OFFICIAL WHL RULEBOOK

To do:
- Hall of fame

2024.09.18 Updated point 7 under section N. Free Agents
2024.08.30 Updated point 4 under section K. Entry Draft

Contents

   Definition of Terms
A. GM Responsibilities/Duties
B. League Play
C. Expansion and New GMs
D. Trading
E. Lines and Coach Rating
F. Streaks, Slumps, Random Farm Rerates and Captain and Alternates
G. Playoffs
H. Retirement
I. Rerating Players
J. Position Changes
K. Entry Draft
L. Waiver Draft
M. Waivers
N. Free Agents
O. Reserve Team
P. Talent Cap
Q. Dispute Resolution/Arbitrator
R. Awards
S. All-Star Series (ASG)
T. Hall of Fame

Definition of Terms

-GM -- person responsible for the roster management of a team.
 NOTE: only this person's confirmation is accepted for trades and other 
 managerial duties. 
-Coach -- person responsible for the construction of team lines/goalies.  
-Pro Team -- these are the players who can be used by the coach to form an
 active roster. There is a limit of 25 players including injured players.
 Injured players from the pro team can not be moved to the farm team. 
-Farm Team -- these players can not be used by a coach. Players on the farm
 team have a random chance of increasing or decreasing their abilities (farm
 team rerate). There is a limit of 25 players on the farm team.
-Reserve Team -- these are players who are owned by a team but aren't active.
 There is a limit of 15 players on the reserve team.
-Organization - refers to all teams that together make the roster of a team:
 the Pro, Farm and Reserve.
-Active Roster -- the 20 players who are dressed and play in a game. 
-Lines -- there are 18 line combinations that need to be constructed by the 
 franchise coach. There are 3 sets for each of the following categories:
 5 on 5, 4 on 4, 5 on 4, 5 on 3, 4 on 5, 3 on 5. The line template is
 available at www.webhockeyleague.ca/txt/Lines.txt.
-Rookie -- A player/goaltender who has less than 15/5 regular season games
 played in his career in the WHL, and has been in the league for 5 years or
 less (6 years for Prospects).
-Prospect -- Status of a player who has been drafted as such (see K. Entry
 Draft), for the following 2 seasons.
-Day -- Any day when a group of 12 games are played.
-Reverse Standings Order -- Also refered to as "reverse regular season overall
 standings order", this is the list of the WHL's 24 teams from the team with
 the lowest win pct. to the team with the highest win pct. In case of a tie,
 the following are used as tie breakers: Points, then Wins, then GF-GA
 Differential, then GF, then GA, then record between the 2 teams in the current
 season.
-WHL Ratings -- The updated set of ratings created by our Ratings Committee
 every year. It is based on the NHL, and used for the WHL rerates and new
 draftees.
-Shakeup -- A randomizing of streaks and slumps as performed by the League
 Manager program.

A. GM Responsibilities/Duties

1. Every GM is expected to respond to all trade inquiries as soon as possible.
2. Every GM is required to respond to All-Star balloting/award voting, and
   to submit rerates and entry draft lists as required.
3. Every GM/Coach is required to send roster moves and lines as often as
   necessary to ensure that their team performs to the best of its abilities.
4. Every GM must inform the league of any change of address or of any 
   significant absences preventing them to perform their expected duties.
5. Every GM must send out a minimum of four Team/League News articles (two
   before the All-Star break, and two after) per season.
6. Every GM is expected to manage his team professionally and in particular
   to promote the current and long term well-being of his team.
7. When sending e-mail concerning the WHL, the subject line must start with 
   "WHL:".
8. Failure to perform expected GM duties will result in a strike for each
   violation, and 4 strikes will result in termination of WHL participation
   privilege, and removal from the league.

