THE CURRENT COVENANT OF THE FUNHL

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Covenant of the FUNHL Version 5.5
(Revised July, 2005 by DM esq.)


A. Franchise Composition

1. There shall be twelve (12) franchises in the FUNHL, each with its own General Manager (GM).

2. The GM is responsible for the managing of his or her franchise. These duties include, but are not limited to, the drafting, trading, promotion and waiving of players, the submission of weekly line-ups, participation in the Entry Draft (ED), Waiver Draft 1 (WD1) and Waiver Draft 2 (WD2), selecting a franchise name and prompt payment of League Fees. GMs are further expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the best interests of the League and toward the end of improving their franchise.

3. Each franchise consists of a Team of twenty-two (22) players, of which two are designated to be Franchise Players (FPs), and may additionally have non-active Prospect players over and above the number of players on the Team. Each Team consists, as of the ED, of four (4) Left Wingers, four (4) Right Wingers, four (4) Centers, eight (8) Defensemen and two (2) Goaltenders as well as eight (8) Prospects with no restrictions as to their position.

4. The position of players is determined annually by that year’s Hockey News Yearbook roster list. In the event that a player is not listed in his NHL team’s roster list and not listed in the roster list for any other NHL team in Hockey News Yearbook, then the player’s position is determined first by reference to the list of prospects in the Hockey News Yearbook, secondly to any other reference to the player’s position in the Hockey News Yearbook, by reference to the most recent Hockey News magazine, and finally by reference to any other published material deemed acceptable to the Disputes Committee.


B. Calculation of Points

5. A franchise’s points are calculated weekly based upon the performance of that franchise’s Team’s Active Line-up over the course of the preceding week. The Active Line-up of a Team consists of three (3) Left Wingers, three (3) Right Wingers, three (3) Centers, six (6) Defensemen and one (1) Goaltender. The Active Line-up of a Team also includes the designation of two (2) players as Tough Guys (TG) who, in addition to regular points, earns points in relation to the number of penalty minutes garnered in that week.

5.1 As noted below, some statistics are subject to a calculation in order to determine points earned. These include goaltender, tough guy and plus-minus points, collectively referred to as “figured” points. All figured points are subject to off-season review, and may be changed between seasons. Once the Entry Draft begins, all figured point calculations are fixed for the duration of the ensuing season, and cannot be changed until the following off-season.

5.2 The official source for statistics is the NHL’s website, nhl.com.

6. Any player (except goaltenders) may be played for their points, or as a plus-minus player. If played for their points, they receive one (1) point for every goal they score and one (1) point for every assist they record in that week. If played as a plus-minus player, they instead receive two (2) times their plus/minus rating for the week. [Note: It is important to remember that a player played as a plus-minus player may receive negative points for the week if their plus-minus rating for the week was minus.]

7. Goaltender points are calculated by multiplying three and one-half (3.5) by the number of games they played for that week, then subtracting the number of goals allowed for the week. The number of games played during a week is calculated by dividing the number of minutes played by the Goaltender by sixty (60). Partial games are included in this calculation, as are minutes played in overtime games.
[Note: For simple calculation, a 60 minute shutout is worth 3.5 points.]

8. The two players designated as a Team’s Tough Guys (TG), receive points normally, or as a plus-minus player if so played, but in addition receive a quarter (1/4) point for every penalty minute received in that week.


C. The Entry Draft

9. Every year the Fun-HL GMs will gather to select their Teams in an Entry Draft (ED) on a date determined by the Disputes Committee. This date is usually to be set on the second-last weekend before the commencement of regular season play in the National Hockey League, but this may be altered at the discretion of the Disputes Committee. This date will be confirmed a minimum of one month in advance.

10. The GMs will draft players according to the rules already established in s. 3. They will draft in order, as determined by the Slot Selection meeting, and in a wrap-around format until each GM has a complete Team roster. [Note: The wrap-around format means that the GMs select players in order from slot one to slot twelve and then from slot twelve up to slot one again.]

