on every site.

Team Logos and Uniforms
All teams are required to have logos and uniforms. Preferably, the design must be your own creation and not stolen or refurbished in any way from an existing logo (some exceptions apply). All franchise identities must be approved by the Director Or Properties for copyright violations. Franchise owners may need to show proof of design, or provide a waiver from the identity owner/creator for GCFHL usage. For more information on creating logos and uniforms, contact our Website Administrator. We can arrange for custom designs if requested.

Team Relocation Policy
Beginning in Season 3, all GCFHL teams will be locked in their current location for at least the next 3 years. This is a policy that is being used in attempts to develop stability and realism in the league. Some exceptions may apply (ownership changes) but the league will stand firm in most cases.

When 3 years have expired, the league will begin taking proposals for relocations. Not all relocations will be accepted. Relocations will have to adhere to the existing geographical alignment that is in place. Only 3 teams max per year will be allowed to relocate. This move cannot be made until the off-season and only one team per city is allowed. All relocation proposals must be submitted to League Office no later than the beginning of the playoffs prior to the off-season selected for the move. Proposals will be examined and League Office MUST approve ALL new team names before the relocation is publicized.

Passwords
Passwords are very important in the GCFHL. They are used for various reasons which include team/player manipulation and access to pages on the website.

Each team's General Manager has his/her own personal password for making line changes. This password is used to protect teams and their rosters from outside sabotage. This password can be changed at any time if so desired. The only people who have access to this password are the General Manager and the Commissioner.

If you experience any problems with the website passwords, email the Website Administrator.

Scheduling Issues / Holidays
Total games in the GCFHL season will vary in length depending on total franchises and the length of the NHL schedule. Due to the holidays, there will be no games played December 24-26. During years with an NHL All-Star game, there will also be a 4 day break during the season for the annual GCFHL All-Star Break commencing on a Friday and ending the following Monday. During Olympic years, there will be a 14+ day break during the season for the annual GCFHL Olympic pool. Dates are to be announced at the beginning of each season. Please check the website for the current scheduled off days. League offices close July 1st and re-open September 1st each season. All owners are encouraged to continue developing their franchise through staff hiring, scouting and other activities but trading is strictly prohibited.

League Communications
The GCFHL intends to uphold its professional image at all times and that includes its portrayal in the message forums. There are rules for using the GCFHL website as a communication tool and failure to adhere to these rules could result in serious reprimand and even dismissal.

No personal insults directed toward any other General Manager is permitted or any other kinds of defamation of character or negative mannerisms are allowed. Remember, this is a fun league and there is NEVER any justifiable reason to make an issue become personal. The message forums are only to be used to communicate with the league about your team and related issues. Trash talking is encouraged and permissible in a fictional sense, but personal attacks are not.

Again, the GCFHL practices a zero tolerance level of discipline with its forum policies and League Office Staff will deal with all offenses on an individual basis.

Participation Level
Here in the GCFHL, Owner/GM participation is something that is considered mandatory on a regular basis. Even though we are running a fantasy hockey league, there are people who take this organization very seriously. The League Office Staff spend countless hours designing and operating the league for you, the Owner/General Manager. Also, there are several General Managers who participate faithfully on a daily basis and some would say they live and breathe the GCFHL.

We are not suggesting that you need to go to that extreme, as flattering as it may be, but as a GCFHL Owner/General Manager, you are expected to participate regularly. The most important thing you should concentrate on is your team management. Your players will experience injuries from time to time and your lineup will need to be adjusted. Ignoring your team will result in poor performance in the standings. This has been proven over and over again. Failure to participate will result in termination. See the "Terms of Termination" section for more information.

Other participation activities may include trading, posting reports/press releases in the forums, voting on various topics through the year and reading the press releases that are frequently sent out. Sometimes, we will ask for your opinion on specific issues in the league. We look forward to using your opinion in our decision making process. Our communications are written for you and contain information which we feel will help you depending on the current time of year and what is going on at that time. We encourage you to read and understand these communication releases.

We look forward to any ideas, suggestions and comments that you may have on the league. We sometimes use these to make changes to the league and better it for everyone.

ALL GCFHL owners must have a Yahoo Instant Messenger (YIM) account and actively use it. This is the exclusive chat software used by the GCFHL for online meetings, draft sessions, and GM/owner communications. ALL YIM nicknames must be submitted to the league office to maintain the master list.

