FG Rating Reduction Approved!

Tuesday, March 9th

The league has received the necessary 12 votes (and in record time!) to proportionally reduce player FG ratings based on the suggested ratios provided. Of the 15 votes that have come in so far since the e-mail was sent out Monday afternoon, only 1 vote was against the idea so it's fairly clear GMs are eager to reduce fighting in the league.

As for the time-line on when changes were to be made, all votes to adjust the ratings asked for it to happen ASAP and the league is planning on implementing the new ratings after tonight's update. As this may be a timely adjustment depending on the 'mood' of the simulator, the Commissioner admits it may not happen tonight, in which case the league would have to wait until the next time all teams have played the same amount of games to be fair.

VOTE - Option To Reduce Fighting

Monday, March 8th

As many GMs are probably aware the majority of fights in the NSHL this season have come from top line players rather than the expected 3rd and 4th line 'tough guys'.

The league has the ability to update player ratings at any point in the season using something within the simulator called 'Mass Edition'. Using this option and a test league file the Commissioner ran some tests late last week to see what changes would benefit the league.

The conclusion reached after several test runs was that the best option for the league was to have FG ratings decreased in proportion to a player's DI rating. This would see players who were more likely to get into fights have their FG ratings reduced far less than a player who was given a high FG rating but is more disciplined, and therefore has a higher DI.

The Commissioner's office believes the initial cross-over conversion to STHS2 was the main reason FG ratings were so high to begin with and that the simulator may have used last year's PIMs combined with other ratings to determine them.

The proposed solution:

The league runs a 'Mass Edition' of ALL players signed to pro deals, MSHL deals or unassigned and lowers FG ratings based on their DI levels.
A player with 0-35 DI receives a 25% decrease in FG
A player with 36-55 DI receives a 35% decrease in FG
A player with 56-75 DI receives a 50% decrease in FG
A player with 76+ DI receives a 75% decrease in FG

These adjustments should generate a clear-cut difference between players that fight and players that don't and more to the point, reduce the number of 'top line talent' that consistently get into fights.

Through tests that were run in exhbition games these results appear to be the answer the league has been looking for in reducing fights and can be put in place at any time.

All GMs are going to receive an e-mail asking if they want the change to take place and if so, when? The options will be ASAP, at the All-Star Classic or at the end of the season.

Blue Jackets GM Steps Down

Tuesday, March 2nd

The league received unfortunate news Tuesday morning when it was informed that Steve Szumlinski, the GM of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the past two years is stepping down citing an overall lack of time for the league due to other family commitments.

Under Steve's direction the Blue Jackets had become one of the better up and coming organizations in the league, using high draft picks to stock pile their prospect list with defensemen Drew Doughty and Jack & Erik Johnson. Unfortunately the team never made the Playoffs during Mr. Szumlinski's two year stint however many believed the team had a serious shot when this season kicked off.

On behalf of the entire league, best of luck Steve and thank you for your effort over the years!

5-0 Canucks Remain Top Seed

Saturday, February 27th

Vancouver's No Joke in the Shootout

Last year's Shootout Tournament Champions raised a lot of eyebrows when they defeated the New Jersey Devils in the Finals to capture the event's first ever title. Now, about 1/4 of the way through the season, with a brand-new ranking system the Canucks are still the top seed, going undefeated in the shootout so far this season with a perfect 5-0 record and a +5 goal differential.

If the tournament were to start today, the #1 seed Canucks would be matched up with their opponents from last year's Finals from New Jersey. The Devils would squeak into the Tournament with an unsettling .333 record so far this season in the shootout, narrowly better than the 17th seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. The Devils would win the tie-break on more goals for which means the Penguins would fail to qualify for the event if it kicked-off this afternoon.

The top sixteen teams in regular season shootout games leading up to the All-Star Classic will take part in the single-elimination tournament. Teams are ranked based on their winning percentage during shootout games with tie-breakers decided by goals for / goals against differential, more goals for and fewer goals against.