10.1 A player’s status, that is his eligibility to be drafted, is determined by when the player is selected, if at all, in the previous ED or Prospect Draft. Players selected in rounds 1-10 are either Free Agents or Franchise Players. Free Agents are players whose rights, for the next ED, are not held by any team. Franchise Players (FPs) are selected by the team owning their rights, usually in rounds 9 and 10, but if they are replacing a waived FP then they are selected in round 1, or round 2 if two FPs are being replaced. Any player selected in rounds 11-22 are Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) for the subsequent ED. The GM holding an RFA’s rights can retain that player during the next ED by selecting them and can match any other GM’s attempt to draft that player by selecting them with the next available pick after the attempt is made. [Note: A GM matching several attempts to select RFAs that he has the right to may result in that RFA being ultimately selected several rounds after the bid was originally made, and potentially being re-selected as an RFA.] Players who have Prospect status can only be drafted by the GM whose team holds his rights.

10.2 Each GM is given two (2) minutes to make their selection. In addition, each GM may ask for one of two Time Outs during the course of the ED. Time Outs last five (5) minutes. When a GM’s time for a selection runs out, and the GM either opts to not take a Time-Out or they have already used all their Time-Outs, the draft proceeds with the next GM’s selection. After that selection the GM who was passed over is permitted to immediately make their selection. If the GM is still not ready then the draft proceeds with the next GM. After each subsequent selection the GM who was passed over is permitted to immediately make their selection before continuing with the next pick.

11. The draft order is to be determined at a Slot Selection meeting on a date selected by the Disputes Committee, usually during the final round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Slot Selection process will occur by lottery. Lottery ballots are weighted according to the formula in s11.1 below. The first team drawn in the lottery is given first option to select the draft slot of their choice. Subsequent franchises drawn select the slot of their choice from the remaining slots. A franchise can only select a single slot – further ballots drawn with the same team name are discarded.

11.1 The Slot Selection draft lottery is weighted by giving 12 ballots to the franchise that finished last and won the Herbivore trophy. From then on, the Predator Cup Champion receives 11 ballots, second place 10, third place 9 and so on, with the eleventh place team from the previous season receiving a single ballot.

11.2 In the event of an Expansion franchise entering the league, the Slot Selection draft lottery will proceed as described in rule 69.

11.3 In the event of a lost NHL season where the Predator Cup, Herbivore Trophy are not awarded and the order of finish is not determined, the Slot Selection draft lottery shall be unweighted with each franchise given one ballot.

12. Draft picks in the ED can not be traded nor can Slot Selection ballots or draft lottery slots.


D. Prospects and the Prospect Draft

13. In addition to the players on a Team, a franchise may have Prospects. Prospects are players who remain with a given franchise beyond one season, but are drafted following the ED.

14. Prospects are selected in a Prospect Draft which immediately follows each year’s ED and can be any player except those selected in the ED, an FP, or a player who is already a Prospect. The Prospect Draft has no positional requirements and draft order is determined by reverse order of finish for franchises in the previous year. The Prospect Draft does not have a wrap-around format.

14.1 In the event that an NHL season has been lost and rule 11.3 is invoked, the order for the Prospect Draft will be the opposite of that used in the ED. In this case the Prospect Draft will use a wrap-around format.

15. Players drafted as prospects are placed on a Prospects List, which can not include more than eight (8) players at the start of, during, or at the conclusion of the Prospect Draft but which can exceed that number between Prospect Drafts. This number may be revised in the off-season, but must be fixed prior to the start of the Entry Draft for the ensuing year.

15.1 Each GM is given two (2) minutes to make their selection. A GM may use any Time Outs from the preceding ED that have not already been taken, otherwise the procedure for GMs running out of time before making a selection is the same as in the ED (see rule 10.1).

16. Players on a Prospects List can be promoted to a franchise’s Team by waiving a player at the Prospect’s position, as determined by rule 4, to the Waiver Wire. The franchise retains its rights to the Prospect so long as he is not traded or left unprotected during either of the Waiver Drafts.

17. Prospects are on the Prospect List for a maximum of four (4) seasons after which they must be drafted by the franchise’s GM during the ED before that year’s Prospect Draft. A GM may re-select a former Prospect in the Prospect Draft, or drop a Prospect still on his or her franchise’s Prospect List and re-select him in the Prospect Draft for an additional four (4) season period, but the GM must wait for twelve (12) selections (one round) before they can re-select the player as a Prospect.