B. League Play

B.1 General

1. The league is using Hockey League Simulator 2 from Bethesda Software to run
   the games. A thorough knowledge of HLS2 is not necessary to participate
   in the WHL, however, it is helpful. It is also using Timothy Chan's League
   Manager for complementary functions and features, as well as some utility
   programs from Platinum Computing.
2. Games are played roughly every 2 days by the Commissioner. Results, stats
   and other related documents are emailed to all GMs and Coaches, and posted
   on the web site.
3. GMs are responsible for conducting the roster movements of the team. This
   involves negotiating trades, moving players between the pro team, the farm
   team and the reserve team, conducting drafts, and voting for the All-Star
   Game/Series and Awards.
4. Coaches are responsible for determining a team's active roster and for
   sending in lines and goalie rotations to the Commissioner.
5. An All-Star Game/Series is held after Day 42.

B.2 Schedule

1. A 10 game Preseason takes place before the Regular season begins. The
   Preseason consists of 2 games against each of the 5 teams in the same
   division.
2. The Regular Season consists of 84 games. Each team plays 6 games against
   the teams in their division, and 3 games against each of the other 18
   teams.

B.3 Injuries and Suspensions

1. An Injuries and Suspensions report is sent to all GMs and Coaches after each
   Day. Players can get injured for 1 to 12 games.
2. If a player receives 15 or more PIM during one game, he is automatically
   awarded a 2 game suspension. Every additional suspension to the same player
   during the season and playoffs is worth an extra 2 games.
   (2nd suspension = 4 games...)
3. Coaches are responsible for sending in new line-ups to accommodate the
   injury or suspension. If no update is submitted before game time, the
   commissioner will use his knowledge to add the "best" player(s) to the
   line-up.
4. There are injuries, but no suspensions, during preseason play.
5. If a player happens to get suspended and injured on the same day, and the
   injury is longer than the suspension, then the player only has to miss the
   number of games of the injury. In other words they are not cumulative.

B.4 Goalies

   Every team must have a minimum of 3 goalies in their organization at all
   times except the offseason.

C. Expansion and New GMs

1. The number of teams in the league is currently 24, with no plans for
   expansion as of right now.
2. GMs for available or expansion teams are chosen by the Commissioner.
3. A team can only be renamed during the offseason. Once the preseason has
   started, the name is set for the whole year. New GMs taking control of a
   team while the season is in progress have to wait until the offseason to
   rename the team.

D. Trading

1. Trades may involve players, draft picks, rerates (see point 9).
   Future Considerations can also be listed to signify goodwill, or "nothing",
   or unspecified non-assets, as long as it's not a way to circumvent the rules
   (whether as player loans, delayed processing of part of the trade based on
   conditional events such as player offseason status, team or player
   performance or rating, etc.) are also not allowed. It is assumed that all
   GMs involved in a trade have access to and are made aware of all the relevant
   information to judge the value of the assets involved. The Commissioner has
   the power to veto any trade deemed to be violating these rules.
2. The rights to retired players can also be traded.
3. Draft picks from the next 2 drafts only may be traded. Bonus draft picks
   awarded as Compensary Picks (CP) to new GMs, or to winners of the Playoffs
   Pool (PP), are not tradable.
4. Trades are made by the GMs involved submitting a trade confirmation to the
   Commissioner by email. If the trade looks grossly lopsided, and is judged to
   be absolutely hurtful to the general well-being and spirit of the league,
   then the Commissioner has the right to go back to the GMs and ask for their
   reasoning, or a reworking of the trade. Otherwise, the Commissioner
   processes the trade and sends out the league-wide confirmation. Traded
   players and picks are moved to their new team.
5. Traded players report to the pro/farm as per their current waiver_status,
   unless other roster limitations prevent it. GMs are responsible for making
   the appropriate roster moves that go along with a trade to ensure legal
   rosters and lineups.
6. Trading deadline is Day 70 and no trade is processed by the league after
   Day 70 games have been played.
7. New GMs joining the WHL are under trade supervision for roughly half a
   season (42 Days). A Trade Watch Committee, composed of 3 experienced (and
   undisclosed) GMs, is allowed to review and veto any trade that is obviously
   lopsided. This aims to prevent unscrupulous GMs to take advantage of the
   ignorance of a new GM. This grace period allows the new GM to learn the
   WHL-specific intricacies, rules and factors involved in judging players and
   draft picks value. If a trade is vetoed, the GMs are made aware of the
   reasons behind the decision, and are in turn allowed to explain their
   reasoning for the trade, to rework it, or to cancel it.
8. The Commissioner reserves the right to submit any trade judged unfair or
   unsportmanlike to a Committee as well.
9. Team Performance rerate slots may be traded, but only in the offseason,
   leading to that offseason's rerates. Additionally, a given team can only
   acquire a maximum of 6 extra rerates via trade.

