Dynasty Hockey Salary Cap League Rules

We have "borrowed" these rules from an existing league. They will be tweaked and in some cases, flat out changed. These are up for discussion.



NDCL Official Rulebook

Table of contents


League Introduction

1. General Managers and Teams
1.1 General Managers and Expectations
1.2 Tanking Rule
1.3 Replacement
1.4 Teams Names and Staff

2. NDCL Season
2.1 Games
2.2 Standings
2.3 Playoffs
2.4 Calendar

3. Scoring Setup
3.1 Skaters
3.2 Goaltenders

4. Rosters
4.1 Salary Cap
4.2 Roster Size and Lineup
4.3 Injury Reserve
4.4 Roster Moves
4.5 Lineup Changes
4.6 Minor League Eligibility
4.7 Waivers

5. Contracts
5.1 Player Salary and Cap Hit
5.2 Contract Years
5.3 Free Agents
5.4 Free Agency Bidding
5.5 Offer Sheets
5.6 Unsigned Prospects
5.7 Release and Buyouts

6. Trades
6.1 Trading
6.2 Assets
6.3 Trade Deadline
6.4 Trade Veto

7. Entry Draft

8. NDCL Awards

9. Fees and Payouts
9.1 Annual Entry Fee
9.2 Payout Structure


10. Rule Changes and Vetos
10.1 Rules Committee
10.2 Trade Vetos

Again... just stolen from another league and subject to change. Just guidelines right now.

League Introduction

The NHL Dynasty Cap League (NDCL) is a head-to-head, salary cap fantasy hockey league consisting of 14 teams. It is a paid league with an entry fee of 50$ US. All the money goes to a pot and is redistributed amongst the best teams at the end of the season.

The NDCL roughly follows the schedule and activities of the NHL. Both seasons start at the same time, but a season in the NDCL ends 3 weeks prior, to leave room for the playoffs.

During the regular season, teams face each other every week. Each week in the NHL is a game in the NDCL. The team with the most Fantasy Points (Fpts) wins the matchup and gains points in the standings. After the regular season, the 8 best teams advance to the playoffs. After 3 rounds, the NDCL Cup will be given to the last surviving team.

Most of the activity happens on a weekly basis in the NDCL, from Monday to Sunday. Roster moves (call ups, trades, free agents, etc.) are in effect at the end of a week, but it is possible to do daily lineup changes among players in the Pro team.

The NDCL is run by many people, the NDCL Commissioners are Habspatrol and Hairnova.

1. General Managers and Teams

1.1 General Managers and Expectations

(i) A General Manager (GM) is the person responsible for all of a franchise’s actions (drafts, signings, trades, contracts, lineups, etc.). A franchise can only be run by one GM, and a GM can only run one franchise.

(ii) A GM is expected to be active and competitive. He/she should engage in discussions on the league’s message board, vote on league’s important matters, respond to all private messages (PM), use proper English and always be respectful of his fellow GMs. (The last one I don't expect to be upheld)

(iii) Any absence for a significant period of time should be notified to the NDCL staff.

(iv) General Managers are also expected to act for the best of their franchise. This means to always ice the best team possible by being serious about drafts, free agents, trades, etc.


1.2 Tanking Rule

(i) Tanking will not be tolerated. Any GM guilty of tanking will drop 5 picks in the following year's Entry Draft (for all rounds). To enforce this rule, each team must obtain a minimum of 800 Fantasy Points during the regular season.


1.3 Replacement

(i) The NDCL is looking to maintain a strong and stable group of GMs. Please join the league only if you are serious about your franchise and in for the long run.

(ii) Owning a franchise in the NDCL is a privilege and any GM not following those simple rules will be fired and replaced for the good of the league.


1.3 Teams Names and Staff

(i) Each franchise has a Pro and a Farm team. Both teams must be named.

(ii) GMs are strongly invited to have team logos, to name coaching staff and to do transactions and team reports. The more realistic the experience is, the more fun we'll all have.

2. NDCL Season

2.1 Games

(i) A NDCL game lasts one week, both during the regular season and the playoffs. Games start on Monday and end on Sunday (with the 1st and last weeks as possible exceptions). The players on your team's active lineup get Fantasy Points (Fpts) depending on how they perform in the NHL. Those points are calculated by Fantrax.


2.2 Standings

(i) At the end of the week, the team with the most Fantasy Points wins the game and gains 2 points in the standings. If the difference is less than one (1) Fantasy Point, both teams are tied and gain 1 point each. No points are awarded to the losing team.