17.1 When a prospect has been in the league for four seasons (prospects are designated P1, P2, P3 and P4 to indicate the number of seasons they will have been prospects by the next ED) the player loses his prospect status however for the course of the following ED the player has status as an RFA. If the player is not selected in that ED then he loses all status.

18. Prospects can be traded, as can Prospect Draft picks for the upcoming Prospect Draft but not Prospect Draft slots.

E. Restricted Free Agents

19. Players, other than FPs, selected in rounds 11-22 of the previous ED as well as P4 prospects, players who have been on one or more Prospect Lists for four consecutive seasons, become Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) at the next ED.

20. A GM from any franchise may attempt to draft any RFA during the course of the ED. The GM whose franchise holds the rights to that RFA may choose to match the other GM, by announcing their intention and then proceeding to select the RFA with their next available pick.

20.1 If a GM has two or more RFAs bid upon in any one round, he or she may still match all the offers by announcing his or her intention to match and then selecting the RFAs, in order bid upon, with the next available picks in order.

21. If the GM chooses to match, then the RFA is selected, by drafting him in the ED, and becomes a player for that GM's Team

22. In the event that a RFA is bid upon, the GM of the franchise with the RFA in question is granted an additional Time Out (see rule 10.1) to consider their options and/or to effect a trade if he or she so chooses.


F. The Waiver Wire and Waiver Drafts

23. When a Prospect is promoted to a franchise’s Team, a player at the Prospect’s position must be dropped from the Team to the Waiver Wire.

24. Players on the Waiver Wire are announced by the League Statistician following the submission of Line-Ups and before the deadline for the subsequent week’s Line-Up. The Statistician shall endeavor to be prompt in making this announcement, preferably including the Waiver Wire players with the weekly Statistical Update. At the start of the ED there are no players on the Waiver Wire.

25. GMs may attempt to replace other players on their Team with players who are on the Waiver Wire by bidding on them with their weekly Line-Up submission. Players are awarded to franchises after Line-Ups have been set and are awarded on the basis of reverse order of franchise standing, according to the most recent weekly Statistical Update. GMs are required to include in their bid the player they are replacing who will then be waived to the Waiver Wire for the next week. The player being replaced must be at the same position as the player being bid upon. [Note: In practice the process works as follows. A GM sends in a line-up on week 3 which involves promoting a prospect and waiving a player to the Waiver Wire. After the deadline for week 3 has passed, that player is on the Waiver Wire. Other GMs (and even the waiving GM) may bid on that player as of their week 4 line-up, including in that bid the player who will be waived to the Waiver Wire. Once all the bids have been submitted, at the week 4 line-up deadline, the player is awarded to the bidding franchise with the worst record as of the week 3 standings. The player is then available to be on that GM’s roster starting with the week 5 line-up.]

26. Every season there are two Waiver Drafts, WD1 and WD2. The dates of these Waiver Drafts are to be set by the Disputes Committee.

27. At the start of each Waiver Draft GMs must release all unprotected players from their Team and have them exposed for selection by other GMs. GMs may only protect an Active Line-up minus two players irrespective of position. A GM may not expose a FP. Prospects that have not been promoted are automatically protected.

28. During the Waiver Drafts, GMs may select players for their Teams that are not already protected on other Teams or on other franchises’ Prospect Lists. Provisional “drop lists” of a Team’s unprotected players are a welcome courtesy by GMs but are not mandatory.

28.1 The RFA status or the Prospect status of players left unprotected during the WD is preserved for the course of the WD but teams who expose an RFA have no right to match during the WD. Once the WD is over any RFAs who have not been selected lose their RFA status. Players, other than RFAs or Prospects, selected during the WD are Free Agents at the next ED.

28.2 Each GM has the same amount of time to make their selections in the WD1 and WD2 as they do in the ED, two (2) minutes. There are no Time Outs in the WD1 or WD2, but otherwise the rules for running out of time before making a selection is the same as that for the ED (see rule 10.1).

29. Draft order is determined by reverse standings as of the most recent weekly Statistical Update. There is no wrap-around at the WDs.