E. Lines and Coach Rating

E.1 Lines

1. Lineups must be sent to the Commissioner before every Day's games. A lineup
   is comprised of any roster moves, followed by the Active Roster, and then
   the line combinations.
2. Lineups must be in jersey number format, and can be made either by hand, or
   using LineMaker or any other linemaking utility, as long as the lineup is
   valid.
3. Only very simple changes can be sent as text, for example:
   "Please replace MacInnis (injured) with Zubov in all spots".
4. No double-shifting of any player is allowed on even-strength lines (5on5
   and 4on4). Double-shifting is defined by having a player on 2 of the 3
   lines in a line set. There must be 15 different players in the 5on5 line
   set, and 12 different players in the 4on4 line set. Double-shifting is
   allowed on PP (5on4 and 5on3) and SH (4on5 and 3on5) line sets.
5. No triple-shifting is allowed on any of the 6 line sets. Triple-shifting is
   defined by having a player on all 3 lines in a line set.
6. If a lineup received by the Commissioner does not comply with these rules, or
   if a Coach fails to send in lines or instructions after an injury or suspension
   and has not informed of his absence or incapacity to coach beforehand,
   the lines will automatically be computer-generated.
7. All 24 teams' lines will be posted on the website after each Day along with
   the other Day files. The Commissioner will not at any time disclose another
   teams' lines to any GM prior to the games. GMs are allowed to disclose their
   lines amongst themselves.
8. Additional lineup rules:
   - All teams must dress a complete proper lineup based on their positions (at
     least 3 C, 3 LW, 3 RW, 6 D, 2 G), and all 20 players must be dressed at their
     listed position.
   - Forwards must be played on Forward positions on 5 on 5, and defenseman played
     on Defense positions.
   - All other 5 line situations must have either 1 or 2 Defenseman playing on the
     Defense positions.
   - Goalies can only play G, and only Goalies can play G.
9. Goalie Fatigue: the maximum number of games any goalie can play in a regular season is
   determined by his In Rating, as follows:

In Rating | Max Games
----------+----------
    9     |    76
    8     |    74
    7     |    72
    6     |    70
    5     |    68
    4     |    65
    3     |    60
    2     |    52
    1     |    42
    0     |    30

   - Once a goalie reaches his limit of games played, he will be listed in the rosters with
     an Inj number, and will therefore be unavailable to be dressed as a backup or starter.

E.2 Coach Rating

1. Starting in WHL27, we will use Coach Ratings. At time of initial implementation, all Head
   Coaches will start with a 0 rating (out of 30).
2. After every slice of 10 games, all Head Coaches with gain a +1 rating per accrued 10 merit
   points (maximum 10 merit points per 10 game slice).
3. Merit points: +1 point for sending lines in, +1 point for a Press Release, -1 point for an
   auto-roster/lines being used when failing to react to an injury/suspension.
4. One of the two shakeups available to each team (see section F.1) must be a Head Coach change.
5. Fired Head Coaches will go on the available Head Coaches list, with their rating set to -1
   the rating at the time of firing.
6. Head Coaches available for hiring will be any Coaches on the available list, plus anyone else
   not already appearing on any team's personnel. First time Head Coaches will start at 0 rating.
7. Jack Adams Trophy winner will be awarded +3 rating.
8. This feature is experimental, and rules could be revised if the effect on the game is deemed
   to be too extreme.

