League Rules

• Draft & Lottery
• Divisions, Teams, Scoring, Scheduling
• Rosters, Scoring, Trades, Waiver Wire
• Keepers
• Replacement Managers/Expansion Teams
• Consolation Bracket

Draft & Lottery

Draft Order

Draft order is split into a set of two positions.  Championshio teams from the prior season will always pick in the final draft positions:

Standings Placement	Pick
1st	10th
2nd	9th
3rd	8th

All remaining teams outside of this scope are eligible for full draft lottery, placed by regular season standings unless modified by consolation bracket.

*Modified on 2026/09/26 to accomodate 10 team league, as "4th place prize" only appliest to 12+ teams

Draft Lottery

All remaining teams outside of the top-3 playoff standings are eligible for draft lottery and entered into a lottery machine to award the top 3 picks.  Last place, though highly favored, is not guaranteed to win the lottery due to weighting + consolation bracket modification. 

Weighting is determined by the chart below:

Standings Placement	Ball Count	Lottery Percentage
4th	1	2.33%
5th	2	4.65%
6th	4	9.30%
7th	6	13.95%
8th	8	18.60%
9th	10	23.26%
10th	12	27.91%

Expansion Teams impact the lottery percentages and total ball counts according to additions to the league in a given year.

Expansion Team Lottery Implications

The lottery will consider a team as an Expansion team if they meet one of the following requirements:

• A newly created team with no existing roster (e.g., league manager expansion/addition)
• An existing team has been abandoned by a less-than-qualified (e.g., evicted from league) manager so much so that a replacement team is required for the new player to be competitive.
• More than 2 new members are added to the league in an given off-season (additional explanation in Replacement Managers/Expansion Teams section) 

An "advantaged-weight" system is appleid to Expansion teams.  Each team receives enough draft lottery balls to slot them at the middle-weight of the draft lottery positions.  Please see table above for reference. 

Example: 10 team league = Expansion team receives 6 balls, equivalent to 7th place)

The lottery does NOT consider a team as an expansion team if only 1 manager is taking over an existing team.  In this case, the manager taking over said team assumes the existing draft implications for this team.  See additional information about Expansion teams in the "Teams" section.

Divisions, Teams, Scoring, Scheduling

This section has information regarding team configuration and divisons.

Teams and Schedules

There are to be always an even number at teams within the league at all times, regardless of method of implementation; this includes but is not limited to dummy teams or commissioner-managed teams (the latter team types indicate that a team that is managed by commissioners or other chosen person, but does not make directly beneficial moves such as trades [lopsided or not], waiver pickups, etc.)

Teams and Manager List

Teams list (based on end of 2023-24 season, minus teams that have left the league) is below:

Manager	Team Name
Geordan Vincent	Dave Sucks Tiny Chodes
Nicholas Everett	Dude man
Kyle Froehner	Chabot Shalom
Noah Natale	return of the king
Adam Zaloum	Vitek Just Kicked In
Joseph Haines	Seton Hall Pirates Hockeky
Paul Brandao	Bratt Pack
Kevin Kavanaugh	Cleveland Steamers
Chase Natale	Rags 0 Cups in 30 Years
Ken Smithington	Vich Ryou Aho

Two managers have left the league; however, their teams remain in a non-altered state (in terms of draft picks), therefore they will be removed from the league with no further implications.

Divisions and Schedule

PYFHL configuration is composed of 2 divisions, consisting of 5 teams each, playing a 20-week regular season, followed by a 3-week playoff of the top 6 teams.