30. Waiver Draft picks may not be traded.


G. Franchise Players

31. Each franchise has two players designated as Franchise Players (FPs) who continue to belong to a particular franchise until traded or replaced.

32. FPs can be from any position.

33. FPs can be traded but any trade involving FPs must see an equal number of FPs exchanged. No franchise can have more or less than two FPs.

34. FPs must be protected during both Waiver Drafts and FPs can not be waived to the Waiver Wire.

34.1 A Franchise's FPs can only be replaced at the Entry Draft. Prior to the start of the ED, GM's are polled in draft order if they intend to drop one or both of their FPs. Any FPs no longer wanted by the franchise are released and are free to be drafted in the ED by any team without compensation. As Franchises must have two FPs, any team that has less than two FPs at the start of the ED must use its next pick(s) to select one (or two) replacement FP(s). [Note: There is no requirement that a replacement FP be drafted in the first round, just that they be drafted with the Franchise's next available pick.]

34.2 There is no restriction on the type of player that can be drafted as a replacement FP, but existing protections for drafting RFAs or Prospects exist. A GM can, of course, select a replacement FP from his or her own RFA or Prospect List.


H. Injury Protection
35. If any player is seriously injured, as determined by the GM holding his rights, the GM may move the player to a protected list by promoting a Prospect, at the same position as the player, into his spot on the team. To do so costs the franchise a first round Waiver Draft pick in the upcoming Waiver Draft. Two players would cost the GMs first two WD picks and so on. If the GM wishes to further protect the player following WD1, the protection may be continued but only at the expense of a first round Waiver Draft pick in WD2. Protecting a player in this manner after WD2 involves no penalty or cost.

35.1 In the event that an FP dies during the course of a season. The affected GM may waive that FP at no cost. Also the League Founder will be obliged to purchase the affected GM a beverage of his or her choice. [Note: Rule 35.1, may also be cited as "The Corey Rule".]


I. Trading

36. Subject to the rules contained herein, GMs may trade any combination of players, prospects, prospect picks, RFAs and FPs as they both deem appropriate so long as it does not prevent a franchise’s Team from having an Active Line-Up.

36.1 Trades which would result in a violation of the rules contained within are not valid.

37. No asset, other than those listed above may be the subject of a trade.

38. GMs are responsible for knowing the condition and value of their own assets. GMs are required to honestly and truthfully respond to any inquiries regarding the status of their franchise’s players being offered and traded. GMs must alert the other party to a trade to any known injury that may be suffered by a player involved in a trade. A GM is responsible for the accurate identification of injured players, and will be held responsible for the status of their players, even if that GM was not aware of an existing injury at the time of the trade. [Note: If a trade is found to include an injured player, not so-designated by both GMs involved in the trade, then as soon as the injury becomes known:
a) the GMs involved must settle on an appropriate restitution or compensation for the injury in question;
b) if the GMs involved cannot agree on the amount of restitution or compensation, each GM involved must submit a proposed restitution or compensation package to the Disputes Committee (DC) who will select one of the two proposals;
c) if one or more of the GMs involved with a dispute are on the DC then for the purposes of the dispute replacement DC members are to be chosen as per Rule 50.]

38.1 Conditional Trades are permissible within certain guidelines. The conditions must be clearly and fully defined at the time of the trade and the criteria for the condition must be objective and unambiguous. Compensation attached to a conditional trade can only be in the form of prospect picks. Picks so named can not be traded elsewhere prior to resolution of the condition. Conditions can not restrict a GMs freedom to manage their own players, even with the permission of the GM in question. Conditions can not be traded again, except along with the player they are attached to. A player acquired with a condition can be traded with or without the attached condition but trading a player without the attached condition does not nullify the condition. The GM who retains the condition is still owed the agreed compensation as per the terms of the condition.

39. Trades are not finalized until both GMs confirm the trade with the League Office (the League Statistician and the Disputes Committee, usually by way of e-mailing the trade to the whole league).

40. Trades take effect immediately upon League approval but do not affect points or statistics until after the next Line-Up submission.

41. Trades are not permitted to occur from the Fun-HL trade deadline until the end of the Stanley Cup Playoffs or the Fun-HL Slot Selection draft lottery, whichever comes first.