F. Streaks, Slumps, Random Farm Rerates and Captain and Alternates

F.1 Streaks and Slumps

The Streaks and Slumps option is used at all times but with the following
restrictions:

1. After the Preseason they are reset. However, they do carry from the regular
   season to the playoffs.
2. Each team is allowed up to 2 shakeups during the regular season. Shakeups
   cannot be used during the playoffs.
2.1 The maximum streak adjustment is +2/-2:
    -player goes +2 to -2: changed to 0
    -player goes +2 to -1: changed to 0
    -player goes +1 to -2: changed to -1
    -player goes -1 to +2: changed to +1
    -player goes -2 to +1: changed to 0
    -player goes -2 to +2: changed to 0
2.1.1 Goalies are not allowed to get +2/-2 from a shakeup. If that happens
      they will immediately be changed to +1/-1.

F.2 Random Farm Rerates

1. Random Farm Rerates that happen during the Preseason are reset before the
   beginning of the regular season.
2. All Random Farm Rerates that happened during a season and playoffs will be
   reset prior to the Rerating Procedures in the off-season.
3. A Random Farm Rerate will be immediately reset if it is a double farm
   rerate. In other words, a player|goaltender is allowed a change of
   +/- 11|9 but not +/- 22|18.
4. A Random Farm Rerate will be immediately reset if the player/goaltender's
   new rating is 80/67 or higher.

F.3 Captain and Alternates

1. Each team can name one Captain and 2 Alternates (a.k.a. Assigning a Letter).
   You can only assign letters to players (for Leadership benefits) during the
   Offseason. Goaltenders cannot be assigned a letter.
2. When you trade a Captain or Alternate, the traded player does not bring
   their Letter to their new team. You may name an interim Captain or Alternate
   as a replacement, but they will only get the Leadership benefits after the
   interim label is removed (during the offseason).
3. Leadership benefits: the Captain and Alternates are allowed to
   "use Leadership" and move 1 point from a streak/slump between themselves and
   another player on the team. The Captain can do so 3 times during the
   season/playoffs, and each of two alternates, once during the season/playoffs.
   "Using Leadership" events will be noted in the roster notes log, and sent in
   the games email. Only one Leadership event can be used per game day.

G. Playoffs

1. The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.
2. Top 2 seeds in the conference are granted to the division leaders, and the
   last six based on regular season standings. Standings order is determined
   using the following:
	- Points, then if tied
	- Wins, then if tied
	- Goal differential, then if tied
	- Goals for.
3. Every playoff series is a best of seven games.
4. First round matchups are done like this:
    Series 1    8th seed vs 1st seed
    Series 2    7th seed vs 2nd seed
    Series 3    6th seed vs 3rd seed
    Series 4    5th seed vs 4th seed
5. Second round matchups are done by following the tree, with the higher seed in the matchup getting home ice:
    Winner of Series 4 vs Winner of Series 1
    Winner of Series 3 vs Winner of Series 2

H. Retirement

1. The following procedure will be used in the off-season to determine
   retirements:
   -If a player has officially retired from the NHL, the GM of his WHL team is
    given the choice of retiring him right away, or allowing him a farewell
    season. A player is only allowed one farewell season in their career. If
    a player retires and makes a comeback (Lemieux, Hasek) and has already used
    his farewell season, the next time he retires from the NHL he will retire
    right away in the WHL as well. Farewell players are automatically rerated,
    prior to the General Rerating.
   -If the GM chooses retirement with no farewell season, and then trades the
    rights to this player, the GM of the receiving team CANNOT reverse the
    retirement. This now automatically covers the previous death/disability
    clause.
   -If a player has 0 NHL games played in the last season, but has not
    officially retired: use the following rule:
     -player retires if he hasn't played in the NHL in the last 3 years, or 
     -player gets a 1 point decrease in each rating category if he did play in
      last 3 years, unless he is 25 years old or younger, in which case he
      stays on his team with his rating unchanged.
   -Exception will be made for a player who didn't play in the NHL because of
    a contract dispute, holdout or injury. A player in this situation will have
    his injury rating set to 0, while his other ratings will remain unchanged.
    A player suspended for a whole season will get a 0 PN.

