Ratings, buyouts, Free agency, Draft, etc

New Rates for season 2016-17are on the portal!

As you can see, now goaltenders are rated the same as the players, best skaters and goaltenders will be rated around 80. You can send an email to revise rate of a specific player(s), but as explained several times, OV doesn't mean much as it's based on a formula that change for different type of players (def dman, offensive dman, off forwards, def forwards, goaltenders) if you want rates revised, specify exactly what rate should be revised (ex.: DF, SC, etc..) and why.  you have until June 30th to do this, after this, Rates won't change until season 17-18.

Do NOT make extension contract offers to your players before July 1st.

- You can still buy out players at preferential rates (33% / 66% - see league’s rules) till June 30th, Send us a email. Other months of the year buyout rate is 100%.  Buyouts count toward salary cap.

Salary cap for next season is still not determined, should be around $74 M, we should have a specific amount on this by July 1st.


Note: careful with you contract offers. Signing bonus will count toward your salary cap. Too many No Trade clauses can tie your hands (Player might accepted to traded after half of the season to specific teams only). You are responsible for all the years on the contract even if a player retires or leave for another league.



Before July 1st


- Go over the unrestricted players list (Transactions/Unrestricted Free Agents) and MAKE SURE ONE OR MORE OF YOUR PLAYER(S)/Prospects ARE NOT IN THE LIST, if it’s the case, report it. Several leagues use the same rerates file, so it happens that players’ names can be spelled differently and when it’s the case 2 different players are created (example; Washington has Alex Ovechkin, rerates file might have him as Alexander Ovechkin, then we would have 2 Ovechkins, one with Washington and one in the UFA database, you are responsible to report your players found in the UFA database.

- Go over the unrestricted players list (Transactions/Unrestricted Free Agents) and look for your prospects and claim them, IF YOU DON’T YOU MIGHT LOSE HIM/THEM, it’s your responsibility. After claiming them, you can ask the league (or not) to deactivate those who haven’t played 10 NHL games last year and leave them as prospects. Usually if you don't claim one of your player and somebody else signs him you have till December first to claim him (and pay $2 m), but if one of your player wasn't claimed, he signs with another team and then get traded, you have lost him for good even if this is before December 1st.

This above is REALLY IMPORTANT, if you don’t do it you might lose some good players.

- No Signature, No Trade.
 

JULY 1st

- Trades re open July 1st (Thursday evening midnight ET). Until the draft, you can trade all picks in the next 2 years, after the draft we fall back to the other rule.

- UFA/RFA market and contract extensions open July 1st (Thursday evening midnight ET)

UFA (Transactions/unrestricted free agents) and RFA (Transactions/ Restricted Free Agents)players (scroll to the bottom to see goaltenders).


When you go check UFA and RFA, its possible certain players already got an offer, click the second tab (UFAs/RFAs with Offers) 24 hours after the first offer made to a player, you won't be allowed to make an offer so act fast, the player will select the best 3 offers and move to the deciding section (3rd tab) for another 24 hours. Portal will select between offers, 60% for the best offer, 30% for the second one and 10% for the least best offer. So if you wait until Friday evening midnight before placing bids on the players you want, it might be too late already, every year, all good UFAs/RFAs get offer at midnight when it opens.

Remember, all contracts of 1.5$ mil + per season, players can't be sent to the minors, NHL only.

Maximum amount of players: 25 in Pro, 30 in AHL


If you make an offer to a RFA, you need to have the picks accordingly to the chart as a compensation in case his former team does not match your offer.


AVERAGE ANNUAL VALUE COMPENSATION
Less than $1,205,377 Nothing
$1,205,377-to-$1,826,328 Third-round pick
$1,826,328-to-$3,652,659 Second-round pick
$3,652,659-to-$5,478,986 First and third-round picks
$5,478,986-to-$7,305,316 First, second and third-round picks
$7,305,316-to-$9,131,645 Two firsts, a second and third-round picks
$9,131,645 or greater Four first-round picks


so for example, if you make an offer of $4 million per season to a RFA, you will need one 1st round pick and one 3rd pick in the next 2 draft years. The team owning the player will have 2 (two) days to match the offer. The team acquiring the player will decide what picks are being sent to the other team in case they have several picks available in a specific round.


