Rules
DISTANCE ARMCHAIR HOCKEY STRATEGY (DASH) LEAGUE
2023-2024 Overview and Rules
| OVERVIEW | ROSTER | INJURED RESERVE |
| EXPANSION | SALARY CAP | WAIVER DRAFT |
| CARRYOVER | TRADING | POINTS AND SCORING |
| DRAFT | FREE-AGENT PICKUP | FEES AND AWARDS |
1. OVERVIEW:
The DASH League began with the 2003-04 NHL hockey season with 12 teams. There have been two expansions to create the current 16 team league. Yvon Brunet created the league and continues today as the Commish. Initially, the league had both the regular season and playoff components today the league counts only the regular NHL season. As of the 2023- 24 season, 3 original teams are remaining. The DASH league places a priority of fairness along with the normal competition everyone is looking for. Collusion between teams is prohibited. It is expected that every GM has the integrity not to cheat. Above all, we want a fun pool, and it’s no fun if one or two people collaborate/circumvent the rules to try and win.
2. EXPANSION:
If teams drop out of the league, the Commish and league members will attempt to find replacement General Managers. Prior to July 1st each year, the Commish will look at how many teams are in the pool and if expansion is needed.
The DASH League Version 2.0 will consist of 16 x teams. This must be confirmed and agreed upon prior to July 1st one entire season earlier, so all teams have plenty of time to plan;
The following are the established expansion rules:
2.1 If expansion were to occur, each existing Team will protect 6 x active or bench roster players and up to 2 x farm eligible players, regardless of position;
2.2 The new Team will then select 1 player from each other Team’s unprotected list. The expansion team will then be granted a number of of FAPs, to be taken immediately post expansion process, to fill their list to a maximum of 24 to equal all other teams.
2.3 Expansion teams will participate in the lottery draw as well and will get an equal 10 x chances as per the last regular season place finishing Team at getting the 1st overall pick and will draft no worse than 2nd overall;
To move forward with an expansion, “100% UNANIMOUS” approval is required. The Commish can tailor the expansion rules, so long as there is a “100% UNANIMOUS” agreement by existing owners.
2.4 AUTHORITIES AND RULE CHANGES
2.4.1 Any rule changes during the season will require unanimous approval of ALL Franchise Owners. Unless stated otherwise by the Commish, rule changes during the off-season will require more than 50% (16 x teams = 8 x Owners + 1) approval. In the event of a tie vote, the Commish will be allowed to break the tie with what he feels is best for the pool.
2.4.2 At the discretion of the Commish, the league may fold if there are less than 10 x teams.
2.4.3 The final authority for all questions and disputes rests with the Commish
3. CARRYOVER TO NEXT SEASON
3.1 At the conclusion of a season, each GM will protect 25 players. Those players can be any combination of active roster, inactive/bench roster, IR or farm eligible. The Commish will set a date set by which protection lists must be submitted. The date will be confirmed each season but will be approximately mid-September to allow time for teams to prepare for the draft.
3.2 After all teams have protected 25, the draft will commence.
3.3 If there are disbanded teams, disbanded Team’s player rosters will be frozen, and the respective players will become free agents and available at the next regular season draft.
4. DRAFT
4.1 The draft will be held via email, beginning approximately two weeks before the start of
the season.
4.2 The draft will include 8 rounds. A lottery selection will determine the draft order for the first round, while the remaining rounds 2 through 8 will be reverse order of the previous year’s final standings, with the last place team drafting first in each of rounds 2 through 8.
4.3 DRAFT LOTTERY
The first four placed teams from the previous season will not participate in the draft lottery, while the remaining teams will be seeded for the first round as described below. The first four placed teams will draft in 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th position. The Draft Lottery is per the NHL. There will be 3 draws: the 1st Lottery draw will determine which club is selecting 1st overall, the 2nd Lottery draw will determine which club is selecting 2nd overall, and the 3rd Lottery draw will determine which club is picking 3rd overall. The fifth placed Team from the previous season will enter the lottery with the best odds. The sixth placed will have second best odds….and so on.
a) Teams each begin with a mandatory 8 rounds worth of picks to use or trade. After the draft, a team will have a total of 33 from their protected list and the draft of 8.
b) The draft will proceed as usual if an entire season is not played due to a lockout or strike. The draft order will be the same as the previous year had been set. Draft picks that have been traded will remain traded but move forward one year.
c) Essentially, Any undrafted CHL or NCAA players who sign an NHL contract after January 1ST of any given season will not be eligible to be drafted or FAPed until the following season. Any undrafted CHL or NCAA players who sign an NHL contract before January 1st go through the Waiver Draft process a strike/lockout changes nothing in the draft.
d) No players under contract in KHL or European Leagues are draft or FAP-eligible until they sign an NHL contract. Once they sign that contract, they must go through the “Waiver Draft” process. Any unsigned UFA/RFA will automatically have a Cap Hit equal to their last NHL contract, even if they sign in KHL or European Leagues. Any unsigned CHL or NCAA players with no C.H. will be placed on the FARM.