2. When a player retires, his last WHL team retains that player's rights. These
   rights are tradable. A list of all retired players by team/franchise is
   available at http://www.webhockeyleague.ca/txt/Whlretiredlist.txt or at 
   http://www.webhockeyleague.ca/players/ and selecting your team and Player
   Status "All WHL Retired Players".

3. A player returning to the NHL will be allowed to return to the WHL team
   holding his rights, unless he announces his retirement after that season. He
   will come back during the off-season following his NHL return, and with his
   new counterpart ratings. If the team chooses not to add the player to their
   roster, he will immediately become a free agent.

4. Above and beyond the procedure in (sec. 1), GMs are encouraged to retire any
   non-NHL player on their team during the off-season. This is what is referred
   to as a "Voluntary Retirement". A player can only be Voluntarily Retired by
   the team that he was with when the season ended.

I. Rerating Players

I.1 General Rerating

After the end of the Playoffs and before the next season's entry draft, the
following rerating procedure will be used:

Step                Factors    #players  effect   Pro/Farm  Teams eligible
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Team Performance    NHL         4-6      up/down  both      all teams
NHL Counterparts    NHL, luck   2*       up/down  both      all teams
Equalization        NHL, luck   2        down     pro       playoffs teams
Down Rerate         NHL, luck   2        down     pro       all teams

All rerated players take the rating of their NHL counterpart in the ratings set
based on the last NHL season.

Notes: 1.Players can't be rerated twice: if a player gets rerated, he is not
         eligible for the next criteria.
       2.The age on December 31st of the current year will be used. For
         example, for the WHL16 rerating (in 2010), a player born any day in
         1982 is considered 28.
       3.Players with the Prospect status are not eligible for General
         Rerating; see Prospect Rerating.
       * At least 1 of these 2 rerates must be down.

First Step - Team Performance

-Factors: player's NHL counterpart
-Number of Players: 4-6
-Effect: any (up/down/equal)
-Description: Players to be rerated are chosen by the GM. Only a player who has
              a new rating ('-' status in the rosters) can be chosen.

Number of players is determined by a team's performance in the previous season.
It is based on the points a team earns. In the event of a tie between the
6th/7th and 18th/19th placed teams, placement will be determined on; Wins,
Goals Differential (GF minus GA) then Goals For.

Standing/Points | Number of Rerates
----------------+-------------------
Top 6 teams     |         4
Middle 12 teams |         5
Bottom 6 teams  |         6

Second Step - NHL Counterpart

-Factors: player's NHL counterpart, randomly chosen
-Number of Players: 2
-Effect: any (up/down/equal)
-Description: All rated players are eligible, except for players who have
              already been rerated (Team Performance rerates, Prospect rerates,
              and special retirement status players M/F/I/E). At least 1 of the
              2 players selected must be rerated down (the new total rating
              must be lower than the current rating).

Third Step - Equalization Down Rerate

-Factors: player's NHL counterpart, randomly chosen
-Number of Players: 2
-Effect: down
-Description: 2 Pro players are randomly selected to be rerated, for each
              of the 16 playoffs teams. The new total rating must be lower than
              the current rating.
			  
Fourth Step - Down Rerate

-Factors: player's NHL counterpart, randomly chosen
-Number of Players: 2
-Effect: down
-Description: 2 Pro players are randomly selected to be rerated, for all teams.
              The new total rating must be lower than the current rating.

I.2 Prospect Rerating

1. Prospects' original rating in the Entry Draft cannot be higher than 70.
2. Prospects automatically get a NHL Counterpart rerate the following 2 years.
   These rerates are totally independent of the other Team Performance and NHL
   Counterpart rerates (they do not take away any other existing rerate).