Each team will be scheduled as follows:

• • • • vs. all teams at least 2x
      • vs. 2 of all teams 3x

Division placements will be determined by methods agreed upon by league members and upheld by commissioners.  This is a new feature for the upcoming 2023-24 season; thus, we are awaiting input on how to set up divisions.  Division template is below:

Suck	Blow
TBD	TBD
TBD	TBD
TBD	TBD
TBD	TBD
TBD	TBD

Scoring

Scoring is tweaked on a year-by-year basis, ensuring that a fair and level playing field exists, while valuing the most important aspects of the game.  The point of hockey is to put the puck into the opponents' net, and thus goals are valued the most.  As of the end of the 2023-23 season, the below scoring models were used.  Per league manager input, we will be reducing PIM, increasing HIT and BLK, and re-adjusting the goalie scoring model to allow for more flexibility.  Changes to come soon.

Forwards/Defensemen Stat Category	Value
Goals (G)	6.75
Assists (A)	4.5
Points (P)	.25
Penalty Minutes (PIM)	-.8
Powerplay Points (PPP)	.5
Shorthanded Points (SHP)	4.5
Shots on Goal (SOG)	.5
Hits (HIT)	.8
Blocks (BLK)	.9

Goaltenders Stat Category	Value
Games Started (GS)	12
Wins (W)	.5
Goals Against (GA)	-4
Saves (SV)	.35
Shutouts (SHO)	3

Stats Last Updated 9/5/2024

 

Rosters, Scoring, Trades, Waiver Wire

Rosters and Roster Management

Rosters consist of 14 active players and 6 bench players, with various designated injury/not-active slots.  Roster positions are noted in the chart below. 
Each team will receive $100 in FAAB at the beginning of the year, which is NOT tradeable. 
Each team may have no more than 4 active goalies on their roster.
Roster sizes can be increased post-draft, however this is only actionable upon unanimous league approval, as roster sizes cannot be easily downsized.
Waiver wire is running a FULL-WAIVER SYSTEM, meaning each team has the same chance to claim a player over the course of a 24-hour period.  Claims are processed every day at/around 4AM EST.  The person who has the highest claim order and/or the highest FAAB bid will win the player.

Trade Deadline

Yahoo only allows a selection of various dates in February or March (mostly in-order to coincide with the NHL regular season trade deadline).  Given the 2024 season lengthening to 20 weeks, the trade deadline will on Week 18, 2/19/2025, will be the enforced trade deadline date.

Roster Chart

Forwards/Defensemen
Center (C)	3
Left Winger (LW)	3
Right Winger (RW)	3
Defenseman (D)	4
Utility (Util)	1
Goaltenders
Goalie (G)	1
Miscellaneous
Injured Reserve (IR)	1
IR+ (IR, IR-NR, IR-LT, Day-to-Day, Out or COVID-19)	2
Not Active (NA)	1
Bench (BN)	6

Scoring

League scoring is set as follows:

Forwards/Defensemen Stat Category	Value
Goals (G)	6.75
Assists (A)	4.5
Points (P)	0.25
Penalty Minutes (PIM)	-0.4
Powerplay Points (PPP)	0.5
Shorthanded Points (SHP)	4
Shots on Goal (SOG)	0.5
Hits (HIT)	0.8
Blocks (BLK)	1
Goaltenders Stat Category	Value
Games Started (GS)	12
Wins	0.5
Goals Against (GA)	-4.5
Saves (SV)	0.35
Shutouts (SHO)	2

Trades and Trading Rules

***as of January 2025, 2nd round picks are permitted to be traded***

All trades undergo commissioner review.  There is no manager-veto system in place due to complications with both timeliness to push trades through, as well as arbitrary opinion of league managers going up against each other.  We believe that trades are between two parties, with only the commissioners' quorum weighing in only when a trade is believed to go against the spirit of the league and the innate competition.

Any trade that is deemed to be out of the spirit of competition will undergo a commissioner veto with a provided explanation to both parties, as well as the ability to re-make and re-submit the trade. Please note that the goal here is to NOT limit trading via arbitrary decisions (e.g., remove manager autonomy), but to disincentivize tanking and ensure a competitive league year over year.

• Picks in Rounds 1 and Round 2 cannot be traded in normal trades.  Exceptional circumstances noted below:

  • Swapping picks within round 1 or within round 2 is permitted.
    • e.g., a 1st Round Pick Swap based on forecasted draft position.
      