41.1 The Fun-HL trade deadline is as of the first Monday following the NHL trade deadline. This can be changed by the DC prior to the ED in the event that the NHL changes the timing of its trade deadline.
[Note: Historically the deadline has been in March. For clarity, if the NHL trade deadline is on a Monday, the Fun-HL trade deadline will be the following Monday.]


J. Weekly Line-Up Submissions

42. Every week GMs are to submit their Active Line-Up, benched players and Prospects to the League Statistician. Included in this submission are any Prospect Promotions and waiving of players to the Waiver Wire, changes of TG, and indications of players played for +/-, and bids for players on the Waiver Wire. Also GMs should indicate which of their players are FPs, RFAs and Prospects. [Note: To ensure that the League Statistician and League Office have a correct record of traded picks, a list of all a franchise’s assets should be included in the weekly submission. This is easily done if you just forward an e-mail of your complete roster to yourself and update it as you make trades. You can then re-forward that roster every week to the League.]

43. All GMs are required to submit their Line-Up via e-mail to the League Statistician every Monday prior to 6:00 Mountain Time (MST). Further, all GMs are to forward this Line-Up to all other GMs, unless they have asked not to receive this information or they are not on e-mail.

44. GMs whose franchises were Fun-HL members prior to September 27, 1997 and who do not have e-mail privileges may submit their Line-Ups via telephone to the League Statistician who will undertake to forward those Line-Ups to the rest of the League by e-mail.

45. Line-Ups sent after the deadline will only be accepted at the discretion of the League Statistician and only in extreme circumstances. Otherwise it will be determined that there was no Line-Up submitted.

46. In the event that no Line-Up is submitted, then the Team’s previous Line-Up will be followed. If the GM has traded away certain players in a trade confirmed by the League Office, then those players will be played by the other Team but the players acquired will not be automatically placed on the delinquent GM’s Active Line-Up.


K. Dispute Settlement, Rule Changes and the Disputes Committee

47. In the event of a question arising from these rules, a dispute between GMs or a disagreement between the GM and the League, the matter shall be decided by the Disputes Committee (DC).

48. The Disputes Committee shall be composed of three individuals as selected by the League GMs.

48.1. The DC shall be composed of 3 GMs interested in being on this Committee; 2 members shall selected from the GMs at large and Dan Ross, if he is willing, would remain the sole permanent GM on this committee. The current DC is composed of Dan, Bob and Rob. The League Statistician stats-keeper also plays a special unofficial role on this committee. No GM can be forced to be a member of the DC without their consent.

49. The Disputes Committee is empowered to decide on all disputes arising from the functioning of the Fun-HL. Its decisions are to be based on this document, where possible, and on matters not dealt with by this document they are to be based on principles of fairness and in the best interest of the Fun-HL.

50. In the event of a conflict of interest in a matter before the Disputes Committee and one or more of its members, the affected member(s) shall appoint temporary Disputes Committee members as required to maintain a state of impartiality; this could be the role of the stats-keeper.

51. Disputant(s) are given a chance to make a written submission to the Disputes Committee. In the event of a unanimous ruling by the Committee, the matter is thus resolved. If no consensus is found, the ruling of the majority of the Committee members shall be the ruling of the Committee.

52. The Disputes Committee, may be persuaded by, but is not bound by, its previous decisions and is to decide each case on its own merits

53. The Disputes Committee is also responsible for the amendment of these rules via rule proposals or changes to calculated stats such as goal-keeping. The Rules of the Fun-HL are not allowed to change during the course of a season without the agreement of all League GMs.

54. Following the Stanley Cup playoffs and the Slot Selection draft lottery, GMs may make submissions to the Disputes Committee regarding amendments to the rules governing the Fun-HL. The Disputes Committee itself may also choose to make such submissions.

54.1 Rule changes in general can only be voted into effect by a three-quarters majority i.e. 9 out of 12 GMs must be in favour of the Rule Change.

55. In the event that the Disputes Committee is unanimous in it’s finding to change a calculated statistic or if there are rule changes, this document must be revised to reflect that fact. The Disputes Committee must inform GMs of any impending changes to the rules.

