RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE VAHL

Chain of Command: Lat1nSold1er, PDistyx, TheWolf69
Assignment Committee: 
Disciplinary Committee: WoodIsYourDad & TheWolf69
Player Committee:  PDistyX
Trade Committee: 



1.1 Governing Body
The Governing Body serves as the group that have invested the time and effort into the Veteran Online Hockey League. The responsibility of this group is to make choices that are in the best interest of the league.

1.2 Disciplinary Chair
The Head of The Disciplinary committee is responsible for responding to frequent offenders of the rules of the league. He also will enforce the rules by handing out proper disciplinary actions accordingly

1.3 Assignment Chair
This committee will be responsible for assigning new members to teams in a timely manner.

1.4 Players Chair
The role of this committee is to allow players to express complaints, vote on subjects, ensure players are being played, anything associated with players and be their voice.

1.5 Trade Chair
This is where trades are discussed and voted on then approved by those heading the committee. A win win formula must be implemented to ensure fairness for equality for each team involved.


1.6 Rules Commission
The Rules Commission is responsible for setting rules that make the league as competitive as possible and to make the GAME enjoyable for everyone who a part of the league. We will try to keep the game as close to playing real hockey as possible without exploiting the glitches present in EA’s NHL 14.

1.7 Team Owners
Team Owners are the leader of their team. Owners are responsible for building their teams by selecting General Managers. Team owners may be a player on their team in addition to their owner responsibilities. They are also responsible in making sure they meet the salary cap rules and the team understands any other rules implemented in the league. Owners also are responsible of ensuring their roster is playing all the players evenly throughout the season. If a player is listing that they are available to be played Owners must make the effort to play those players.

1.8 General Managers
GMs are responsible for building their team through the draft and free agency and to mentor new players. They are in charge of setting their lineups and making sure they have a full team every game. GMs are automatically a part or their team’s roster.

1.9 Staff as Players
It is allowed for people with league staff positions to also be players or to have a staff position with a team. A team owner may be a player for one of their teams using an owner contract. Staff of league positions are allowed to be involved in league play. GMs are automatically on their team’s roster. GMs are automatically on their team’s roster with management contracts.






2.1 Player Rights
Every player has certain rights which are in place to provide participants with fair treatment and a fun experience in the Veteran Online Hockey League. If there are any issues arising between the player and an owner, or any other issue involving a player that player is to follow proper protocols and follow the chain of command and report to the "Players Committee".

1. Players have the right to participation both in their games and team activities such as practices. Each active roster player is to be played a minimum of 2 games week, provided they are available to do so.  
2. Players have the right to fair treatment from staff, teammates and opponents. They may not be discriminated against and must be shown a level of mutual respect.
3. Players have the right to leave the Veteran Adult Hockey League. If a player no longer wishes to play in the VAHL they are to communicate to their team’s management their intention to retire 2 days in advance. Their GM will then follow the procedures to have them removed from the team. Retiring without giving your team management notice may result in blacklisting (Certain circumstances do apply here). If you retire you may not return for the remainder of the season unless approved by the governing board for approval.
2.2 Player Responsibilities
Every player has certain responsibilities which are essential to their team’s success.
1. Players are responsible to participate in the minimum amount of games to qualify for the playoffs. Players need to be available to play in games they have told their team’s management that they will be able to play in.
2. A player is responsible to be in communication with their management to help them coordinate their lineups. They must also communicate when they will be unavailable to participate. This includes accessing the website and posting in the said teams locker room.
3. A player is responsible for being aware of the rules. (Each player will receive a message before the season starts of all rules.) There will be a system in place to have confirmation that everyone has read the rules.
4. Players are responsible to post their availability on the "availability thread" that the owner posts prior to the upcoming scheduled game in the forum. Failure to do so Owners have the right not to play that player for that week.


3.1 Roster Makeup
A team may have up to 11 and a minimum of 9 players on their roster before the start of the season, those 9 players must consist of management draft picks and bidded on players. There are no position restrictions so that if a player of one position does not show up to play and someone else on the team is online of a different position they may fill in for that player. Players may play multiple positions. We recommend that there be at least two additional players on standby in case there are some players who do not show up to play. Teams with empty roster spots will have players added from the random assignment waiting list.
3.2 Entry Draft
Players randomly assigned to a team are eligible for the draft as well as new players coming in from the off season.

