The Official Rulebook of the NSHL

A

All-Star Classic

At the half way point during each regular season the league holds the NSHL All-Star Break which features a Best of Three All-Star Classic series between the Eastern Conference All-Stars and the Western Conference All-Stars, an MSHL All-Star Game (East v. West), a YoungStars Game (Eastern players under 24 v. Western players under 24) as well as a State of the League Address given by the Commissioner.

All-Star Classic - GM Selection

Approximately two weeks prior to the All-Star Break the league will have a deadline by which time the GMs responsible for putting together the lines will be decided.

The two GMs who made it to the previous year's Stanley Cup Finals will be given one of the three spots per Conference while the four GMs whose teams are division leaders at the deadline will also receive a spot. If a GM made the previous year's Finals AND has their team leading the division, the spot will go to the team with the next highest Win % in the Conference. The two GMs whose teams lead their Conference will be designated as team captains and decide which other GM is sending lines for which game as well as which goalie will start which game (each goalie must start one of the games). The top GM in each Conference will also be responsible for selecting the roster of the league's YoungStars game.

All-Star Classic - Host City Selection

Prior to the All-Star Classic each of the league's General Managers will be permitted to submit a text only application to host the following year's All-Star Classic. The submitted articles will then be posted on the league website and voted on by the remaining General Managers to determine the host of the All-Star Classic for the following year.

No franchise may host the All-Star Classic under the same General Manager more than once every three seasons.

All-Star Classic - MSHL Ballots

Approximately two weeks prior to the All-Star Break the league will have a deadline by which time the GMs responsible for selecting the league's MSHL All-Stars will be decided. The team in each MSHL Conference with the highest Win % at the deadline will earn the right to select the All-Stars for the MSHL.

Each of the two GMs must then fill their roster with players who have played at least 10 games in the MSHL to fill an active roster (12 forwards, 6 defensemen and 2 goalies).

All-Star Classic - Pro Ballots

Approximately two weeks prior to the All-Star Break, each General Manager is sent a blank ballot via e-mail which they are asked to fill out and return to the league by a given deadline. Each ballot contains 12 forwards, 6 defensemen and 2 goalies from each Conference that the General Manager must select based on who he feels is most deserving of participating in the event as well as a Captain and two Alternates from that list of players (the Captain and Alternates are players with leadership and experience and will not be allowed to be scratched during the All-Star Classic).

Once the deadline for ballots to be returned has past, the league will tally the votes and announce the All-Star participants based on the top 13 forwards, 7 defensemen and 3 goalies based on the votes.

Any team that fails to submit a ballot on time faces reprimand from the league.

All-Star Classic - Revenue

The league generates gate revenue from ticket sales for each of the five games that take place during the All-Star Classic.

The league combines all of the ticket revenue from the event and splits it into 30 even portions. 7 of the 30 portions go to the host of the event while the remaining 23 portions are given to the other 23 teams.

The league also awards $150,000 to each team for every player they have who participates in the All-Star Classic. $150,000 is also awarded for the General Manager participating in the event.

Based on the winners of each individual game the league will award $500,000 to the GM of the winning teams.

All-Star Classic - YoungStars Game Roster Selection

Once the GM has been decided for each Conference's YoungStars team, they are responsible for naming a full roster of players (12 forwards, 6 defensemen, 2 goalies) that are 24 or younger and have played at least 10 pro games that season. The GM must submit their selections by the given deadline and is then also responsible for setting their team's lines.

Awards

Upon completion of the playoffs the league sends out an Awards Ballot to each General Manager complete with the name of each award and room for three nominations per award. General Managers are asked to complete the ballot and return it to the league with nominees for each of the league's awards by the given deadline.

Once the deadline has past the league tallies the submitted ballots and compiles a list with three final nominees for each of the awards.

In the event of a tie at this time, all players involved in the tie will be nominated for the award.

A second, completed ballot is then sent out to each General Manager who is asked to select the most deserving of the three nominees listed to win the award.

In the event of a tie at this time, all General Managers who originally voted will be asked to re-vote on the players involved to break the tie.

C

Coaches

Every team is required to have a coach for their pro team and their minor league team during the entire duration of the season, from the start of pre-season to the end of the playoffs.

Coaches can be signed to a maximum length contract of one year with $250,000 being the minimum wage for a coach to sign in the pros and $125,000 the minimum for a coach to sign in the minors.