56. If there is not unanimity among the Disputes Committee, or if a GM opposes a change unanimously agreed to by the Disputes Committee, then the Committee can ask for written submissions on the matter from all interested parties. The Committee shall consider these submissions and may otherwise seek the opinions of GMs. If the Committee is now, or is still, unanimous then the amendment will be made. If the Committee is not unanimous then the amendment may still be made if there is deemed considerable support for the amendment among the GMs (i.e. 9/12GMs).

56.1 Prior to each season's ED the DC will make these rules, as amended, available to all GMs, either through handout or posting on the Fun-HL homepage.


K. Awards, Prizes and Fees

57. The Fun-HL awards the Predator Cup to the franchise and GM with the most points at the end of each season. The Fun-HL will, in addition, pay a sum, from the Fees and accrued interest, to be directed by the winning GM towards the purchase of a hockey jersey of the GM’s choice.

58. The Fun-HL awards the Omnivore Plaque to the franchise and GM who improves his franchise the most from the ED. The calculation of improvement is based on the difference between the franchise’s final standing and the points that would have been gained had the franchise played its ideal (Omnivore) Line-Up all season long.

59. The Fun-HL awards the Herbivore Trophy to the unlucky franchise and GM who finishes last in the League that year. The winner of the Herbivore Trophy is also required to pay for the engraving of all awards.

60. The Fun-HL also awards the Challenge Cup to the winner of the playoffs (following “regular season” play) of the Head-to-Head schedule, set prior to the start of the current season.

61. Each GM shall be required to pay a Treasurer usually the stats-keeper, designated by the League Founder, a Fee to cover the costs associated with the running of the Fun-HL and the awarding of its prizes. The Fee is to be established each year prior to the ED and payment of it is a pre-requisite to allowing a franchise to draft. This requirement can only be waived by the Treasurer and only in exceptional circumstances.

62. The Treasurer is responsible for entrusting the Fees in an appropriate banking account and with directing the Fees and interest to the appropriate person or persons following the conclusion of the Fun-HL season.

63. While not a part of the rules, there is nothing in these rules that would prevent subsequent amendments which would award a portion of the Fees to League officials for the performance of their duties or for the use of such fees for other League activities.


L. Franchise Transfers and Expansion

64. In the event that a GM is unable or unwilling to carry out his or her duties as a GM, that person may resign as a GM in the Fun-HL. The franchise is to be placed in the temporary custody of the League Office until a new GM can be found.

64.1 For the period that the franchise is managed by the League Office it is not allowed to conclude any trades. It will continue to dress the last submitted valid line-up and in the event that there is no such line-up the League Office will submit one on the franchise's behalf being the best possible line-up in the League Office's opinion.

65. Replacement GMs may be recommended by any existing GM but their final approval is subject to the unanimous agreement of the DC.

66. The replacement GM, when approved, has the franchise transferred to him or her and they take on the rights and responsibilities of that franchise, including any obligations of the franchise made under the previous management in the way of traded draft picks and conditional trades. The replacement GM is allowed to rename the franchise if he or she so chooses.

67. The Fun-HL can expand the number of franchises with the unanimous approval of the DC and the general approval of a significant number of league GMs. (As a general rule the League will only expand by two teams at a time.)

68. Expansion franchises, if approved, will officially enter the League at the Slot Selection Meeting to be held during the last round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

69. Expansion franchises will have their Slot Selection "ranking" chosen by way of a weighted lottery. (Chances to make the 1st selection = 0, 2nd selection = 1, 3rd = 2… 12th = 11, 13th = 12, 14th = 13.)

70. In the ED, once an expansion franchise uses its first round pick (with which they must select an FP) the second expansion franchise gets a "bonus pick". When the second expansion franchise uses its first round pick, the first expansion franchise then gets a "bonus pick". These "bonus picks" are provided solely for the selection of FPs.

71. Expansion franchises, as with all franchises, may not trade their ED picks, including their bonus picks.

72. In the Prospect Draft, expansion franchises will receive the final picks in the first round and the first two picks in subsequent rounds. The order between the two expansion teams to be determined randomly and then altered every round.


K. Final Rule

73. GMs are expected to be involved, discuss the pool with other GMs and most importantly to enjoy the Game and themselves.