The draft will have three rounds.
- 1st round pick - $5million- 1yr contract
- 2nd round pick -$3million- 1yr contract
- 3rd round pick - $2million- 1yr contract
Followed by a bidding process

3.3 Free Agency and Bidding
Players whose contracts expire become Free Agents. Bidding starts at $500K except for those that are resigned. The minimum bid increment is $250K.  The Owners must be aware of their salary cap space and be in communication with other team staff bidding on behalf of the team. Once a player is bid on there will be a 36hr window for other owners to beat that bid. If a player has reached a max bid by 2 or more teams then it drops to 24hrs for another team to match that bid.
3.4 Random Assignment
New players who sign up during the season will be randomly assigned to a team. The order in which teams will receive a randomly assigned player will be opposite the order of the entry draft, then will be based on need and reverse order of the standing throughout the season. Players who are randomly assigned to a team will have no impact on that team's salary cap. Random assignments are eligible to be traded. At the end of each season, randomly assigned players will be released from the active roster of that team they were assigned to and placed on the draft eligible list. 
3.5 Contracts and Salary Cap
The salary cap for a team is 30M. Resigning phase begins once a teams has either been eliminated from the playoffs or wins the cup.  All contracts are for 1 season except the team may choose to place a franchise tag on one of their players. This would make that player locked in at $5million per season for 3 seasons. All players including randomly assigned, *RA's*, are eligible for the franchise tag.  The franchise tag can only be placed in the offseason during the resigning phase.
3.6 Team Management Contracts:
Team management contracts are for one season and their salary is $2M for owners 2M for GM. If a player is promoted to management mid-season they will carry their same salary but with a contract length of one season. An owner may choose to be a player on their roster in addition to their owner responsibilities.

3.7 Transactions
Waiver Wire
The waiver wire opens when the transaction period of the offseason begins and closes on the trade deadline.A player placed on waivers will be there for 24 hours. The team with the lowest points in the standings claim who places a claim will win the player. A claim will only be considered valid if the team has the roster spot and cap space available. Waiver claims are not retractable. When a team claims a player from waivers they are moved to the bottom of the waiver claim priority list. The waiver claim priority list is determined by the draft order in the current season. If a player isn't claimed from the waiver wire that player then returns to the team he is originally assigned to and resumes all protocols outlined in Article 2. If a contracted player is waived and claimed by another team then the team who waive that player will retain half his salary. also if a player isnt claimed he goes back on that teams roster or training camp if that is where he was originally

3.8 Trades
The trade deadline is week 4 on Saturday at 11:59 PM EST. Trades are not official until they have been finalized by the "Trade Committee" staff and the rosters have been updated. A player is still a member of the team trading them until the trade has been finalized. Trades cannot be revised after its submission. Draft picks can be traded as well. A player's request to be traded will be limited to only 1 time per season. If the owner is unable to trade that player within a weeks time then the owner has to place that player on the waiver list.

3.9 Suspensions and Blacklist
Suspensions:
A player may be suspended by the "Disciplinary Committee" for inappropriate conduct towards another member of the VAHL, infractions of any kind with regards to the rules and regulations,  or for actions detrimental to the VAHL. Disciplinary Committee will be using a case by case scenario requiring that evidence be submitted to plea the case of the accusatory team, to decide what course of action or suspensions will be assigned.  Any inability to provide evidence or relevant information pertaining to the "Case" involved will have the Committee render their decision based on the facts provided. All judgements are final. Anyone suspended/banned from the league will have the team they respresent continue to play the salary assigned to the suspended/banned player.They will also be removed from the active roster to clear up a roster space for someone worthy of that spot.

3.10 Retirement
If a player retires they may not return to the league until the season they retired in is over. If a retired player returns and their contract has not expired their team has the option of releasing them without penalty.

Layout
1 week preseason
6 week regular season
3 Weeks for playoffs
Regular Season Games: (All games are Eastern Time Zone)
Tuesday: 8:30PM and 9:15 PM and 10:00PM
Thursday: 8:30PM and 9:15 PM and 10:00PM

Playoff Games:
First Round: Best of 7 Series
Tuesday 8:30, 9:15 and 10:00 PM
Thursday: 8:30, 9:15, 10:00 and immediately following game 6*
*if necessary
Notice: All times are in EST.
Round 2: Best of 7 Series
Tuesday 8:30, 9:15 and 10:00 PM
Thursday: 8:30, 9:15, 10:00 and immediately following game 6*
*if necessary
Notice: All times are in EST.
Round 3 (Championship Series): Best of 7 Series
Tuesday 8:30, 9:15 and 10:00 PM
Thursday: 8:30, 9:15 and 10:00 PM immediately following game 6*
*if necessary
Notice: All times are EST.

4.2 Posting Lines
Team management is not required to publicize their nightly lines but must communicate the lineups to their players.