NOTE : Team owning RFA players (who are testing the market on July 1st) can NOT trade them unless they match the offers these players will receive. You can NOT make offers to your own RFAs until July 15th. After July 18th, all RFAs who haven't received an offer will become UFA.


Remember, if you acquire a UFA player via a transaction, you'll only have 2 attempts to sign him, not 3. If a player is on his last contract year and rejects all the offers, he becomes automatically UFA on July 1st 2017. He can still be traded but his new team won't be allowed to sign him even if the portal gives you the option to do so. He becomes a rental for the playoffs. UFA rights can not be traded after the trade deadline.

- You can still buy out contracts but at a full rate (100%) until the trade deadline.

- You can submit position change by emailing me with the link where we can see the player assigned at that position (it has to be one of the link we have in the league's rules).

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Financial system is NOT on this season. Finances are way better now.

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Get ready for the draft and pre-season, remember you need enough players; goaltenders, RW, LW, C and D to form 2 teams... so make sure you have enough players for each positions. You can't build a team with players rated under 20, they can be used as spares when you have too many injuries but it should be exceptional. Strongly  suggest you have at least 5 goaltenders. If you only have 4, and simming is blocked because one of them is injured and you only have 3, you'll be fined as explained in the rules.



Salary cap is expect to be around $74M in 2016-17, during the off season, you can go up to $84 M . You will also need to be over the salary floor by the beginning of the season which should be around $56M.

Remember buy outs and bonus signatures count toward your salary cap. In the next few days, I'll add/update these numbers on your team finance page.


Draft
Monday August 1st - 7 PM ET - Rounds 1 and 2
Tuesday August 2nd - 7 PM ET - Rounds 3-4-5.

DRAFT IS MANDATORY, you have to be present, or send a list to the league or prepare your list on the draft page.

GMs who have draft picks and who won’t be present to the draft and won’t take dispositions for
the draft (create list, ask somebody else to take care of it for them) will be fined.
First evening (rounds 1 and 2) - $4 M
Second evening (rounds 3-4-5) - $3 M
Of course, a GM who doesn’t have any pick left doesn’t have to show up at the draft.


Members of the trade committee: Paul (Buf), Steeve (Det), Matt (Ducks), Mike (Tor) and Jeannot (TB)

9 teams are currently under the trade committee supervision; Arizona, Pittsburgh, Carolina, Ottawa, Nashville, Winnipeg, Montreal, San Jose and Philadelphia. The trade committee is there to protect GMs and their team so they don't destroy their future and /or giving valued assets for doubtful prospects/picks/career Ahlers..etc 

EXPENSION DRAFT

The NHL will announce next Wednesday that Las Vegas will join the NHL. If the new team joins the league in 2017-18, we'll have an expension draft at the end of next season after the playoffs, BEFORE THE TRADE SESSION, which means the players you'll have in your team at the trade deadline will be the players available for the Las vegas team to draft from.

The new team will pick 2 elements (players and/or prospects) per team for a total of 60 elements. 

You will have the choice between 3 different type of player protection lists for your team.

1- protect 5 forwards, 3 d-men, 1 goaltenders and 3 prospects .

Note: A team can not lose more than 1 player by position (forward, dman, goaltender and prospect).

2- protect 9 skaters and 2 prospects.

Note: A team might lose more than one player by position (forward, dman, goaltender and prospect).

3- protect 7 skaters and 7 prospects

Note: A team might lose more than one player by position (forward, dman, goaltender and prospect).

So if Vegas joins the league in 17-18, you'll have the entire year until the trade deadline to select one of these type of players protection and trade accordingly.  Think about it and... be smart!

* skaters include goaltenders

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We now expect you guys to be back full time, now we are back in business, reply to ALL MESSAGES within 48 hours! Non active GMs will be replaced.

You don't have to put your everyday email address in the sim client, but make sure I do have it in case we need to reach you. If we just can't contact you, even during summer time, we might just lose your team (it happened again this year).


- concerning coaches, you 'll receive another email shortly


Would be a good idea to over the league's rules again...

Too much stuff to remember for this email, I probably forgot something, so you can expect more emails ;-)

Email me now with any questions you may have,

Steeve