J. Attribute Changes

1. Changes to a player's roster position (Ps) are allowed only during the
   offseason (including preseason), and when any new player is added to a
   team's organization (via trade, waivers, or free agency contract).
   When a new player is added to a team, the General Manager has until the
   following game to submit a position change request to the Commissioner.
2. Position changes are meant to be corrections, not coaching strategies.
   Position change requests will only be accepted if they are judged to be a
   correction to the player's main position, as ruled by the Commissioner.
3. Changes to a player's Handling (H) can only be done during the offseason,
   and must also be corrections.
4. Jersey number changes can be done at any time.

K. Entry Draft

1. The draft includes all 24 teams.
2. The order is reverse regular season overall standings order, with the
   following exceptions:

2.1 Lottery between the top 8 non-playoffs picks overall (ie first round only)

No team can move more than 4 spots up or down from its original spot. So for
example the worst team in the league is still guaranteed to pick from 1 to 5
and can't drop all the way down to 8th.

Example of lottery:

(Here Team 1 is the team otherwise seeded first in the order)

Team 1 - 8/36 -> add 3/36 -> final odds 11/36 (31%)
Team 2 - 7/36 -> add 2/36 -> final odds 9/36  (25%)
Team 3 - 6/36 -> add 1/36 -> final odds 7/36  (19%)
Team 4 - 5/36             -> final odds 5/36  (14%)
Team 5 - 4/36             -> final odds 4/36  (11%)
Scratch 3 teams below and give their odds to top seeds
Team 6 - 3/36
Team 7 - 2/36
Team 8 - 1/36

Let's say Team 1 wins roll #1, then odds for roll #2 would be like this:

Team 2 - 7/28 -> add 2/28 -> final odds 9/28 (32%)
Team 3 - 6/28 -> add 1/28 -> final odds 7/28 (25%)
Team 4 - 5/28             -> final odds 5/28 (18%)
Team 5 - 4/28             -> final odds 4/28 (14%)
Team 6 - 3/28             -> final odds 3/28 (11%)
Scratch 2 teams below and give their odds to top seeds
Team 7 - 2/28
Team 8 - 1/28

etc.

2.2 Cyber Cup winner picks last in each round.

3. Players available in the Entry Draft are divided in 2 groups:
   - NHLers: the players who made their NHL debut in the previous season and
     are not in the WHL. Their original rating is their counterpart WHL Rating,
     or if there isn't one, a rating reflecting their abilities will be
     created.
   - Prospects: players who have just been drafted in the NHL and are thought
     likely to make it to the NHL. Original ratings that reflect their
     abilities are created by the Director of Drafting and Player Rerating
4. The Entry Draft consists of 5 rounds. If there aren't enough NHLers and
   Prospects available, the Ratings Committee will select and create ratings
   for as many additional players as needed, from the top of the NHL second
   round. On the other hand, if there are more players available than draft
   selections, any undrafted remaining players will become Free Agents.
5. Teams are not allowed to pass on their selection (a player must be selected
   every time). The team with the last pick in a given round must make their
   selection at the same time as the rest of that round.
6. A new GM taking over a team in the WHL will be awarded a compensatory draft
   pick in the following entry draft according to the winning pct of the team
   at the time he takes over:
   - .400 or lower -> draft pick between 1st and 2nd round
   - between .401 and .500 incl. -> draft pick between 2nd and 3rd round
   - between .501 and .600 incl. -> draft pick between 3rd and 4th round
   - above .600 -> nothing
   The extra draft pick will be awarded at draft time, or in other words is
   not tradable.
7. A returning GM taking over a team in the WHL will be awarded a compensatory draft
   pick in the following entry draft according to the winning pct of the team
   at the time he takes over:
   - .400 or lower -> draft pick between 2nd and 3rd round
   - between .401 and .500 incl. -> draft pick between 3rd and 4th round
   - between .501 and .600 incl. -> draft pick between 4th and 5th round
   - above .600 -> nothing
   The extra draft pick will be awarded at draft time, or in other words is
   not tradable.
8. When a GM fails to attend the Entry Draft and does not supply the commissioner
   with a list, the following actions will be taken:
   - In the 1st round, teams will automatically be assigned the highest ranked
     NHL draftee remaining.
   - In the 2nd round and beyond, teams will first have their selection moved to
     the end of the round and will then automatically be assigned the highest
     rated player available.

