The
Constitution of the
Herb Brooks
Hockey Association
PURPOSE
This is the constitution for the Herb Brooks Hockey Association (HBHA.) This constitution is both guidelines and rules. The constitution will be an organic document that grows and evolves with both the league and the game. This league exists from the enjoyment, entertainment, and benefit of its members.
Article I: League Structure
A) Officers and League Administrators
Commissioner-
The league is required to have a commissioner at all times. The commissioner oversees all aspects of the league. The commissioner has authority over all league matters and the final decision including but not limited to league membership, rule changes, rule interruption, and procedures. The league commissioner is the final authority except in those instances where the commissioner relinquishes the authority in instances such as conflict of interest.
Other Officers and Administrators-
It is not required that any other office or position be in existence. Lacking other officers and administrators it is the commissioner’s responsibility to ensure that all league matters are attended to and completed in a timely manner.
Other officers and administrators can exist as the membership chooses to volunteer their services and time to help in the running of the league. Areas may include Statistics (Stat Person), Roster and Player Usage (Player Czar), and any other areas league members see fit to help in the running of the league.
Website-
A website gives the league a public face. It also enhances in the enjoyment of the league and the spread of league information. Whenever reasonable, a league website should be maintained.
Yahoo Group-
All league members must be members of the HBHAgroup at Yahoo to ensure easy and quick communication between all the members.
B) Changes to the Constitution and League Rules
Anyone may, at anytime, suggest changes or alterations to the league. All approved changes will go into effect at the end of the current season, except in extraordinary instances where a change, alteration, or new rule or procedure is need immediately to ensure the continued smooth operation of the league.
Minor changes and adjustments can be approved by the commissioner without a league vote. More substantial alterations may be put to a league vote with a super-majority (15 of the 24 members) needed to approve the proposal. Under extraordinary circumstances the commissioner is empowered to make substantial alterations “in the best interests of the league.”
C) Best Interest of the League
Part 1
All members, officers, and administrators should act with the best interests of the league in mind. Officers and administrators when acting in their official league capacity must use this standard when making all decisions and recommendations. It is vital to the best interest of the league that all members act with integrity and honesty.
Part 2
The commissioner is empowered to act in the best interest of the league to ensure the continued smooth operation of the HBHA. Under this authority, the commissioner may take any action he or she sees fit to ensure the continuance of the league. Yet, the authority should be invoked only under extreme circumstances when no other alternative is available.
D) Teams, Playoffs, Tiebreakers et al
Number of Teams-
The HBHA shall start with 24 teams. No league member should “own” more than one team at a time.
Conferences and divisions-
The HBHA will have 2 conferences and each conference will have 3 divisions with each division having 4 teams.
Regular Season-
Each team will play 80 games in the regular season.
Playoffs-
There will be 12 playoff teams, 6 from each conference. The winners of each division and the 3 teams with the highest point total that do not win a division. The teams will be seeded. The division winners will be the first 3 seeds and determined by point total. Likewise, the second 3 seeds will be the wild card teams and also determined by point total. The home team will be the higher seed. In the finals, if 2 teams of equal seeds meet, the home team will be determined by point total. If tiebreaker 8 is necessary to determine seeding, it will be a coin flip. The top 2 seeds in each conference will be given a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
All playoff series will be a best of 7. The format will be 2-3-2. The lower seed, or visiting team represents the 3 in the middle, with the home team hosting the beginning and if necessary end games.
Playoffs will not be reseeded after each round.
Tiebreakers-
1) Number of wins
2) Head-to-Head Record, if more than 2 teams tied, then the record against all the teams which are tied.
3) Goal differential in Head-to-Head games.
4) Goals scored by the visiting team in Head-to-Head games.
5) If to determine divisional winner, record within the division; if to determine a wild card, record within the conference.
6) Goals scored during the regular season.
7) Goal differential in the regular season
8) If for a playoff position, a one game play-in, played by a member from the opposing conference who will not be in the playoffs. If for drafting position, a coin flip.
