Puck You Fantasy Hockey Wiki
Introduction to PYFHL
GUIDEBOOK, RULES, CODE OF CONDUCT
Introduction
Thanks for joining the Puck You Fantasy Hockey League!
Puck You Fantasy Hockey League is to be the most enjoyable, respectable, and competitive fantasy hockey experience at a worthwhile yet affordable price, while enjoying and accepting the experience of the League Chat and all its members. It is not a place for any member to tear down or cause strife to others. The rules herein are the result of observing previous PYFHL seasons as well as consultation with commissioners of other fantasy sports leagues.
Pursuant to the Mission Statement of the Puck You Fantasy Hockey League (henceforth “PYFHL,” and “the League,” interchangeably), these rules shall be followed by all owners in the League with no exceptions; Commissioner and Co-Commissioners (also referred to as "Commissioners' Quorum") are not above these rules. Rules are to be amended only with full league awareness, input, and compliance. Post-draft, this document shall be considered final and binding until the end of the Fantasy Hockey Season.
League URL: Puck You Fantasy Hockey | Fantasy Hockey | Yahoo! Sports
League Overview
Membership, Fees, Prizes
This section encompasses the basics for League Configuration, as well as the associated responsibilities with ownership of a PYFHL Team.
Membership and Status
Basic Membership Requirements for League Manager
All who are willing to play and uphold the competitive spirit that the commissioners have set forth are candidates for PYFHL. Reasonable connection to other league members, as well as desire to compete and win are the primary and forthcoming requirements for league members (also known as Managers).
Changing membership
Given the status of this league as a Keeper league, managers are expected to compete for a multiple number of years, and a member is assumed to have a continued desire of continue their membership for the following season upon making a trade of any future draft pick to another team.
If a member decides to leave the league the following year, they are required to front next year’s league fees to either commissioner or co-commissioner, regardless of whether they plan on competing. That said, exceptions can be made in cases where a hardship prevents the manager from competing, or if the manager agrees to pay a reduced fee in an effort to help attract a replacement manager.
Entry Fees
League fee is $50/manager/year (non-negotiable) and is due prior to draft. It is preferred that managers proactively pay any commissioner prior to the draft without request to reduce the complexity of commissioners hounding managers for payments. Exceptions can be made if the manager has incurred an unforeseen hardship, as long as the request is brought to the commissioner as soon as it is known.
Managers can pay via the following Electronic Payment Methods:
- Cashapp: $AdamZaloum
- Venmo: @Adam-Zaloum
- Paypal: azaloum90@gmail.com
- Zelle: 862-220-7320
Prizes
Cash Prizes are awarded in several different manners.
Primary Prizes
Top three playoff finishers receive the following prizes:
Standing |
Prize Amount |
|
1st Place |
$200 |
|
2nd Place |
$130 |
|
3rd Place |
$50 |
*These amounts were updated during post season, as the previous amounts were based on a 12 team league, however the league consisted of only 10 teams during the 2024-25 season.
Additional Prizes
Playoff Entry Prize
Each playoff team receives a prize of $10, regardless of standings, as long as the team qualifies for the playoffs.