4.3 Game Setup
1. Begin from the main menu:
Xbox Live> Community> Lobbies> Geography or Xbox Live> Community> Lobbies> Lounges
2. Create an OTP room:
Name the room: VET Away team abbreviation vs Home team abbreviation. (VAHL CAR v DET)
3. Password: VAHL1
4. Make the room "Ranked"
Share this information with your opponent.

4.4 Pre Game Timing
15 Minutes to Game time
- Home team creates lobby
- Away team joins lobby
- Players start joining
10 Minutes to Game time
- Lobby must be created prior to
5 Minutes to Game time
- Both teams should have their entire lineup in the room
0 Minutes to Game time
- Game begins
5 Minutes after Game time
- Latest game may begin if players are running late
15 Minutes after Game time
- Latest game may begin if there are connection issues
If a team is unable to produce a lineup in time they will receive a forfeit. If both teams are unable to produce a lineup then the score is recorded 0-0.

4.5 Forfeits
If a team receives a forfeit they will be credited with a 1-0 loss. All player stats are 0s including GP. What is considered a forfeit is a team not having their lineup prepared by each and every game 15mins after the scheduled game starting time. Under any circumstances are there any games to be "Re-scheduled" if a team is facing a forfeit.

4.6 Reporting
Stats must be entered in by each team no later then 24 hours after the game has been completed.  For every game, after the 24hr deadline, that stats have not been entered that team will suffer the same amount of forfeits the following scheduled league night.

5.1 Player Disconnects
If a player disconnects in the lobby or before the first faceoff his team has a maximum of 10 minutes for him to return or find another player without penalty. The game is to be restarted. If a skater or goalie lags out play will continue till the next whistle. Time is recorded. At this point all stats will be recorded and players will quit out. Then players enter into the game and run the clock down to the time that was recorded at the whistle. If, while running the clock down to the time of when the lag out occurred, a player scores on his own goalie that goal will count.  If there is an OT situation and a player lags out then teams are to restart and the next goal wins the game. If the same player lags out three times that team the player is assigned to will have to suffer a forfeit. To ensure Owners not fall under these circumstances it is highly recommended that the Owners have one backup player in place just in case.

5.2 Restarting
1. Both teams continually pause.
2. If all pauses are used wait until intermission to gather stats.
3. Each team gathers their own stats.
4. The game is restarted.
It is recommended that each player records their own stats or for a stat collector to take a picture of the stats
.

5.3 Ragging the Puck
No player or team shall rag the puck or go on the attack and bring the puck down to their defensive zone in effort to waste time on the clock. Now the team trying to kill the penalty is not allowed to return to the defensive zone once passing the neutral zone. Ragging the puck lowers the standard and competitive nature of the game.

5.4 Board Play
The defending team is the only group that can initiate "Board play". If an offensive player initiates a "Board Play" with the puck that team would have to sacrifice and automatically give the puck back to the defensive team.

5.5 Fighting
Season 2 will allow fighting, however, this would mean that the CPU player replacing the "Human" player having score any goal would be counted and would be reflected in the stat site as CPU player scoring x number of goals.

5.6 Hitting after the whistle
Hitting after the whistle is not allowed. The reason being players can be injured, which alters a games outcome while play is not going on. If a player is found to break this rule a warning that includes a 1 game suspension will be assessed automatically. 2nd infraction will result in 1 evening suspension. 3rd infraction would result in a 1wk suspension.


We the "Board Of Directors", are implementing a "Training Camp" for players to still be part of a team and the league. This will create an opportunity for those in the camp to be noticed and called up to a nhl roster.

One of It's function is to allow those already participating in Season 2, who has reached the limit of 11 players per team/roster, to still obtain players randomly assigned by the "Assignment Committee" and maintaining the integrity of the 11 man roster while controlling the influx of people joining. Once in camp that player will be *allowed to play 1 game per week as a ECU (emergency call up).  This will allow your team, whom you've been assigned to represent, to see how you play so that you can be considered to be a part of the bidding or the draft process in the pending Season that follows. But thats not all, if the team you represent likes what they see or needs your paticular skill set than they can call you up to be assigned to their roster at which time you will be swapped out with 1 of there RAs, (random assignment), already on there current roster. The team who would like you to be assigned to their roster will only have from Thursday til Monday evening at 11:59pm est to have players moved down or called up to and from there training camp roster.

All players from training camp will be eligible for the draft and/or the bidding process in the off season. At that time there will be plenty of positions open because we plan on expanding teams accordingly. The number of individuals in training camp will be dictating the number of expansion teams so tell your friends the more people that sign up the more teams we can expand. We hope your experience will be a unique one and we the, "Board Of Directors", appreciate your continued support.

*If a training camp player plays beyond the 1 game during the game week that player will be not be allowed to play or be called the following week.