New GM Tutoring

Tutoring will be available to new GM's but will be on an optional basis. If a new GM wishes to accept help from another GM, the league will appoint a willing person from an different conference or league who will teach and monitor the newcomer until both the GM's and the league feel the need for such action has expired.

Chapter 3: Alignment, Rosters & Gameplay

Current League Alignment
[insert alignment here]

Team Rosters
Each GCFHL franchise has a pro team consisting of 23 players and a farm team consisting of 23 players (including rookies).

Roster Restrictions
• No more than 3 goalies may exist on the pro team roster
• The farm team is comprised of a minimum of 2 goalies, 6 defense and 9 forwards. The other 7 players may be of any position, but no more than 3 goalies may exist on the farm team.
• The farm team must have a minimum of 16 players at all times.

Disabled List/Injury Reserve
Franchises may assign players to their disabled list/injury reserve and must communicate to the league office via e-form that the player will be disabled, and the farm team replacement. IR replacement players are promoted from the farm team and must play the same position as the injured player (F, D or G). If a farm team replacement gets injured while playing on the pro team, he is sent back to the farm, and another replacement will be granted by the league.

Franchises may assign players to their disabled list/injury reserve during the GCFHL playoffs.

Retirement
Players can retire at any time in their NHL career. If a player on your roster retires, you will not receive any compensation other than listed below, and may sign from the free agent/waiver wire or trade to rebalance your roster. Rights to retired players are owned by the team that they last played for (as long as the player was not waived/released before official retirement announcements). Retirement rights can be traded for future picks or farm/pro team players. If a player on your roster retires during the season the following options are available:

a) Assign a farm team player to your pro team and sign a free-agent assigning him directly to your farm team
b) Sign a free-agent and assign him to your pro team

General managers will not receive draft considerations for players that have retired, have long term injuries, death, or continue their career outside of the NHL. GM's can assign the player to their farm team, release the player, or retire the player and maintain their rights. In any case, a player can be signed as a free agent during the next waiver period.

Injuries and Suspensions
Over the course of a season, players will occasionally become injured or suspended. Injuries can range in length anywhere from day-to-day to indefinitely. In the case of injuries, the General Manager will be required to make the necessary line changes to compensate for the loss of the player as the league will not automatically fill the empty slot. If ignored, the team will play with an incomplete roster, and directly hinder the performance of the team and its success in the standings.

Suspensions are caused from either causing injury to another player or by accumulating too many game misconducts in a short time frame. Suspensions can range in length from one to an undetermined amount of games.

Player injury information is very limited and inconsistent among hockey websites. The League Office is making every attempt to consolidate all the information into a weekly report to make the General Manager's job easier.

Roster Transactions

Trading Players
Trading players is a very important event that is taken very seriously in the GCFHL. This is likely the most exciting thing about the league that the General Managers can participate in. Teams may trade players, draft picks, or rights to retired players. There are a few rules and procedures pertaining to trading players that should be followed. Trades involving future considerations are not accepted in the GCFHL.

When two General Managers have agreed to a trade and all of the players in the deal have been determined, each General Manager MUST submit the deal to the League Office via the website e-form with each of their versions of the transaction detailing everyone involved. If the two email messages match, the League Office will then accept the trade.

If one of the General Managers does not send in their version of the transaction, it will not be processed. NO EXCEPTIONS. Trades will not be approved by the league office until the peer review has completed (details below).

Trade Announcements
Trade announcements will be made through a trade alert to all league owners email addresses, the GCFHL website, and the GCFHL message forums. Owners may opt-in to an email bulletin distribution list which will send them league updates.

All league owners may review the trade for 48 hours after it has been announced (see Trade Review below). All protested trades are sent to the League Office for review, and will be evaluated before the process time.

Trade Review

Trades must be made in an attempt to benefit both teams. In the event that a trade is discovered that appears to be collusive or one-sided to the point that it cannot benefit one of the parties involved, league members may protest the trade and send it on to the Trade Review Board, who will rule on the merits of the trade. In any situation where the League Office believes that a proposed trade is collusive or will not benefit both teams, the League Office may reject the trade. The League Office reserves the right to handle all such situations to preserve the integrity of the game. The League Office further reserves the right to suspend or revoke a team owner's ability to propose or protest trades when the League Office believes, using reasonable discretion, that a team owner has acted in a collusive or unsportsmanlike manner or in any other manner which undermines the integrity of the game. Decisions of the League Office on all such matters shall be final and binding.