Teams will be paired off based on their seeding in a first takes on worst format. Last year's winner (Vancouver) is guaranteed entry into the event regardless of their seed from this season's shootout results.

The tournament qualifying rankings can be tracked throughout the season at the Shootout Tournament page or by clicking here.

New GM Rule Passes

Friday, February 26th

By the narrowest of margins the league voted to approve the addition of a 'New GM Rule' to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the final tally being 20 for, 3 opposed and 1 no vote. The new rule goes into effect immediately and allows new GMs to move their 'No Movement' contract players to other clubs after 30 days in the league.

This change was proposed in order to give newer GMs some breathing room as the majority of the time when they enter the league they're taking over a poorly run team that's in some kind of trouble.

Teemu Tests Out New Rule

A trade was finally able to be put through now that the rule has passed as Teemu Selanne temporarily waived his No Movement Clause to head to Chicago in a three player deal that saw Michael Nylander and David Backes go the other way to the Dallas Stars.

New GM Sasha Tuma felt the new rule would benefit his organization and any others that take on new GMs in the future as it allows GMs to undo some decisions that just have handcuffed the team financially.

GM Change in Tampa Bay 

Saturday, February 13th

After more than a month without a single lines submission and having the league basically running the day to day operations in Tampa Bay, NSHL Commissioner Jay kaShman has decided it's best to move in a different direction.

With an eager GM on the league waiting list, the decision to change GMs was an easy one and on Saturday Jeff Guthrie was announced as the Lightning's new GM. Jeff was brought to the league through the current NSHL Player Agent Goss and has been waiting for a team since the beginning of the year.

Mr. Guthrie will take the next week and a half to learn the ropes and figure out the league before things return to normal on February 24th.

Jeff can be reached via e-mail and MSN at jlguthrie_05@hotmail.com.

Three CBA Changes Approved!

Wednesday, February 10th

23 of 24 GMs have voted on the three CBA changes which were e-mailed out to the league last week and the 20 votes needed for each to pass was reached meaning all three changes are applied immediately to the league's CBA.

The first change to have the 'No Trade Clause' removed from the CBA and use only 'No Movement Clauses' from here on out was approved 21-2.

Any GM that has a player / players they believe have definite 'No Trade Clauses' in place already can submit a list of these players to the NSHL before this weekend and those existing clauses will be honoured for the rest of their term.

The second vote was on a 'No Movement Clause' discount change, granting players 30+ a 15% discount for teams and players under 30 a 10% discount for teams during negotiations. This vote passed 22-1.

The final vote was to introduce Signing Bonuses into negotiations and allowed each team to spend a maximum of $5,000,000.00 in one season on any signing bonuses outside of prospect contracts. This $5,000,000.00 will be spread evenly over the life of the contract in order for the NSHLPA to compare it to other offers. This final change was approved by a final tally of 22-1.

NSHL Trade Block Filling Up Fast

Tuesday, February 9th

A number of teams have already submitted their initial Trade Block list to the NSHLPA which has been updated and posted. As it stands the teams participating are set to split the first ever cash reward for the NSHL's newest feature, the NSHL Trade Block which sits at $240,000.00.

Want in on the cash? Submit your team's Trade Block to the NSHLPA today! The deadline for the first Trade Block is set for this Friday's update, so don't delay.

The NSHL Trade Block can be viewed here.

Brand New Feature:  The NSHL Trade Block

Saturday, February 6th

NSHLPA Goss Unveils New Feature

After months of discussion on a possible new feature, the league office finally put together a plan they liked for a brand new monthly feature, The NSHL Trade Block.

The idea stems from the recent upgrade in the activity level on the NSHL Forum, thanks in large part to Chicago Blackhawks GM Darryl Miller who has put together new ideas like individual team article sections and the very popular Poll Zone.

The NSHL Trade Block is the idea of current NSHL Player Agent The Goss who used ideas found in the video game NHL10 from EA SPORTS. The feature will enable teams to submit regular updates to their trade block which not only earns them free advertising but can put some cash in their pockets at the same time.