If a team decides to change coaches during the season in either the pros or minors, the former coach is paid 50% of his entire contract value regardless of when the change comes in the season. When a team names a new General Manager, the General Manager may hire a new pro or minor league coach without financial penalties.

Naming a new coach resets team MOrale (MO) to 50.

Coaches - Off-Season Hiring Process

When the off-season begins each team has the right to 'qualify' their previous head coach by offering him a qualifying contract worth 10% more than he was previously making. While none of these offers will be accepted right off away, they ensure the team making the offer earns the right to match any other offers the coach receives.

A coach's previous team receives a 10% discount on any contract put forth by another team.

After teams who wish to have submitted their qualifying offers, the league opens up the first wave of incoming offers to any team that has NOT made a qualifying offer to their former coach. Teams are allowed to submit offers to one coach at a time, for a one year term that must be 10% higher than their qualifying offer to be valid.

Once this first 'wave' is complete, the next 'wave' consists of teams matching / not matching offers made to their coaches as well as any new offers that come in. These 'waves' will continue until each team has a pro coach, and then the same process will occur with MSHL coaches (qualifying etc).

If a coach receives only one offer in a wave or receives no other offer than their qualifying offer, they'll sign immediately. If a coach receives multiple offers in a single 'wave' they'll sign the highest contract that wave unless there's another offer within 10%, in which case those two teams will be asked to re-submit a new bid with the highest bid being the one the coach signs.

Coaches - Potential Compensation

Minor league coaches will always take a job as a pro coach over remaining in the minors and must be paid the $250,000 minimum wage to do so. When a team decides to hire another team's minor league coach as their head coach during the season they owe that team compensation.

A team may name another team's minor league coach as their pro head coach from any point during the regular season for 1 Compensation Round draft pick. If that team is in their same MSHL Conference, a second pick is owed. If the change is made after the Trade Deadline, a third pick is owed.

Any compensation picks owed will come from the hiring team's pick list if they have any at the end of the year. If they don't have any at the end of the year, the team that's owed the pick will be awarded one at the draft position of the hiring team.

Hiring another team's MSHL coach does not force their team MOrale (MO) to be reset.

Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)

To view the entire Collective Bargaining Agreement click here.

D

Division Alignment

Each off-season the league draws up divisions based on the cities of teams in the league and their geographical proximity to one another. Teams are grouped with the teams closest to them, usually in the same time zone.

The league operates with two Conferences (East & West), 2 Divisions per Conference (Atlantic and Central in the East, Northwest and Southwest in the West) and 6 teams per Division for a total of 24 teams.

E

Exhibition

The pre-season or exhibition occurs prior to the start of the regular season. The exhibition schedule is a shortened schedule which allows teams to test out their line-ups.

Exhibition games do not affect finances in any way.

Any injuries that occur during exhibition are carried over into the regular season.

Expansion

Should the league decide it wants to expand the number of teams it must inform all existing teams no later than the All-Star Classic in the year prior to the intended expansion.

During the off-season leading up to the expansion team(s) joining the league, an expansion draft will be held where the new team(s) will begin to build their roster.

Expansion - Expansion Draft

Existing teams will be allowed to protect 9 forwards, 4 defensemen and 1 goalie from being selected in the expansion draft. All rookies and prospects are exempt. Any team that loses a player during the expansion draft will be reimbursed $500,000 per player.

An expansion team will select up to 20 players over the course of the expansion draft. Any team that selects an impending unrestricted free agent in the draft will be given a chance to negotiate with that player prior to the market opening.

Expanded Rosters

At the start of the Playoffs the league allows teams to carry up to five healthy scratches on their pro roster instead of the maximum of three players it allows during the regular season.

F

Fatigue

Players will take a negative hit to their conditioning (CON) rating once the following levels of ice-time have been met and fatigue sets in.

Skaters

20 minutes = -1 CON

25 minutes = -2 CON

30 minutes = -3 CON

Goalies

25 shots against = -2 CON

35 shots against = -3 CON

50 shots against = -4 CON

Finances

Each of the league's general managers is fully responsible for the financial gains or losses of their franchise. It is up to each GM to adjust ticket prices, manage player contracts and earn extra revenue in any way possible over the course of their tenure.