  • Any other commissioner-approved scenario involving picks in these rounds.

   

• Trade moratorium of draft picks for start of regular season:

  • Moratorium lasts from day 1 of the regular season (beginning of scoring) thru the end of Week 3
  • This is to prevent a team from immediately tanking/overpowering due to a "bad draft", or to prevent a team from making lopsided draft pick trades because they want to further improve their team without playing several weeks of the season.
  • This moratorium does NOT apply to any post draft trades from an agreed upon trade prior to or during the draft.
  • This moratorium does NOT apply to player-for-player trades during this period.
    

   

• Trades involving players that are on Yahoo's "Can't Cut List" are *solely up for commissioner review and can be vetoed for any reason, provided or not*, unless part of a pre-draft deal (pending commissioner review)

  • This is to prevent unnecessary trades during thr early weeks of the season in an effort to create an active trade deadline

   

• FAAB cannot be traded.
  
  

   

Keepers

Keepers are an essential part of PYFHL.  Dynasty leagues don't allow for flexibility and are limited if a player has a bad draft.  We also don't want each team to be the same every year, thus PYFHL follows a limited keeper configuration.

Keeper Rules

All primary keeper rules are noted below.  All keepers are reviewed and confirmed by the commissioner quorum to verify that they are within both the written rules as well as the league's spirit of competition.  Since the rules do have nuance, they are displayed in a FAQ/Q&A format.
If you have questions, please ask one of the commissioners. We have spent lots of time verifying that these rules are clear, fair, and applicable to all managers.

What players are keeper-eligible?

• Rule 1: Players drafted in rounds 1-4 cannot be kept.
  
• Rule 2: Players drafted in rounds 5-X can be kept.
  
  
• Rule 3: A Manager may select up to a maximum of 2 keepers per team, per year (Rule updated 5/1/2023)

What is the cost of keeper player?

• Rule 4: Each player will cost a draft pick 2 higher rounds than where the player was taken in the most recent draft, with each consecutive year kept costing an additional 2 rounds worth pick
  
  
• Rule 5: Free agents can be kept with a 12th round pick (Rule Updated 9/1/2022)
  • Keeping multiple free agents is permitted, picks will simply trend up -- 11th, 10th, 9th.
    
    
• Rule 6: If the required pick is not available by the player for forfeiture of a specific round, the following options are available:
  • Acquire a pick from another manager for to satisfy the keeper compensatory cost.
  • Forfeit the next available pick:
    • e.g., if a player was drafted in the 12th Round, his keeper cost would be an 10th round pick.  Assuming this manager does not have an 10th round pick, they may choose to forfeit a 9th round pick instead (their next available pick)
      
      
• Rule 7: A player holds their draft position status for the entire season.  The value does not change based on whether or not the player was dropped (Rule Updated 1/7/2021).  Players that went undrafted will be noted as free agents from the perspective of keeper compensation rules.

How long can I keep a player?

• Rule 8: A player can be kept by the same manager twice, for a total of two additional seasons (cannot be owned by same manager for more than 3 complete seasons)
  • Rule 8.1 If a player is traded to another team, his keeper COUNT resets that year.
    • e.g. new manager can keep player for up to 2 full seasons

What other keeper rules are there?

• Rule 9: Keeper rules cannot be circumvented via trade.  This includes trading a player to someone pre-draft and then trading back post-draft. 
  • While the trade will be permitted, the player is not keeper-eligible by the receiving team
  • This trade must also be fair, and in the spirit of league competition (e.g., if the receiving team spends an amount not seen as fair by the commissioner quorum, it will be veto'd with explanation.
    
    • Example below
      • Example: Team A keeps Player A for entirety of 2 seasons, then trades Player A to Team B.  Team A is allowed to trade for Player A during this coming season, however keeping this player is prohibited.
        