5. ROSTER
Rosters are made up of 3 Sections: Active Roster, Bench or Inactive Roster and Farm. A total roster will have a maximum of 40 players and a minimum of 30 players broken down as follows:
5.1 ACTIVE ROSTER
5.1.1 The active roster is those players who are accounting for points for the DASH League team. Each teams must at all times keep 12 x Forward, 6 x Defence, and 2 x Goalie on their active roster.
5.1.2 While 2 x Goaltenders must be designated as “ACTIVE,” an additional 2 can be defined as Bench or Inactive. If a team has four goalies on its active and inactive /bench roster, 1 of the 4 must be Farm Eligible
5.2 BENCH OR INACTIVE ROSTER
Up to 7 bench or inactive players can be carried throughout the season. This can include 3 Injury Reserve Status. Bench or Inactive Roster players’ salaries, except those of Injury Reserve, count toward a team’s cap. A team does not have to have any bench or inactive if they choose.
5.3 FARM ROSTER
All teams must at all time keep 10 x FARM eligible players. FARM roster salaries do not count against a team’s Salary Cap
5.3.1 Farm Eligible Definition
The DASH Farm Eligible player is different from the NHL’s definition of the rookie.
a) DASH (FARM Eligibility) Definition – FARM eligibility requires 82 or less career games played (GP) or less for Skaters and 2,460 Minutes Played (MP) or less for Goaltenders. When a FARM eligible NHLer exceeds 82GP (skaters) and 2,460MP (goalies) during the active season, that player, before being called up, must clear the Waiver Draft (WD) first, or he/they must remain on the FARM until the season ends. Alternatively, that player could be dropped and another farm eligible player acquired via a FAP or trade.
b) DASH (NON-FARM Eligibility) version – Column “F” (Excel worksheet) called GP-MP is the sole authority on whether or not an NHLer meets the DASH League prerequisites of 82GP OR LESS for Skaters and 2,460MP OR LESS for Goaltenders. Column “D” captures Historical data 10 x years to Date, and Column “E” catches the Current season played. Data gets automatically updated based on GP the previous night. Legend, RED font identifies FARM ELIGIBLE, whereas BLACK font is for ALL NON- FARM Eligibility.
In addition, there will be a ‘Warning’ feature on individual team roster webpages where any player who is at 80, 81 or 82 GP or between 2400 and 2460 minutes will be shown in yellow. This will provide a GM time to consider making a roster move. For a player to be consider FARM ELLIGIBLE at the time of season carry over, they must be in a RED font (Farm Eligible) when the
regular season ends.
c) DASH GMs will manage their respective Farm team as they see fit, including Minor League players who can be called up from the Farm team to be swapped into active roster spots. It functions like an NHL team and minor league affiliate. Once called up from the farm to the active or bench roster, the player’s salary counts against the cap.
5.3.2 ROSTER MANAGEMENT
The onus shall always be on GMs to ensure their rosters meet the minimum and maximum list requirements. Teams failing to maintain appropriate rosters will be subject to the following penalties:
a) Each time a team doesn’t meet the minimum 30 x players list (20 x active and 10 x farm eligible) within 24 hours after being notified by the Commish (without a valid reason at the discretion of the Commish) that Team will draft last in a descending draft round (8th to 1st round). If a roster is not compliant at the end of the season, that Team will draft last in whatever round their 1st pick is in.
In addition, there will be a ‘Warning’ feature on individual team roster webpages where any player who is at 80, 81 or 82 GP or between 2400 and 2460 minutes will be shown in yellow. This will provide a GM time to consider making a roster move. For a player to be consider FARM ELIGIBLE at the time of season carry over, they must be in a RED font (Farm Eligible) when the
regular season ends.
5.3.3 ROSTER SUMMARY
A team must a minimum of 30 players: 20 active (12Forwards, 6 Defence, 2 Goalies) and 10 Farm (8 Skaters, 2 Goalies). A team can also have up to 10 other players on any of Injury Reserve (3), bench/inactive (5), extra goalies (2). A team does not have to have any of IR, inactive or extra goalies but if they have bench/inactive or extra goalies, those players count against the salary cap, IR does not count against salary cap.