(ii) There are no conferences or divisions in the NDCL.

(iii) If more than one team has the same point total in the standing, the tie-breakers are as follow:

1.Most Fantasy Points
2.Most wins
3.Head-to-head record
4.Coin toss


2.3 Playoffs

(i) All teams compete for a playoff spot at the end of the regular season. The 8 best teams advance to the playoffs (3 rounds). The seeding of each team in the regular season will decide the playoff matchups (1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5).

(ii) There are no ties during the playoffs. The team with the most Fantasy Points simply advance to the next round. In case both teams have the same amount of Fantasy Points, the team with the highest seed advance to the next round.

(iii) The first two playoffs round last one week, as in the regular season, but the NDCL Cup Final will last two weeks.

2.4 Calendar

(i) A NDCL season consists of the regular season, the playoffs and the offseason, following this structure. (dates to be determined)

3. Scoring Setup

(i) The players on your team's active lineup get Fantasy Points (Fpts) depending on how they perform in the NHL. Those points are calculated by Fantrax. The setup is made to reflect the most realistically possible the overall value of players, and not only their offensive contribution. Here is the breakdown of the scoring setup.


3.1 Skaters

Goals ............................... 0.55
Goals (Dmen) ................... 0.65

Assists............................. 0.55
Assists (Dmen)................. 0.65

Blocks .............................. 0.075

Faceoffs Lost ..................-0.025

Faceoffs Won ................... 0.03

Hits .................................. 0.075

Fights ............................... 0.25

Penalty Minutes ................. 0.02

Shots on Goal .................... 0.03

Shot (Attempts) Missed...... 0.015

Shot (Attempts) Blocked ... 0.015

Takeaways ......................... 0.05

Time On Ice ........................ 0.021

Power Play Points ............... 0.2

Overtime Points .................. 0.25

Short Handed Points ........... 0.25


3.2 Goalies

Goals ...................................1.5

Assists ................................. 1

Games Played ..................... 0.9

Shootout Goals Against ...... -0.2

Shootout Saves ................... 0.2

Goals Against ..................... -0.5

Saves ................................ 0.054

Shutouts ........................... 1.25

Wins .................................. 0.5

Save Percentage (SV%)

From 0.9 to 0.909, award 0.003point(s) for every0.001SV%
From 0.91 to 0.919, award 0.003point(s) for every0.001SV%
From 0.92 to 0.929, award 0.005point(s) for every0.001SV%
From 0.93 to 0.939, award 0.006point(s) for every0.001SV%

4. Rosters

4.1 Salary Cap

(i) The NDCL salary cap is a hard cap fixed at $80 Million.

(ii) There is no salary floor.

(iii) All the players on your Pro team lineup count against the cap. The players in the Farm team do not count against the cap. However, you can only have 3 players with a cap hit higher than $3 Million on your Farm team. This is to prevent GMs from bidding too high on younger players to win the auction and burrying them on the Farm team.

(iv) Teams must comply with the salary cap during the regular season. Any team going over the cap will be deducted 20 Fantasy Points for each NDCL games until the situation is fixed.


4.2 Roster Size and Lineup

(i) Teams can carry up to 45 signed players in their organization. These are the players in the Pro team and Farm team. Unsigned prospects do not count against this limit.

(ii) The Pro team lineup consists of 4 C, 4 W, 2 F, 6 D, 2 G and 5 Reserve. This means each franchise must 23 active NHL players and up to 5 bench players on its Pro team for each NDCL games, all counting against the cap.

(iii) Bench players are not mandatory, as they are your healthy scratches and do not get Fantasy Point, unless there are dressed to play (see lineup changes below).

(iv) Only one of the bench players can be a goaltender, so you cannot have more than 2 goaltenders on your Pro team.

(v) During regular season, teams must comply with the roster limit at all time. Any team found guilty will be deducted 20 Fantasy Points for each NDCL games until the situation is fixed. This rule does not apply during the offseason when GMs are still building up their team.

(vi) The Farm team can have up to 18 players. There are no positional requirements for these players, so you may manage your franchise as you like. These players do not count against the salary cap and do not gain Fantasy Points. Players who are 26 years old or older will need to go through waivers if sent down to the Farm team.

(vii) There is no limit on how many unsigned prospects your franchise can have, and there are no positional requirements either.