League Schedule-
The commissioner will provide all league members with a league schedule in a timely manner. A schedule of league deadlines and dates should be provided at the earliest opportunity following the completion of the previous season. A schedule of league games should be provided at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the regular season.
A default schedule of both dates and games maybe created for continuous use so long as the league maintains the same structure. If this default schedule is to be used, the commissioner must inform the league at the end of each season that the default schedule will be used for the next season. Small variations such as the exact date of drafts are allowed while maintaining the integrity of a default schedule.
Article II: Team Structure
A) Roster Size and Limitations
General-
Teams may carry up to 32 players on their roster. Any team which did not make the playoffs in the previous HBHA season may carry up to 34 players on their roster.
Each team must carry at least 28 players on their roster.
Positional-
The only positional limitations are in regards to goalies; no more than 4 goalies can be on a team’s roster at any time, but a team must have at least 2 goalies on the roster.
B) Salary Cap
A league salary cap will be in effect each season. The seasonal cap will be determined by the commissioner within a reasonable time period of the release of the current data disk. The purpose of the Salary Cap is to maintain competitiveness. The cap should be set so that only the top teams should be effected, thus rebuilding, non-playoff teams should not be hindered by the cap.
Salary Cap “money” is non-transferrable.
Special exception to Roster Size and Salary Cap during the offseason:
Roster Size-
From the end of the playoffs until 24 hours before the start of the Free Agent draft, a team may have any number of players on the roster, no maximum, no minimum. During this same period, goalie limits are extended to 5 maximum and 1 minimum.
Salary Cap-
From the end of the playoffs until the roster deadline for the start of the new season, the salary cap will not be in effect.
C) Drafts
There will be 2 drafts: a rookie draft and a free agent draft.
The Rookie Draft will consist of all players who played in the NHL the previous season, were eligible for the Calder Trophy (NHL Rookie of the Year) and are not on an HBHA team roster. This draft should be schedule approximately a month before the start of the regular season.
The Free Agent Draft will consist of all players who played in the NHL the previous season and are not on an HBHA team roster. This draft should be held approximately 2 weeks after the Rookie Draft.
Each draft will be 4 rounds, this can may be adjusted with time and experience. A team may pass in any given round; however, once a team passes, the team may not draft again in subsequent rounds of that draft.
The order of the draft will be determined by the inverse order of the point total from the previous season, playoffs and playoff results will have no effect on this order.
If a coin flip is necessary to determine a tiebreaker, the winner of the coin flip will choose which of the 2 drafts to have the higher slot and the coin flip loser will have the higher seed in the other draft.
D) Transactions
Transactions are divided into two categories: trades and free agent claims.
Trades-
General:
All trades should be announced and confirmed using the Yahoo Group messenger. Each trade must be confirmed within 24 hours or the trade is voided. All trades must be announced and confirmed prior to schedule deadlines. When roster limits or salary caps are in effect, if a trade puts a team over the roster limit or salary cap, that team must submit a corresponding cut(s) with either the announcement or confirmation. Otherwise the trade will be voided because of the violation of league rules.
Offseason Trading:
After the end of the playoffs, trading may begin. During the offseason, all trades are official upon confirmation and the teams’ rosters will be adjusted immediately.
In-season Trading:
From the roster deadline to start the new season until the trade deadline, all trades are official upon confirmation. However, the teams’ rosters will be adjusted at the completion of the current season schedule block, which will be delineated in the season schedule by the term Transfer Deadline. All trades confirmed after that deadline will be viewed as part of the next scheduling block, unless the deadline is the trading deadline, in which case the trade will be voided.
Trade talks:
Teams can discuss trades at any time, even after the trade deadline or during the playoffs. However, the league will only accept trade announcements during the appropriate time frames. Therefore, if two teams reach an agreement during the no trading period, they must wait until trading reopens to make the announcement.
The Yahoo Group message system is open the year round to announcing the shopping of players or trades.