6. SALARY CAP
The DASH league salary cap will be established each year, prior to the draft, and will correspond to the NHL salary cap as outlined below. The cap will have a maximum ceiling and a minimum floor and is based on Average Annual Value (AAV). The salary cap will be enforced 3 days after the draft, with www.capfriendly.com being the website of record for player AAV derivation.
6.1 Player “Team” Cap (AAV) numbers” will be used and administered by the Commish. Specific player AAVs, which is an average of a player’s salary over the life of a contract, which factors in player bonuses, will be the number that counts against the DASH League cap.
It is the individual owner’s responsibility to adhere to the fixed “CAP” ceiling and floor. The Commish will be the sole arbitrator to ensure full compliance.
For the 2023-24 season, the cap will be fixed at $26M above the NHL CAP and stay at that figure going forward. The Commish will announce the following season’s cap figures through an email once the NHL makes their’s known.
6.2 All players on a DASH team active roster or bench will have their salaries counted toward that Team’s cap. Players on IR do not count toward the salary cap, not do Farm roster players.
6.3 UNSIGNED PLAYERS. It is the GM’s responsibility to ensure that there is room under their CAP. Once an unsigned player signs with an NHL team, then for fairness, the affected GM will have 24 x hours to make room under the CAP through trade or drops;
6.4 TRADES THAT PUT A TEAM OVER THE CAP. GM’s will have 48 x hours following the initial trade announcement to ensure room is made under the CAP. It will be the responsibility of the parties involved to make transactions accordingly and to make sure that all the Original Conditions (i.e. FAPs plus other trades, are met and removed first before trading newly acquired assets again. If rosters have not been made compliant within 48 hours of a trade, the transaction will be voided);
6.5 RETURN OF HOLDOUTS. GMs will have 48 x hours to get under the CAP (AAV);
6.6 FREE AGENT PICKUPS. GMs will have 48 x hours following an initial player claim to ensure appropriate cap space is created;
6.7 ROOKIE SALARIES. Newly drafted players often do not have signed contracts, and therefore do not have an AAV listed on www.capfriendly.com GMs should try to forecast the rookie’s approximate salary. Once a newly drafted player signs a new contract, the owning GM will have 48 x hours to ensure room is made under the “CAP”;
6.8 INJURED PLAYERS. Once a player is “FULLY REACTIVATED,” teams will have 48 x hours to get under the Cap as the player no longer meets “IR” status. A team will not be allowed to hide players on “IR” at any time.
7. TRADING
7.1 Teams can trade any combination of players, ex. 1 for 1, 2 for 1, 3 for 2, 2 for 2 etc. Draft picks from the the immediate next season or the one following can be traded and the option to retain cap space exists.
7.2 Salary Retention – Retained salary by the trading team cannot be more than 15% of the upper salary cap limit. A maximum of 3 x contracts with salary included in a trade can be on a team’s books at any one time.
7.3 The Commish can approve or veto trades based solely on the trade submitted at that time. Any veto is only meant to provide the league with a “CLEAR” and “TRANSPARENT” trading process and to ensure that there is “NO COLLUSION” between teams. Intentions between trading partners might be sought if a complaint is filed on a particular trade.
7.4 To be transparent, the Commish’s (Nighthawks) Team’s trades and pickups will be reported and confirmed through an uninvolved partner.
7.5 With regards to a trade involving draft picks, teams must be at all times maintain their mandatory 8 x draft selections. If one or more draft picks are included, the equivalent must be included going back to the other Team to balance both teams’ draft pick totals.
7.6 The importance of returning all phone calls or emails regarding trades within 48 x hrs cannot be stressed enough. Even if you think the offer is unwise, give your fellow owners the courtesy of a two-minute phone call or polite ‘no thanks’ in an email. If a request requires further thought, email the person with a short note, I’ll think about it for the next # days and get back to you and then get back to them. It’s essential as it affects all owners in one way or another.
7.7 Three-way deals can occur but require one trade between 2 teams to happen first, then a second and possibly a third trade between 2 teams to complete the full deal. All must be submitted promptly within 24 hours by all three teams and a note should be included to the Commish.
7.8 A team may trade future draft picks not exceeding one season beyond the upcoming season plus one year, as there are no guarantees that the Team will be in our league beyond the following year.