(viii) There is no distinction between Centers and Wingers in the NDCL. All are counted as Forwards. Players with dual positional eligibility are handled by Fantrax.


4.3 Injury Reserve

(i) Each Pro team has Injury Reserve (IR) spots that can be filled with any player that is either injured or suspended. The players don't need to be on their NHL team's official IR list, but there needs to be written proof he is injured (such as Fantrax' players notes for instance). There is no limits on how many players can be on IR simultaneously.

(ii) Players placed on IR spots do not count against the salary cap and will not get Fantasy Points, but still count against the contracts limits.

(iii) A player cannot remain on an IR spot at the beginning of a NDCL game when he is not injured or suspended anymore.


4.4 Roster Moves

(i) Roster moves are done on a weekly basis, before each NDCL game. A thread will be posted in the Regular Season forum where GMs will have until 30 minutes before the first NHL game of the week to announce their moves and do them on Fantrax.

(ii) Any roster moves done on Fantrax without being announced one the league’s message board beforehand will be reverted.

(iii) The following actions are considered roster moves:
Players called up to the Pro team.
Players sent down to the Farm team.
Players taken in and out of an IR spot.
Players coming in and out from trades that occurred during the past week.
Players coming in from free agency during the past week.
Players released during the past week (contract buyouts).

(iv) Only lineup changes can be done daily. Roster move can only be made once at the start of each NDCL game. Any team found guilty will be deducted 20 Fantasy Points for each NDCL games until the situation is fixed.

4.5 Lineup Changes

(i) Once the roster moves have been announced and the game has started, a GM can manage his active lineup daily. These lineup changes consist of switching an active player with one of the benched players.

(ii) There are no limits on how many changes can be done during the week, and these changes can be done directly on Fantrax, without any need to announce them on the league’s message board.

(iii) Remember that players on the bench still count against the cap, but do not get Fantasy Points as long as they are not activated.


4.6 Minors Eligibility

(i) Skaters will be eligible for the minors until they have surpassed 150 NHL games
(ii) Goalies will be eligible for the minors until they have surpassed 50 NHL games

4.7 Waivers

(i) When a player is sent down to the Farm team, he needs to go through waivers if he is 26 years old or older. Younger players are exempt and go straight to the minors.

(ii) A thread will be created weekly in the Waivers forum right after the roster moves are completed. This is where players on waivers will be announced and will stay on the waiver wire until the following Saturday. Any GM interested in acquiring a player on waivers can simply place a claim by posting in said thread.

(iii) Each franchise can only make one waiver claim per week. On the other hand, if a team with a higher waiver priority claims the same player, then another claim for another player can be made.

(iv) If no franchise showed interest by the end of the period, the player clears waivers and stays with his current team.

(v) Priority is given to the weakest team according to the current standings. Once a team has successfully claimed a player on waivers, it will be pushed back at the bottom of the priority list. This list will be displayed in the weekly waivers thread.

(vi) A player claimed on waivers goes straight to your Pro team, so make sure you have room and cap space for him. Salaries move entirely with the players, so no complex math is needed.

(vii) There are no re-entry waivers and waivers are only in effect during the regular season. (1st week included)

(viii) A team with a full roster can make a waiver claim, but has to make sure to free up a spot for the player (via trade or contract buyout) before the deadline. If one fails to do so, the claim will be voided. A team cannot announce a conditional buyout to make room in case the claim is successful.

5. Contracts

5.1 Player Salary and Cap Hit

(i) Players’ salaries and cap hits are the same numbers.

(ii) The minimum salary/cap hit in the NDCL will match the player's NHL salary.

5.2 Unsigned Prospects

(i) Unsigned prospects are players drafted during the annual Entry Draft. These players can remain unsigned while they still belong to their respective teams. There is no NHL games played limit.

(ii) These entry-level contracts :

Count against the cap if the player is in the Pro team.
Count against the limit of players under contracts.
Do not count under the multi-years contract limit.

(v) Prospects can be released anytime, although there are no limits on how many a team can have.


5.3 Release and Buyouts

(i) There is no penalty for adds and drops

6. Trades

6.1 Trading

(i) Trades are negotiated privately between General Managers. Once both GMs have reached an agreement, they need to post the trade in the Official Trades thread in the Trades forum. Both GMs need to confirm the trade in this thread so it can become official.

(ii) Traded players will be available to their new teams the following week, when all roster moves are performed. Acquired players go straight to the Pro teams. They can be sent down to the Farm team but may be subject to waivers.