Waivers
The Waiver Rule is in effect in the GCFHL. Any player aged 24 and up during the current season will be placed on waivers for a 48 hour period before being sent down to the Farm Roster. While he is on waivers any team may sign him. If a player is claimed, he MUST be placed on the Pro Roster of his new team and clear waivers again if he is assigned to the farm team. Once a team has claimed a player from waivers, that team will be placed in the last position on the Waiver Priority List. If he is not claimed, he will successfully be sent to the Farm Roster. This only happens when players are sent to the Farm Roster and not when they are being called up to the Pro Roster. Players 23 and under on the farm team are not affected by the waiver rule and can play freely between both rosters. Player ages will be set for the season as of December 31, 2009.

Once a player is waived, he is a Free Agent and cannot be signed until the following period. There are no "conditional/if" waivers. If you release a player, you cannot re-sign them until SIX waiver periods have passed. 

The waiver wire/farm team system increases the market of available players by using an active waivers list in addition to the already active Free Agent List.

Signing and Releasing Players
Signing and releasing players is an ongoing event in the GCFHL. There are simple rules to follow during theses procedures.

1. When signing a player to your team, be sure that the acquisition will not place your roster over the maximum accepted league limit of 23 players (pro) or 23 players (farm).

2. Use the sign and release links found on the website or email to complete these procedures. Your request will be auto-forwarded to League Office.

3. Signing and releasing players is not permitted after the Trade Deadline. Player movement (trading) will officially resume the day after the championship round is over.

Free agency/waivers will be allowed once a week (Tuesday night). Free Agent/Waiver order is set at the beginning of the season based on the reverse point totals in the standings from the previous season. Teams may submit a ranked list of free agent claims (maximum 5 players) to the league office by midnight (EST) Tuesday. The commissioner will award free agents based on the waiver order. Once a team receives a player they go to the end of the waiver order. All players picked up off waivers are eligible to play the next time rosters are submitted. Any player not on a league roster is a Free Agent. You must make room (waive, 2-1 trade) on your roster before a Free Agent can be signed. Any player claimed in the free agent/waiver must remain on the team's roster for 1 week before being traded. Unless trades, free agents must remain on a franchise roster for a minimum of 3 weeks.

For any questions on signing and releasing new and experienced players, please email the Commissioner.

Line Changes/Roster Submit
Line changes are a key step in the level of participation that is expected of a GCFHL General Manager. Regular line changes are encouraged by the league and are in no way considered a hindrance to anyone's time schedule at the League Office.

Unless otherwise stated on the league website, the lineup deadline for regular season games is always 12:00 PM EDT/EST on the day of the submit, other than following the All-Star or Olympic Break (usually Tuesday)! ALL emails and calls after the deadline will not be processed and the previous week's lineup will be used. NO exceptions will be made.

The deadline for playoff game lineups is 1 minute before the first NHL game of that day.

Submitted lineups consist of 9 forwards, 4 defensemen and maximum 1 goalie per GCFHL game. All other players are on your bench and their scores do not count towards your player points total.

Owners who fail to submit their franchise lineup for 3 weeks during the regular season will have their franchise ownership immediately transferred to the GCFHL League Office. Pending an owner investigation, the ownership may transfer back to the original owner, or will be held until a new owner can be accepted into the league.

If an owner fails to submit a lineup during the regular season, the league will submit a competitive lineup automatically but the owner will not be eligible for any award recognition for that period (player of the week, 4-0 club, etc). If an owner fails to submit a lineup during the playoffs, the league will submit a competitive lineup automatically. If an owner fails to submit a 2nd or 3rd lineup during the playoffs, the franchise will drop 1 positions in the annual GCFHL Entry Draft order.  Owners missing 4 lineups during the playoffs will have their franchise ownership immediately transferred to the GCFHL League Office.

Scoring
Your team's score will be compared to that of your schedule opponents. At the end of the previous nights games, your total score is compared to your scheduled opponent's. You will get a win for every team you outscore and a loss for every team that outscores you. In case of a tie, tie-break scenarios will be processed.