L. Waiver Draft

Use of Waiver Draft was discontinued for WHL17

M. Waivers

M.1 Waiver Status

1. All players have a Waiver Status attribute with one of two possible values:
   "pro" or "farm".
2. All new draftees get a Waiver Status of "farm".
3. A player making a comeback is assigned a Waiver Status of "farm".
4. A player/goaltender becomes "pro" only when and as soon as one condition is
   met: he has 25/10 games played (GP) in one regular season, EXCEPT if he is
   currently a Rookie, in which case he remains "farm".
5. When a player goes through waivers unclaimed, his Waiver Status is changed
   to "farm", and remains as such for the whole season.

M.2 Waiver Rules

1. Players may be moved freely between Pro and Farm during the off-season
   (including Preseason), but before the regular season starts, all "pro"
   players must either be placed on the pro roster, or on waivers.
2. During the regular season, a player's Waiver Status will be used to
   determine if the player can be sent to the farm freely or if he must pass
   through waivers first.
3. The waivers claiming order consists of the current reverse overall
   standings order.
4. Players are on waivers for a period of typically 48 hours, normally until
   the next Day's games are played.
5. A player acquired through waivers is always placed on the claiming team's
   pro roster. If the claiming team's pro roster is full (25 players), they
   must make room for the claimed player immediately. Otherwise, the claimed
   player will be put back on waivers.
6. If the player on waivers is not claimed, then he reports to his team's Farm
   Team.
7. A team may claim more than one player off waivers on a particular Day, but
   they will be moved to the bottom of the claiming order after a first player
   has been claimed.
8. A player claimed on waivers cannot be sent on waivers by that same team, in
   the same season. (effective starting in WHL12)
9. There are no Waivers during the Playoffs. Players can move freely between
   the pro and farm team, but only players who have played at least 1 game in
   the regular season are eligible to play in the Playoffs. Exception will be
   made in the case that a positional requirement cannot be satisfied with only
   eligible players.

N. Free Agents

1. At any time a GM can release players from his team. Released players become
   Free Agents and join the Free Agents list. Players released during the
   offseason will either join the Free Agent list (if they have played at least
   1 game in the NHL during the previous season and haven't announced their
   retirement), or be retired with the voluntary retirement status otherwise.
2. The Free Agents list is composed of released players and undrafted players
   from the last Entry Draft. At the end of the season all the players on the
   Free Agents list automatically retire.
3. Free Agents can be signed at any time, except during the playoffs.
4. Free Agents automatically get a Farm waiver_status. When a team makes an
   attempt to sign a Free Agent, they can offer a Pro or Farm contract, which
   will translate directly into the player's waiver_status once signed.
5. If a Free Agent is offered a contract by more than one team on the same day,
   the first priority will go to Pro contract offers. The second priority item
   is the number of players in the whole organization (with the lower number
   getting priority). Finally, in case of an equal number of players, priority
   will go to the team who has NOT signed a Free Agent last.
6. If a team is attempting to sign more than one Free Agent on a particular
   day, after signing a first player the team moves to the bottom of the
   priority list.
7. The time window for signing a Free Agent is typically 24 hours but can be
   longer depending on circumstances.

O. Reserve Team

The players who are owned by a team but aren't active. The maximum number of
players allowed on the reserve team is 15. Once the regular season has started,
players cannot be added to the reserve team in any way. The only moves permitted
involving the Reserve Team then are:
1. release a player from Reserve: he becomes a Free Agent
2. promote a player to farm team
3. trade away a player

The Reserve Team is a place to put new draftees or extra Farm Team players
owned by the organization. Also, players on the Reserve Team are protected from
farm team rerates, since they are not controlled by the simulator.