Finances - Rewards

The league financially rewards teams for the following achievements:

At the Pro Level

Playoffs

At the Minor League Level

Franchise Starting Point

When a franchise starts out it is given $45,000,000 as an opening balance. From there money can be earned or lost based on the decisions of the team's General Manager.

Free Agent Market

The free agent market is the point in time from when all player contracts have ended until the pre-season begins.

The league will announce the opening date to the free agent market at least two weeks prior to the doors opening so that teams are able to prepare themselves for negotiations.

Free Agent Signing Procedure

When a GM wishes to sign a player to a contract they must submit their offer via e-mail to the NSHL Player Agent (NSHLPA) for review. This e-mail must include the player's full name, position, age, his previous NSHL team and salary (if applicable) or his NHL team as well as the contract offer they're proposing (salary and term).

The NSHLPA will respond to this e-mail as soon as possible with a counter-offer, notice of acceptance or rejection.

GMs are not permitted to contact the NSHL Player Agent via MSN Messenger regarding contract offers.

GMs are not allowed to submit contract offers to rookies or prospects who are free agents as according to the CBA they're only eligible to be brought into the league via the Entry Draft.

Freeze

A 'roster' or a 'trade' freeze is a period of time when the league does not allow teams to make roster moves. The league will announce the starting date of an upcoming freeze with enough time to prepare GMs as to when it will begin and when it will end.

During a freeze teams are allowed to continue trade talks and even submit finalized deals to the league however nothing has to be processed until the freeze has ended.

H

Hall of Fame

At the completion of each season, a list of players retiring from the league or that have retired during the season will be released to the league. GMs may then choose players from that list they feel worthy of being inducted into the NSHL Hall of Fame.

Once the league has received a list from all of the GMs, the league will release the names of the final nominees. All GMs will then vote on those nominees (players or GMs) and determine which nominees, if any, are to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In order for a player or a GM to be inducted into the Hall of Fame they have to receive approval votes from 20 of the 24 league GMs.

I

IIHF Transfer Fee

During the off-season, after the playoffs and NSHL Awards but prior to free agency the league will collect a 10% IIHF Transfer Fee from every player on a team's roster that did not play pro hockey in a professional North American hockey league in the corresponding NSHL season.

A player that is eligible for this fee and who has not played in North America for the season will have his team pay 10% of his base salary for that season to the IIHF.

Any 30+ year old player who has played for a team that paid this fee and his contract has expired, will 'retire' from the NSHL that off-season and will remain retired until he returns to the NHL. Players under 30 may remain in the NSHL when their contracts expire so long as they're qualified as restricted free agents.

Injuries

Players can become injured during games at any point in a season. Once a player is injured he is placed on his team's scratched list and does not count towards his team's pro roster limit.

All players have a DU (Durability) rating which is their ability to heal from injuries. The higher a player's DU rating, the faster he's able to heal.

When a player is injured his CON (Condition) rating drops based on the severity of the injury. When a player's CON rating drops below 70, his contract no longer counts against a team's payroll.

L

Lines

Team lines are set by each of the league's GMs for their own teams over the course of the season and are to be edited and submitted using the STHS Client File.

A team's lines must consist of 20 healthy players and include 2 goalies, all dressed and active.

A team's line-up must be re-submitted whenever a trade, injury, suspension or other roster move occur as well as any other time that they may need tweaking. When fresh lines are not submitted and the lines or team roster need adjusting STHS does it automatically. Each team's GM is responsible for STHS adjusted lines the same way they are if they submitted them (IE waivers, promotions etc).

In the event that a GM is unable to access the STHS Client they may send in their changes via text e-mail which is to include ONLY the changes being made. To help the league out, the e-mail changes must be as clear and to the point as possible.

Example

In the event that a GM is knowingly going to be MIA (missing in action) for an extended period of time they can pre-load their lines (for up to 10 games at once, see the STHS Manual) or they can make arrangements for someone else to look after their team.

M

Minor League Affiliates

Prior to the start of each season all NSHL teams are required to submit to the league their choice for their minor league affiliate for the upcoming season.

All affiliates must be approved by the league and come from an existing team in the 'real' minor leagues (AHL, ECHL, SPHL).

If two or more teams asks for the same affiliate, the team that was linked to the team in the previous season will take precedent, followed by NHL affiliations and then first come first served.