Offensive Scoring
Each Goal Scored = 2 points Each Assist (Forwards) = 1 point
Shorthanded Goal/Assist = +1 point Each Assist (Defense) = 2 points
Overtime Goal/Assist = +1 point Penalty Shot Goal = +1 point
Goalie Scoring
Win = 3 points Goal Scored = 10 points
Tie = 2 points Assist = 2 points
Shutout = +2 points Penalty Shot Saved = 2 points
0-0 Tie = 4 points 34 Saves*** = +1 point, +1 per 5 above
Overtime/Shootout Loss (OTL)** = 1 point (04-08-10)
** Overtime Loss (OTL) scoring category is for regular season games only.

Regular Season Tie-Break Scenarios
•  Tie-Break Player - Each GM submits a player to be used as a tie-break when they submit their lineup for each game in the lineup period. If the game is tied, each tie-break player's points are compared. Whichever player is higher awards victory to their team, if points are tied, tie-break procedure continues. Tie-break players CANNOT be goalies, but can be player not dressed (benched).
•  Scores Minus Goalie
•  Total Goals
•  Scores Minus Goalie & Forwards (Defensive Points)
•  Forward/Defense Total Plus/Minus 
•  Forward/Defense Total Shots On Goal (SOG)
•  Teams losing tie-break scenarios will be awarded 1 point during the regular season.

GCFHL Playoff Format

[describe new format here]

Playoff Game Tie-Break Scenarios
•  Tie-Break Player - Each GM submits a player to be used as a tie-break when they submit their lineup. If the game is tied, each tie-break player's points are compared. Whichever player is higher awards victory to their team, if points are tied, tie-break procedure continues.
•  Scores Minus Goalie
•  Total Goals
•  Scores Minus Goalie & Forwards (Defensive Points)
•  Forward/Defense Total Plus/Minus 
•  Forward/Defense Total Shots On Goal (SOG)

Playoff Procedures
• Overtime Loss (OTL) Scoring Category is suspended during the playoffs as this is not an earned statistic category.
• No roster expansion as in previous seasons (23 - 26 players).
• Maximum 3 goalies can be selected.
• Injury Reserve
• Owners may place player on injury reserve and promote farm team player
• Minimum injury replacement = 1 weeks (7 days = 4 playoff games)

Relegation Round

[discussion]

For all teams in the GCFHL playoffs - lineups are due 1 minute before the start of the first game and if no lineup is received, the team will automatically forfeit the game. If 3 playoff games are forfeited during the playoffs, the owner will lose control of the team to the GCFHL League Office.

Chapter 4: GCFHL Annual Events

GCFHL All-Star Gala
The All-Star Break is an annual event that showcases the talent of the GCFHL. It is held approximately half way through each season year and consists of the GCFHL All-Star Skills Competition Contest, GCFHL Young Stars Game and the GCFHL All-Star Game.

Each year will feature the Eastern Conference All-Stars versus the Western Conference All-Stars. The Skills Competition consists of events, each of which, the winning team is rewarded points. The team that tallies the most points in the competition wins. The events include:

1. Fastest Skater
2. Shot Accuracy
3. Puck Control Relay
4. Hardest Shot
5. Breakaway Contest
6. Empty Net Goals (Goaltenders)
7. Rapid Fire

The All-Star Game is scored from the NHL all-Star Game using regular GCFHL rules. Coaching duties are awarded to the team GM leading the conference one week before the All-Star game. Assistant coaches are awarded to the 2nd GM leading the conference one week before the All-Star game. The winner of the game will receive bragging rights for the entire league for the whole year. The host city is selected by submitted bids by owners along with logo and jersey designs.

Annual Awards Ceremony
Each year, the GCFHL holds it annual awards ceremony, recognizing the very best core of athletes in the league for their regular season achievements. The awards are based solely on regular season performance and are in no way affected by playoff statistics.

GCFHL Annual Rookie Entry Draft
Starting in the 2004-2005 season, the GCFHL will hold an annual Rookie Entry Draft. The order of the draft will be determined by the lottery procedures similar to the NHL.

Each team will be selecting three (4) players, one in each round, that is if they did not trade any draft picks in the previous season. Eligible players are players listed on the Central Scouting Registry prior to the NHL Entry draft.