(iii) Deals involving multiple teams are legal, as long as each team confirm in the Official Trades thread.


6.2 Assets

(i) Signed players (Pro, Farm, IR), unsigned prospects and picks for the next 2 Entry Drafts can be traded.

(ii) Players on waivers, contract years (for multi-years contracts), waiver priority and cap space cannot be traded.

(iii) Contracts terms and cap hits follow the players in trades, although a team can retain up to 50% of player's contract, only for pending Unrestricted Free Agents. The retained portion counts against the cap. A team can only retain salary for 3 players per year.

(iv) Trades with conditional picks are allowed, but conditions need to be clear and confirmed by both GMs. No condition can revert a trade or portions of it (as in renting a player for a playoff push for instance).

(v) Future considerations are not allowed.

(vi) Each sides must give at least one asset for the trade to be valid.


6.3 Trade Deadline

(i) A trade deadline will be announced each year, usually one week after the NHL trade deadline. After the deadline, neither trades nor free agents signings will be allowed for the remaining of the regular season and the playoffs.


6.4 Trade Veto

See article 10

7. Entry Draft

(i) The inaugural draft auction will be held on Fantrax on August 15th 2015 (subject to change.) All players will be up for auction and the price you pay for them will be their salary. You will have $80M for the auction to fill out your 20 man roster and 25 minors positions.

(ii) Each year in July, the NDCL will hold its annual Entry Draft. Only players eligible for the equivalent NHL Entry Draft will be available.

(iii) For the Inaugural Entry Draft, players from both 2012 and 2013 NHL Entry Drafts will be available and it will be exceptionally a snake draft.

(iv) The draft will be straight (not a snake draft) according to the previous season's standings and playoff success, and consist of 5 rounds. It will done on the league's board in the Entry Draft forum.

(v) There will be a draft lottery between all non-playoffs teams to determine which of them will get the 1st overall pick. Lottery winner will see is rank higher only for the 1st round. All following rounds will follow according to the standings.

14th team will get 6 balls in the lottery
13th team will get 5 balls in the lottery
12th team will get 4 balls in the lottery
11th team will get 3 balls in the lottery
10th team will get 2 balls in the lottery
9th team will get 1 ball in the lottery

(v) Picks from 7 to 14 will be determined by each team's playoff success. Teams that lost in the first round will pick between 7 and 10, teams that lost in the second round will pick 11 and 12, cup runner-up will pick 13 and the winner of the NDCL Cup will pick last.

8. NDCL Awards

I like this idea... we'd have to come up with our own names and awards

(i) Right after the regular season and playoffs, the NDCL will award its best teams and players. General Managers will vote on the following trophy winners.
Gordie Howe Trophy (MVP player)
Wayne Gretzky Trophy (Best forward)
Ray Bourque Trophy (Best defenceman)
Jacques Plante Trophy (Best goaltender)
Mark Messier Trophy (Best Playoff Performance)
Teemu Selanne Trophy (Best Rookie)
Cam Neely Trophy (Breakout Player of the Year)
Mario Lemieux Award (Player of the Week)
Ken Holland Award (Best GM)
1984 Oilers Award (Most Fantasy Point by a team)
Red Wings Award (Regular Season Champion)
NDCL Cup (Playoffs Champion)

9. Fees and Payouts

9.1 Annual Entry Fee

(i) The NDCL annual entry fee is 50$ CDN. All GM must pay their entry fee before the first draft of the season, which is the Inaugural Draft for 2015 and the Entry Draft for all subsequent years.

(ii) Money collecting and distributing will be handled by Fantrax Treasurer, already built in our league site. Each GM must pay before the announced deadline.

(iii) There will be absolutely no refunds. The NDCL want extremely committed and active GMs, not people who have a bad draft/make a bad trade and then want a refund and quit.


9.2 Payout Structure

(i) All the money (minus Fantrax fees) will be redistributed: (structure to be determined)

10. Rule Changes and Vetos

10.1 Rules Committee

(i) Habspatrol, Hairnova and (a manger to be determined) will be the rules committee. Any proposed rule changes will be discussed on the board by interested managers, preferably all managers will participate. The committee will make the final decision.

10.2 Trade Vetos

(i) Vetos will be handled the same way as rule changes. If a member of the Rules Committee is involved then an alternate member with take his place on the matter.

(ii) Vetos are only to be used in extreme cases and when there is strong evidence of collusion.