• Rule 9.1: Players can be traded based on the value of their keeper status (e.g. their "free agent rights") when they are no longer keeper-eligible by 
  
  
• Rule 10: LTIR keeper rules:
  • Players either placed onto LTIR for a season-ending injury, (e.g., torn ACL, long term concussion issues, etc.), or players drafted with the intent of not being played for the entirety of the season can be kept for the cost of 2 draft picks lower than original draft position.
  • If this player dresses for a regular season game during this season (NHL playoffs excluded), his keeper value reverts to his original draft cost (Free Agent Cost per Rule 5)
  • Players placed onto LTIR within the last 4 weeks of the season do not qualify for this discounted keeper cost (Player may still be kept using standard rules)
  • If the player was drafted in rounds 1 or 2, the player falls under the "not keepable due to being drafted in the first 4 rounds" and is not allowed.  The player can be dropped without any additional implications
    
    
• Rule 11: Players can be traded based on the value of their keeper status (e.g. their "free agent rights")

Replacement Managers/Expansion Teams

Replacement/Expansion Guidelines

1 Replacement Manager (common) / 1 Expansion Team (rare):

1. All existing/active teams will make their keeper selections.
2. Replacement/Expansion manager will be able to select up to 2 keeper selections based on the list of players on that team
   • Exceptions can be made for evicted managers or abandoned teams

2+ Teams (Replacement or Expansion):

1. All existing/active teams will make their keeper selections.
2. Replacement/Expansion managers will be provided a list of all keeper-eligible players that were not kept by any other teams, where they will select 2 players.
   • This includes ALL players in the league that fall within Keeper rules (e.g. no players in rounds 1-4)
   • Any manager inheriting a team in a given year where league expansion increases new manager count by 2 or more will be treated as an expansion team and given the same rights as "true expansion" teams.

Expansion Team Lottery

Previously, a separate lottery was completed for expansion teams; this is no longer the case.  The modernized expansion draft shifts to an "advantaged-weight" system for expansion teams. Each expansion team receives a lottery weight within the margin to the teams that finished in the two lowest positions above last place.

1. All existing/active teams will make their keeper selections.
2. Expansion team will be able to select up to 2 keeper selections based on the list of all keeper-eligible players that were not kept by any other managers
3. If multiple teams select the same player, the conflicting managers will be placed into a random selector.  The winner is determined by the selector tool

Consolation Bracket

As a way to disincentivize tanking, a consolation bracket exists for non-playoff teams

Bracket Setup - 8 teams

In the event of 8 playoff teams, Yahoo does not support consolation brackets, therefore the commissioners maintain a consolation bracket with an online tool and post updates to it weekly.  Non-Playoff teams may not pick up waiver players (this is locked per commissioner settings).  Last place is determined by loser of the consolation bracket, not the standings of the regular season.

As of 09/23/2023, confirmed PYFHL is in fact using an 8-team playoff configuration, thus commissioners will maintain bracket.

Bracket Setup - 6 teams

In the event of 6 playoff teams, Yahoo does support consolation brackets, therefore managers should continue setting their lineups.  The same rules apply otherwise.  

Prizes and Information

Consolation Bracket Prizes:

• Top 3 teams receive an increase in their weight of the standard draft lottery (Rounded up to the nearest whole number):
  • 1st: 50% additional balls
  • 2nd: 25% additional balls
  • 3rd: 12.5% additional balls
    
• 1st place gets to name one of the divisions for next year.
• 2nd place gets to name the other division for next year.
• Last Place Team pays a penalty of $20 on top of next year's buy in.
• Managers who do not place in the top 3 positions of the consolation bracket may be pushed up/down based on consolation bracket winner's positions.

Weight reference sheet

Below is the draft lottery ball count for reference.  A 50% increase in balls sounds substantial, however most teams that are capable of winning the bracket would be in the higher end of the bracket, and thus see a small increase in their lottery weight.

Standings Placement	Ball Count
7th	2
8th	4
9th	6
10th	8
11th	10
12th	12