Minor League Income

At the end of the season each team receives revenue from their minor league affiliate based on a formula the league uses to determine the income. A formula is used because STHS does not yet allow minor league teams to have building capacities.

The formula used is as follows:

$Y.00 (average NSHL Income Per Game)
X
Amount of home games played in the regular season
X
30% (using the logic that people would pay less money to see minor leaguers)
+
$200,000 per MSHL win
=
MSHL Income

Minor League Rosters

A player may be placed on a team's minor league roster so long as he has either a pro contract or a minor league contract.

To be demoted from the Pros to the Minors, any player 25 or older must first clear waivers before they can be assigned.

Players under a pro contract make 10% of that season's salary during the time they're in the minors. Once a player has played 15 games in the pros in a season, he is given a one-way contract for the remainder of the season which means he receives the full value of his salary.

Minor League Playoff Rosters

During the MSHL Playoffs no player may be on a team's minor league roster that has played two thirds (one quarter for goalies) of the pro team's regular season games.

Any player dressed for an MSHL Playoff game that has played above the allowable limit of pro games will be suspended for the remainder of the Playoffs and the team will be fined $2,000,000.00.

N

NSHLPA

Prior to the end of each regular season the league will vote to elect a new NSHL Player Agent (NSHLPA) who will take over as the voice of the players upon completion of the Playoffs for that year.

The person who volunteers for this role must have a decent amount of experience in the NSHL, have a strong grasp of the rules, the collective bargaining agreement and most importantly a great working relationship with the Commissioner and the other GMs in the league.

Anyone interest in applying for the position must e-mail the league giving their reasoning for wanting the role. The e-mail will be reviewed by the Commissioner and then revealed to the league with any other candidates and their applications. After all applications have been posted, GMs will be given an opportunity to ask questions before they vote.

O

Off-Season

The NSHL off-season is the period of time that begins when the Stanley Cup is awarded at the end of the Playoffs until the start of the pre-season.

P

Player Positions

Rated players are given a rating as they enter the league based on their NHL position at that time. This position is their 'default position' which can be adjusted by a GM at any point during the season via e-mail.

To adjust a player's 'default position' or to add a position to the player's profile, a GM simply has to submit an e-mail request to the league to change or add the specific position and then summarize the position(s) the player should have in his profile after the changes are made.

Forwards may be assigned to play any or all of the three forward positions (C, LW, RW) however online proof is needed to move a defenseman to a forward position or move a forward to defense.

Player Ratings

Players are given ratings in STHS based on various categories and their NHL abilities.

When a player first enters the NSHL he is given ratings based on his performance in the NHL using DVHL ratings (available each NHL off-season) but from that point on his rating changes are based on his performance either in the NSHL or in the MSHL.

The rating legend for STHS is as follows:

Skater Ratings as taken from the STHS manual
Abbreviation	Attribute
CK	Checking
FG	Fighting
DI	Discipline
SK	Skating
ST	Strength
DU	Durability
PH	Puck Handling
FO	Face-Offs
PA	Passing
SC	Scoring
DF	Defense
EX	Experience
LD	Leadership
MO	Morale
PO	Potential
OV	Overall

Goalie Ratings as taken from the STHS manual
Abbreviation	Attribute
SK	Skating
DU	Durability
ST	Strength
SZ	Size
AG	Agility
RB	Rebound Control
SC	Style Control
HS	Hand Speed
RT	Reaction Time
EX	Experience
LD	Leadership
MO	Morale
POT	Potential
OV	Overall

Playoffs

Upon the conclusion of the regular season schedule the top eight (8) teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.

Teams are paired off in the first round in a best versus worst format based on points earned in the regular season. As the playoffs progress the best team will always face the worst ranked team remaining.

Each playoff series is a Best of Seven series in which the better team will have home ice advantage.

Home ice is given to the higher seed in Game 1, Game 2, Game 5 and Game 7. The lower seed will be the home team in Game 3, Game 4 and Game 6.

During the playoffs teams are able to take in gate revenue from their ticket sales and do not have to pay any salaries.

Pro Roster

Every team is required to carry 20 healthy players on their pro roster, all of whom must be under contract. A team may not carry more than 23 healthy players on their pro roster during the regular season.

The pro roster of 20 players must fill a team's lines with 18 skaters and 2 goalies. The three (3) 'healthy scratches' may be any combination of positions.