P. Talent Cap

Will not be used this season.

Q. Dispute Resolution/Arbitrator

Where two or more teams are in dispute over some matter, like a trade, and
these rules do not cover the matter in dispute, the league has successfully 
used the following procedure for resolution of the problem: 
1. The Commissioner will ask an anonymous GM to act as Arbitrator with the
   teams in dispute having the right to request that certain GMs not function
   as Arbitrator.  
2. Each team makes its case to the Commissioner. 
3. The Commissioner communicates the relevant facts to the Arbitrator and
   gives the Arbitrator a list of possible decisions. 
4. The Arbitrator makes a decision and communicates it to The Commissioner
   without having to offer any justification for the decision. 
5. The Commissioner communicates the decision, which is final and not subject
   to further negotiation, to the GMs.

R. Awards

The following trophies are awarded every season based on voting by each WHL
team (either the GM or the Coach votes):

- James Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman) 
- Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender) 
- Hart Memorial Trophy (League's Most Valuable Player) 
- Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year) 
- Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Sportmanship) 
- Frank J. Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward)
- Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year)
- Executive Trophy (GM of the Year)
- Marcel Dionne Trophy (Best player on a non-Playoffs Team)
- 1st & 2nd Team All-Stars
- All-Star Rookie Team

Note: Nominations for Hart Trophy are selected among the 24 Team MVPs chosen
      by each team's GM.

The following trophy will be awarded by the Commissioner:

- Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Dedication to the Game by a GM: League Involvement)

The following trophies will be awarded by the League based on the regular 
season stats:

- Bobby Orr Trophy (Best Plus/Minus Record in the regular season)
- Art Ross Trophy (Most Points in the regular season)
- Maurice Richard Trophy (Most Goals in the regular season)
- Presidents' Trophy (Best Team Record in the regular season)
- William M. Jennings Trophy (Fewest Goals Against in the regular season)

The following trophy is awarded by the League based on the playoffs stats:

- Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoffs MVP)

S. All-Star Series (ASG)

1. Schedule: 3 game series opposing Wales to Campbell, with home ice
   advantage to conference with the team with the best record. It will
   be played around mid-season.
2. Coaches: The head coach for each team will be selected based on
   the team with the best record (or most deserving). The head coach
   can name up to two assistant coaches.
3. Rosters: The starting 3 forwards, 2 defenseman and 1 goaltender
   for each conference will be determined by league-wide vote. The
   remaining 19 players to complete the 25-man roster will be
   selected by the coaches according to the following criteria:
   - most deserving players in the current season so far
   - each team in the conference should be represented by at least
     1 player
   - all 25 players should appear in at least 1 of the 3 games
   - 3 goalies must be selected: 1 for each game
   - one player is named Captain, and two selected as Alternates
   - if a Starter is injured prior to the All-Star Series, a
     replacement player must be selected
   - no injuries or streak changes will occur during the ASG
4. Lines: coaches must submit lines for each of the 3 games. the
   Starters must be dressed, and slotted in line 1 of 5on5 in the
   first game.
5. MVP: An ASG most Valuable Player (MVP) will be named after the
   Series is completed.

T. Hall of Fame

1. A retired player becomes eligible one year after his retirement.
2. A maximum of 5 players and 2 GMs/Coaches will be introduced each year.
3. The Hall of Fame Committee selects a maximum of 15 players and 5
   GMs/Coaches, and then all GMs in the league vote for the 3 most deserving
   in each category (players and GMs/Coaches).
4. The vote by itself does not guarantee entrance into the Hall of Fame.
   The final decisions are made by the Committee, based on the results of the
   vote and on career achievement.
5. If a player has been made eligible 3 times and has not been accepted, he
   is permanently removed from the list of potential inductees.
6. Members of the Committee currently are: Michael Hebert, Jon Lemoine,
   Kris Pongratz.
7. For the first year only, there will be 5 honorary inductees, 20 nominated
   players to vote on, vote on 5 most deserving players, and up to 8 players
   inducted.


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