Weekly Bonus Prize
Weekly Prizes are awarded typically during the middle of the season. The prize amount is $5-10, depending on Prize and week of the season. Prize applies to the time period from the beginning of the last fantasy week up to the end of the just-ended fantasy week. Prize is randomly picked by a lottery drawn up by me on Monday Morning. You will receive your cash at the end of the year when the payouts are given. Prizes are randomized on Picker Wheel
Prize |
Description |
|
The Lazy Ass |
Least Games Played |
|
The Overdoer |
Most Games Played |
|
Beast Mode: Winner Edition |
Highest scoring team of the week |
|
The Limp Dick |
Lowest scoring team of the week |
|
The Arizona Coyotes Special |
Team that surrendered the most goals against that week |
|
The Biggest Blower |
Largest Margin of Victory |
|
The Narrow Escape |
Smallest margin of victory |
|
Close is only for Horseshoes |
Largest Margin of Defeat |
|
Cutting it Close |
Smallest Margin of Defeat |
|
Beast Mode: Loser Edition |
Highest scoring team that lost their matchup |
|
Use a Rubber |
Most Shots on Goal for the week |
|
The Brick Wall |
Highest Scoring Goalies (All combined, including negative points) |
|
The Ryan Reaves |
Most hits for the week |
|
The Kris Russel |
Team with the most blocked shots for the week |
|
The Ovech-trick |
Team with the most goals for the week |
|
The Wayne Gretzky |
Team with the most assists for the week |
|
The Misfit |
Team with the most penalty minutes for the week |
|
Goody two-shoes |
Team with the least penalty minutes for the week |
|
The Bullseye |
Team closest to their projected point total (over OR under) |
|
Hero to Zero |
Team with the biggest NEGATIVE team points differential from last week to this week |
|
Zero to Hero |
Team with the biggest POSITIVE team points differential from last week to this week |
|
No Goals for You |
Team with the most shutouts |
|
You're a Sieve |
Team with the most goals against | Tie breaker least shots faced |
|
Your pads are too big |
Team with the least goals against | Tie breaker is most shots faced |
|
Shuffle the Deck |
Team who made the most trades for the week |
|
52 Pickup |
Team with the most waiver wire moves for the week |
|
Get at me (from the Back) |
Team with the most points from Defensemen |
|
Get at me (from the Front) |
Team with the most points from Forwards |
|
You just got Rear-Ended |
Team with the most points from Goalies |
Weekly Bonus Prize Non-Monetary Prize
Ocassionally, there are non-monetary prizes for league members to win. These are given out at random, some maybe more than once
Prize |
Description |
| No Hockey, just a beer | Team manager wins a 6 pack of Geordon Homebrew |
| Nickname Master | You get to set nicknames for the week. |
| Fuck that Team (Name) | You get to rename someone's team |
| Calling about your car's warranty | The league will be calling you all week for no reason at all, they might not even answer, but you have to answer the phone. |
League Rules
RULES OVERVIEW AND STANDARD LEAGUE PROTOCOLS
Draft & Lottery
Draft Order
Draft order is split into a set of two positions. The top-4 teams from the prior season will always pick in the final 4 draft positions:
| Standings Placement | Pick |
|
1st |
12th |
| 2nd | 11th |
| 3rd | 10th |
| 4th | 9th |
All remaining teams outside of the top 4 are eligible for the draft lottery, placed by regular season standings unless modified by consolation bracket.
Draft Lottery
All remaining teams outisde of the top-4 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 |
|
5th |
1 | |
|
6th |
2 | |
|
7th |
4 | |
|
8th |
8 | |
|
9th |
15 | |
| 10th | 25 |
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.
In either case, an expansion team will receive 7 draft lottery balls (slotting them between 9th and 10th place, the exact middle of the lottery-eligible teams).
The lottery does NOT consider a team as an expansion team if a manager is simply 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 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
3 |
|
|
3 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
1 |
Goaltenders |
|
|
|
1 |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
2 |
|
|
1 |
|
|
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.
- e.g., a 1st Round Pick Swap based on forecasted draft position.
- Any other commissioner-approved scenario involving picks in these rounds.
- Swapping picks within round 1 or within round 2 is permitted.
-
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 Teams
1 Team:
- All existing/active teams will make their keeper selections.
- Replacement manager will be able to select up to 2 keeper selections based on the list of players on that team
2+ Teams:
- All existing/active teams will make their keeper selections.
- Replacement managers will be able to select up to 2 keeper selections based on the list of all keeper-eligible players that were kept by any other teams
Expansion Teams
1 Team:
In the event that a single expansion team is added to the league, the following procedure applies:
- All existing/active teams will make their keeper selections.
- Expansion team will be able to select up to 2 keeper selections based on the list of all keeper-eligible players that were kept by any other teams
2+ Teams:
In the event that multiple expansion teams are added to the league, a same-weight expansion draft lottery is performed:
- All teams are added to a random order generator.
- The order generator is run 8 times, and the position of each team is noted after each draw
- 1st receives 4 points
- 2nd receives 3 points
- 3rd receives 2 points
- 4th receives 1 point
- Points are tallied
- Expansion draft order is determined from first to last by number of points accrued over the 8 draws.
Example of Multi-Team Expansion Draft:
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 |