Free Agent Claims-
General:
All claims must be announced using the Yahoo Group messenger. The claims are first come, first served. The HBHA does not have a waiver wire. Should the claim put a team over the salary cap or roster size limit while they are in effect, a corresponding cut(s) should be included with the message.
Offseason Claims-
Offseason claims can only be made in the short time frame between the end of the Free Agent Draft and the roster deadline for the new season. The claims are official upon announcement because there is no other team to confirm.
In-season Claims-
All Free Agent claims made during the season are for the season only. The player will be removed from the team’s roster at the end of the season and returned to the appropriate pool for drafting the following season. Players claimed and those cut will be processed during the Transfer Deadline at the end of each schedule block. No claims may be made following the Trading Deadline. If a corresponding cut is required because of roster space or cap room, the cut player will be immediately available for claim by another team, even prior to the Transfer Deadline.
E) Player Usage
Regular Season Usage-
A player can only play in the same number of games as that player appeared in during the season of the current data disk. Over using a player will result in a penalty. The preferred penalty will involve draft picks (but other penalties may be assessed if necessary.) Draft pick penalties can range from adjusting a teams position in one round to the loss of draft picks. The severity of the penalty will be determined by the number of games the player was over used, the quality of the player, and other extenuating circumstances such as many players being over used, a history of over use by the league member, and other like circumstances. If the officer of Player Czar is occupied, the Czar will make recommendations for penalties to the Commissioner who will make the final decision. If the Player Czar office is vacant, the Commissioner may either consult with a neutral league member or assess penalties without recommendations or consultation.
Playoff Usage-
Player usage will be dictated by the charts below based on NHL games played and by position: one chart for skaters, one for goalies. These charts will be amended as necessary because of changes in the NHL season schedule whether long term (league changes the number of games played each season) or short term (change to the number of games played in a single season) the Commissioner will amend the chart as needed. Violation of playoff usage will automatically be considered more sever than regular season over use and assessed penalties will reflect that standard.
Furthermore, if the opposing team notices an over-usage during the playoff series, the opposing team may contact the Commissioner for intervention and cease playing series games until the Commissioner has ruled. If the over usage is discovered after the series and the offending team remains in the playoffs, the Commissioner may intervene and halt the next series until a ruling. In playoff punishments may include the suspension of the over used player for the following playoff series or the remainder of the playoffs, the appointment of a neutral league member to play the home games of the offending team for the remainder of the playoffs. Draft pick and other penalties may be assessed in addition to these measures during the playoffs.
Skaters-
7= 70-82
6= 58-69
5= 47-57
4= 37-46
3= 26-36
2= 15-25
1= 1-14
Goalies
7= 49-82
6= 41-48
5= 33-40
4= 25-32
3= 17-24
2= 9-16
1= 1-8
Article III: Game Structure
To be determined.
This Article will involve the area of in game rules and such. Issues to be addressed may include home ice rinks, home ice advantage, penalty settings for over use in game (a common rule option in Action PC games), and other rules. Without the release of the actual game, one can only speculate. Therefore, this section will be addressed immediately following the release of the game.
One item which will appear under this article will be the issue of Head-to-Head or online games. As has been stated, playing online against the opposing coach is entirely up to each league member. There is no mandatory requirement. Those who wish to play are free to do so. Those who do not for the many various reasons are not required, nor will they be punished in any way, shape or form. Online games will not be used as a tie breaker of any sort.
Article IV: Annotations
This document is designed to be a guideline where ever possible, not anticipate every possibility. As questions and ambiguities arise, the most useful and important of these should be kept in an annotation below the constitution to help further understanding and build upon this foundation. As our understanding of the game changes and evolves, so to will our understanding and use of this document. The annotations should help reflect this evolution and provide insight and guidance to all. Because of this, the annotations are not themselves binding as they can be altered far more easily than the constitution. Yet, they may still provide helpful and useful insights the further guide, shape and define the HBHA.