7.9 72 x hours before our trade deadline (Friday through Sunday), Salary Cap Penalties will be temporarily suspended. Team rosters, including salary cap MUST BE in absolute compliance no later than 2100 hrs EDT/1800 Pacific once the rosters have been re- published immediately following the trade deadline.
7.10 All transactions made are confirmed through ONLINE Trade Forms only after both teams submit. All transactions are subject to approval by the Commish for both fairness and transparency to fellow competitors. It would take a pretty obvious lopsided or collusion to veto a trade, but the Commish would need to understand why both sides made a particular trade. Regrettably, bad trades can and will happen; the Commish MAY requests reasons why a transaction was made before approving a potentially lousy trade.
7.11 Trade offers are not binding. The G.M. that makes an offer has the right to pull the offer off the table if they decide; HOWEVER, once both parties agree to a deal, they must notify the Commish via the trading forms within 24 hours. If one of the parties fails to do so, the second party has an additional 24 hours to forward documentation to demonstrate that agreement had been reached so that the Commish can confirm the trade.
7.12 The trade deadline is permanently set at 1800 hrs on the first Sunday following the NHL trading deadline. Therefore, this will give all teams added opportunities to assess and generate more trading activities over a weekend. There will be no trading between September 15th and draft day. Trading may begin after the draft with no trading during the draft.
7.13 Teams that know they will fold must inform the Commish so that trading can be suspended with that Team. If a partner makes trades during the season and subsequently folds, transactions will be analyzed for fairness and may be annulled or penalty assessed by the Commish. Teams can never go below their 12 forwards; 6 defensemen, and two goalies (except in the off-season) or over their 40-player total roster .
7.14 Any team that owns a draft pick of a team that folded will receive a compensatory pick at the end of that particular round. If it is a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd round pick, then the Team will be allowed to select where they would have if the folded Team had stayed in. You do not get your draft picks back if the Team you traded it to drops out.
8. FREE-AGENT PICKUP (FAP)
The DASH League has “UNLIMITED” FAPs throughout the Regular Season and “Off- Season”.
9. INJURED RESERVE
If an NHL team has not placed a player on IR, the DASH league cannot either. The Team will have 24 x hours to activate a player coming off the NHL IR list. www.TSN.ca/NHL/injuries is the only source of information for which players are IR eligible, and is considered the DASH authority.
10. WAIVER DRAFT
10.1 Any player dropped during the season will be on waivers for 72 hours from the time of dropping. Another team can then select that player through the FAP process but must wait 72 x hours before being awarded that player After 72 hours, if no claims have been made on that player, he is returned to the regular Available Free Agents and can be selected at any time.
10.2 A “Rolling list” for the order of the waiver draft will be used. The original order is set by reverse order of the previous season’s draft order. Once a team makes a successful waiver claim, they will move to the bottom of the “Rolling list”;
10.3 Final chance to claim a (WD) will be three days (72 x hours) before the last regular- season game. For example, if the Regular Season ends on a Sunday, teams could use a (WD) claim no later than 2100 hrs EDT (1800 Pacific) on Thursday preceding the end of the Regular Season. Within three days of the last regular-season game, players dropped will not be available until after the regular season is over. If a team wishes to claim a dropped player within this time, it will be processed in the regular 72 x hours, but he will not be added to your list until after the Regular Season is complete;
11. POINTS AND SCORING
11.1 There are 12 categories in which DASH League Teams score points: Goals (G), Assists (A), Points (PTS), Penalty Minutes (PIMs), Hits, Block Shots (BS), Shots On Goal (SOG), Forward Points, Defense Points. For Goalies, Wins+Ties+Shutouts, Goals Against Average (GAA) and Save Percentage (SPCTG).
The first 7 x categories are calculated by simply adding the numbers of a team’s active roster of 12 x forwards and 6 x defensemen.
Goalies’ PTS are to be weighted as follows: Wins are worth 2 x PTS, T = O.T. and Shoot Out (SO) Losses are worth 1 x PTS regular season only, and Shutouts are worth an additional 3 x PTS. No points are to be awarded for goalies in any other accumulated scoring categories. Shared shutouts are not counted. These points are added together to give you Wins+Ties+Shutouts. Goals Against Average (GAA) and Save Percentage (SPCTG) of the 2 x active roster goalies are calculated by adding the core numbers, not by dividing their respective GAA and SPCTG by two so that your numbers bear the appropriate weight according to minutes played.