To start with, each team has four different areas they can post information in (Looking For, Offering, Names On The Block and Team Outlook). In each category of the first two categories a team can select a maximum two positions (Centre, Winger, Forward, Defense, Goalie, Prospects, Picks) and then choose as many descriptor words that apply to that position.

For example:

LOOKING FOR
Goalie
* Starter
* Rental
* Veteran

In the third column which is entitled 'Names On The Block' a team can list a maximum of two players or picks on their roster already that they're possibly shopping.

The final column a GM can edit is called 'Team Outlook' and allows the GM to put a label on his team's current situation ('Contender', 'Making the Playoffs', 'Cost Cutting' etc), giving interested teams an overall idea of what they're looking to do.

No GM is required to participate but those that do get a potential bigger share of the $240,000.00 pie that's given out by the league with each submission.

All submissions are to be sent to nshlpa@jaykashman.net or ericgosselin@live.com so that The Goss can update the chart and submit it to the league. Any area that has descriptors not listed by the league or has too many positions listed will be edited down.

The NSHL Trade Block can be found here.

NOTE - The NSHLPA's Sharks and Commissioner's Maple Leafs have posted their 'NSHL Trade Blocks' as examples.

Bitterman's Beef

with Gary Bitterman

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to my corner of the world, Bitterman's Beef, with your host, me!

Some people may call me a 'Yes Man!' but I tend to disagree. My name is Gary Bitterman, Commissioner of the National Hockey League which is North America's #1 sport on ice, all thanks to me. You know what they say hockey fans, 'there's no 'I' in 'Team' but there's 'ME' in every of the 30 franchises in the NHL today.

Here's my beef this week folks:

Here's Why Your Team Sucks

That's one hell of a headline isn't it? It's not meant to say that every team in the league is terrible or even bad, but there is an explanation!

Follow my lead for just a moment. Open up the NSHL standing page and take a look at the teams in the bottom 1/3 of the league. Next, open up the GM Contact page and filter through the bottom 1/3 of the teams in the number of times they submitted lines. The Washington Capitals have a .389 Win % and have submitted lines 3 times. The Columbus Blue Jackets (.389) twice. The New Jersey Devils (.361) twice. The Vancouver Canucks (.278) five times. Hmm.

The logic doesn't always apply (Ottawa and Anaheim seem to submit lines frequently) but it seems fairly logical that submitting often can help your team stay out of the basement or more likely, not submitting often handicaps your team and puts them where they belong!

I'll give credit where credit is due, your Commissioner has tried his damndest to rid the league of the inactive however the point has to be heard that NSHL Suit or not, get on the ball or get out of the game.

Backing The Truck Up

Take my words however you will but you will notice since my last article on bankruptcy a number of teams have resorted to emptying their PRO rosters of high valued contracts, including Columbus, Detroit and Pittsburgh. My article and the timing of these moves comes rather coincidental don't it?

I sit and I wonder to myself: 'Self, have these GMs making contract dumping moves learned anything from all this?' And then I respond to myself: 'Self, no, not bloody likely.'

Take your shiniest quarter, go to the bookies and put down a bet that says at least one of the top five highest paid signings or acquisitions this off-season will belong to either Columbus, Detroit or Pittsburgh.

I spoke of a cap in my last article and after had a lengthy discussion with your commissioner and dare I say, I've sort of had my mind changed. GMs here could not even get their rosters suited so they had a guy on waivers before demoting him earlier this year, how could they possibly sort themselves out under a cap!!

I apologize if what I say strikes too close to home for any of you, but lets get with it! We'd sit back and watch more teams sit over the cap paying constant fines or holding up games because they couldn't find the switch on the wall to turn the lights on!!

In a once in a lifetime event, in this very article, I'm going to retract what I said last time and say this as my farewell: This league doesn't need a cap after all, it needs another wake-up call like the Stars last year. Let'em go bankrupt and let'em learn.

Did something Gary talked about sound like something that warrants discussion? Talk about it here.