Injuries or suspensions do not count towards a team's pro roster limits.

At the start of the playoffs each team's pro roster size increases to a maximum of 25 healthy players.

Pulling Goalies

During a game the simulator can automatically switch goalies when a team has allowed a high number of goals against. Each GM may adjust their team's goalie pull settings from the STHS Client.

The league's default values for all teams are as follows:

Minimum # of Goals: 4
 Save % Under: 80

STHS will also automatically pull a goalie for a team if they're down by a goal with approximately one minute remaining in regulation time. This cannot be adjusted and the timing is decided by the simulator.

R

Re-Rates

A re-rate is done by the league every off-season which updates player ratings based on their statistical performance during the season.

The NSHL uses STHS based re-rates for every player in the NSHL and MSHL while all new players to the league are taken from an outside source (DVHL) and are NHL-based.

Players are re-rated based on the league (NSHL or MSHL) they spend the majority of their time in which is based on their performance when compared to players of similar age and ratings in the same position.

Regular Season Schedule

The regular season schedule is generated by STHS.

Teams will play:

78 regular season games total
 6 games against teams within their own division
 4 games against teams within their own conference but outside of their division
 2 games against teams in the other conference

Rest Days

Rest days are days within the schedule where no games are played but time in the league passes, giving players the equivalent number of days off to rest.

Rest days are awarded by the league during the All-Star Classic and before the Playoffs. The league may also decide on other points in the season when rest days may be necessary.

Retirements

A retirement in the NSHL is based on a player retiring in 'real life' in the NHL.

If a player retires during the NSHL season, it is up to the GM of the team he's on whether or not to immediately retire that player or have the player retire officially at the end of that season.

If a player retires during the NSHL off-season, he retires immediately.

Officially retired NHL players may not be signed to any deal regardless if they have a rating or not.

S

Sales Promotions

The league has a partnership each year with a number of companies that wish to have NSHL teams promote their product. GMs are then given the opportunity to sign deals with these companies where they agree to meet a specified goal in exchange for a financial reward.

Each target has a specified cost and payout. Should a team fail to meet the target they do not get the payout.

STHS Client

One of the requirements of being a General Manager in the NSHL is using the STHS Client file to make roster moves, adjust lines, assign captains and set ticket prices.

With every update done by the league STHS creates a league file in .zip format which is uploaded to the league website which GMs can download to their computers, extract and open with the STHS Client.

With the STHS Client open, File -> Open -> Locate File -> Open

Once the file has been opened a GM can double-click on their team name which brings them to the team information window.

First a GM should ensure their roster is complete by clicking 'Roster'.

In the 'Roster' screen you may promote players, scratch players, demote players and assign your captains. Your changes will be automatically saved when you click 'Exit'.

By clicking 'Lines' from the team information window you can adjust your lines, coaching strategy and decide when you want the simulator to switch goalies for you.

Note - You may adjust your lines for multiple days by scrolling through the arrows at the top left of the 'Lines' window.

Click 'Exit' to save your changes. If you receive a line error message your lines may not be saved and you'll have to go in and redo them correctly.

In the 'Tickets and Arena' screen you may adjust their ticket prices. Click 'Exit' and save any changes made.

Once all the changes are made, go back to the team information window and click 'Save To File'. A window will pop-up after the save has been completed which will tell you where the file has been saved to. Attach this file to an e-mail and send it to the league to have your changes made.

Suspensions

STHS determines all in-game suspensions stemming from fights or inappropriate conduct.

The NSHL Board of Governors will only suspend a player for line or roster infractions that are carried out by the team's General Manager.

T

Too Many Players Dressed

In the event that a GM has forgot to submit fresh lines or has submitted lines with too many skaters dressed, the league will manually suspend the extra players that put the team over the 20 player limit. For each player the team is over the limit, the player with the lowest ice-time in the game will be suspended one game. Each infraction involving the same player after that will double the amount of games a player is suspended.

Trade Deadline

After 80% of the regular season schedule has been played the league implements a roster freeze during which time no trades or signings may occur.

Trades

In a trade teams may exchange players, picks, cash (up to $4 million) and future considerations (which must be detailed exactly at the time of the trade) whenever a trade is allowed to be made (outside of a trade or roster freeze).

To complete a trade all of the GMs involved must e-mail the league and the other GMs involved with the exact details of the trade.