11.2 In each of the 12 categories, teams are ranked from first to last. For example, in our 16 x team league, the Team in 1st in goals would earn 16 PTS; the 2nd place team in goals would receive 15 PTS, 3rd 14 PTS, and so forth until the last place team gets 1 pt. This system works for all 12 categories, each with equal value. If teams are tied in a category, they will split the points. For example, if two teams were tied for the lead in Assists with 55 each, both teams would receive (16+15=31 divided by 2 = 15.5).
11.3 Mandatory Minimums for Active Roster Players
If a player is going to count in your final active roster at season end, then active salaries MUST count against your team CAP regardless of whether a single player is injured or in the minors, etc. Each active Skater must have a minimum of 25GP each, whereas each active Goalie must have a minimum of 1,500MP each.
a) GOALIES
At the end of the regular season, each of a team’s goalies “MUST” have played a combined total of 4,500 minutes, with each Goalie getting a minimum of 1,500 minutes or (25 GP). If either of the active roster goalies does not make the combined 4,500 or individually the 1,500 minutes minimum, that Team will be placed in last place in both the (GAA and SPCTG) categories and draft last in the 1st round or the next eligible round in which they hold a draft pick. If you have a goalie on your bench that has met the 1,500 minutes minimum and a goalie on your active roster that has not fulfilled the minimum, you must use the Goalie that has qualified. The W+T+SO category is cumulative, so the more games you play, the more points you accumulate.
b) FORWARD AND DEFENCEMAN
A minimum mandatory 25 NHL Game Played (GP) “MUST” be met by all active rosters (Top 12 forwards and 6 top defensemen). If a team doesn’t adhere to the minimum of 25 x NHL GP by all players, that Team in the next season will draft last in the 1st round or the next eligible round in which they hold a draft pick regardless of the Team last draft positioning or the next eligible round pick in a sequential order whether or not a team qualifies for the end year lottery.
11.4 Final Roster Timeline Activities will begin one week (TBC) before the publication of the NHL final regular season stats, thus allowing for last-minute fine-tuning; this will enable each team time to begin filtering their rosters as follows:
a) 1 x week prior (Sunday) – 2nd last opportunity to drop players from existing rosters and 2nd final chance to claim a (W.D.) via the online/e-mail requests form as per paragraph 8;
b) 3 x days prior (Thursday 1200 hours) – EXCEPT FOR CAP COMPLIANCE RELATED ISSUES – Final opportunity to drop players from existing rosters and last chance to claim a (WD) as the 72 hours rule would now kick in and conclude Sunday;
c) last day (1200 hours Sunday) – Before the final games being played – The WD claims “IF ANY” will be awarded as per Waiver Draft procedures;
d) 1 x day following the conclusion of the season (Monday NLT 2100 hours) “FINAL AND BEST ROSTER” (Note 1 refers) – Final opportunities to move players from “ACTIVE” or/to “BENCHED” status respectively. Sunday’s stats would be available online NLT 1800 on the same day (Monday) or earlier; and
e) Final DASH League Season Standings will be published NLT 1800 hours on the next day (Tuesday) following the end of the regular season.
11.5 Definition of “FINAL AND BEST ROSTER”:
Before submitting a “FINAL AND BEST ROSTER,” a franchisee must look at all options to better their position “upward in the standings” even if it’s a slight increase of only .5 PTS in any of the categories, as this could potentially affect other teams places in the standings. In the event of a team’s failure to submit their best roster, the Commish will then review and, if necessary, make any adjustments regardless of the Team’s wishes, as this represents the idea of putting the “best individual franchise roster” forward. The Commish will advise the affected Team (s).
Except to meet S.C. space and regulations, there will be no FAPs used between the period of Tuesday before the end of the season and the release of the final standings (Tuesday following the conclusion of the season).
Stats will be updated daily unless the Commish is away on professional duties or vacations.
12. FEES AND AWARDS
12.1 The annual $110 (Entry Fee + Annual Web Hosting) can be paid as early as the day following the final playoff game of the preceding season and no later than June 30th of each year. If you do not pay by June 30th XX, a standby owner “MAY” replace the offending GM on July 1st in time for the upcoming regular season play. As soon as a GM has paid their annual fee, they are granted trading/transaction privileges. The Sooner a GM pays, the sooner they can play.
12.2 To break ties, the Team that finishes highest in the POINT CATEGORIES will be declared the winner. If still tied, most goals will serve as a second tie-break. If still tied, the teams will split the winnings.
12.3 All funds collected other than the Annual Web Hosting cost of $10 will be awarded as prizes as follow:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | ||
| 16 Teams | $800 | $400 | $300 | $100 | $1,600 |