VHL Rule Book

[Will 4,660]

VHL RULE BOOK

 

1.0 - The Salary Cap
2.0 - Contract Structure

3.0 - Holdouts & Salary Arbitration
4.0 - Free Agency
5.0 - Training Camp
6.0 - Trades

7.0 - Waivers

8.0 - Releasing Players

9.0 - VHL Draft

10.0 - Earning TPE

11.0 - VHLM Rulebook

12.0 - Creating a New Player/Position Changes

13.0 - Retirement, Re-Creating & Depreciation

14.0 - General Managers

15.0 - Personal Conduct

 

1 - THE SALARY CAP

1.1 - Salary Cap Figure

The VHL’s salary cap is a hard cap, however if a team exceeds the cap during the off-season the consequences (or lack thereof) are determined by the commissioners. At the conclusion of each season, the salary cap number for the next season will be determined by the commissioners.

 

The cap number is subject to either positive or negative fluctuation or no change at all and the cap for the next season will be announced before the off-season prior to that season.  

 

Current cap ceiling: $44,000,000

 

1.2 - Roster Minimum

As of Season 58, the VHL has replaced the legacy Cap Floor with a new roster minimum of 6 players. 

 

• All teams must have a minimum of 6 roster players prior to starting the season or face penalty. 
• There is no requirement for a minimum overall salary expense but all TPE salary minimums and contract maximums for individual players continue to apply, as does the salary cap.
• At no point during the season can a team fall under the roster minimum as a result of a trade or any other type of transaction. This will be enforced strictly so to avoid having trades delayed (or voided completely in the case of deadline trades), GM's need to plan ahead and sign players prior to making those deals. 

2 – CONTRACT STRUCTURE
Rookie: A player in their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd season after being drafted (considered as entry-level period).
Prime: A player in their 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th season after being drafted.

 

2.1 – Contract Parameters 
The VHL has two general types of contract structures in use: Rookie and Prime. General Manager Contracts fall under whichever category applies to their current age (i.e. a General Manager player will still become a Prime player in his 4th season).

 

Rookie Contract Structure:
• Rookie Contracts must be 3 seasons in duration.
• The option of holding out or pushing for salary arbitration exists and is governed by Section 3
• The rookie has the option to pursue unrestricted free agency at the conclusion of the contract.
• The minimum salary for Rookie contracts is based on TPA as described in Sections 2.2, 2.3.
• Players on rookie contracts who are playing in the VHLM will not count against the VHL salary cap so long as they play in the VHLM.
• If a rookie is not offered a contract by the last day of the pre-season for their entry year (i.e. S45 pre-season for an S45 player), they will become an unrestricted free agent.

• A two-way clause is automatically attached to all rookie contracts for the 3 season duration (see below)

• All players' first VHL season will count as playing on a "rookie" contract, regardless of the contract they are signed to. (i.e. a player drafted in S80 playing their VHL debut season in S85 will be on their Prime contract, but will get paid for that season under the equivalent Rookie bracket)

Prime Contract Structure:
• A prime contract will come into effect in the off-season prior to a player's 4th season.
• The minimum contract length is 1 season, the maximum length is 5 seasons.

• Players on Prime contracts who are playing in the VHLM

will not count against the VHL salary cap so long as they play in the VHLM.

• The minimum salary for Prime contracts is based on TPA as described in Sections 2.2, 2.3.
• At the expiration of a contract, a player can choose to become an unrestricted free agent.

 

2.2 – TPE Salary – Minimum
In the VHL, the annual dollar value of a player’s salary is indirectly tied to the amount of TPA (+ Banked TPE) that the player has at the beginning of each season that they are under contract. Depending on the amount of TPA (+ Banked TPE) that a player has, they must make a minimum salary as indicated by the following scale. Please note that there are some exceptions generated by the difference between rookie contracts and veteran contracts.

 

TPA Bracket         Rookie           Prime           
Under 400        $1 500 000        $1 500 000
401-500          $1 500 000        $2 000 000
501-600          $2 000 000        $2 500 000
601-700          $2 500 000        $3 000 000 
701-800          $3 000 000        $3 500 000
801-900          $3 500 000        $4 500 000
901-1000         $4 000 000        $5 000 000
1001-1100        $4 500 000        $5 500 000
1101+            $5 000 000        $6 000 000

This scale will be re-evaluated for each player at a set date of each off-season (slightly before off-season events such as the draft, training camp, and award ceremony) and if the player has moved into another TPA bracket and their minimum salary does not meet the requirements of that bracket, their salary will be adjusted by the Financier to comply with the minimum salary requirements laid out in the table above.

 

2.3 – Determining Salary Brackets

• The cut-off 'week' is the last week of the VHL playoffs and the exact cut-off day is specified in the off-season schedule each season. Every TPE realized before this date counts towards a player total TPA.
• Off-season TPE (prediction points, training camp, point tasks posted during the "off-season" weeks) DO NOT count towards a player’s TPA hit for the upcoming season.
• VHLM Graduation Bonus DOES NOT count towards a player’s TPA hit for the upcoming season.
• Banked TPE IS included in the Financier's calculation of a players total TPA.
• Unclaimed point tasks posted in weeks prior to the off-season week and job pay unclaimed from weeks prior to the off-season week still count against a players total TPE hit. Updaters will be on the lookout for old items being claimed after the cut-off date and, if these items push a player into a higher bracket, they will either have to accept the higher salary or forfeit the TPE entirely. Note that only unclaimed items can be forfeited - no TPE will be revoked from players to keep them under a certain salary.

 

The League Financier will be in charge of determining and adjusting salary brackets each off-season. Should there be any issues, the League Financier will work with the commissioners to resolve the issue.

2.4 – Contract Maximums 

• The maximum annual salary for a player who plays in the VHLM is $3 000 000
• The maximum annual salary for an rookie-contract player, who plays in the VHL, is $6 000 000
• The maximum annual salary for a prime-contract player is $9 000 000

 

2.5 – Contract Re-Negotiations/Extensions

• Upon a contract being finalized, barring option years the only adjustable portion of the contract is an increase in the annual dollar amount of the contract. There can be no decreases in the term or the dollar value of the contract. 
• Any increase to the annual dollar amount must be offered by the GM to the player through the VHL Portal. These will only be allowed to be given out during the off-season, prior to the beginning of the upcoming season (before Day 1 of the sim).
• Active players will need to to accept the bonus in the VHL Portal; inactive players are not eligible to receive bonuses once they have been signed. 
• An extension to a current contract can only be officially confirmed during the last year of the current contract. An extension can have a change in the financial terms of the contract either positively or negatively. Extensions must be agreed upon by both the team and the player publicly, unless the player is inactive (see 4.2).
• General Managers will only be able to offer an inactive player a maximum one-year extension, and it must come during the off-season in which their contract expires PRIOR to free agency opening. If an inactive is unsigned on the day free agency opens, that player will become an inactive FA as described in Section 4.3. This keeps the power in the hands of the player if they choose to come back.

 

2.6 – Contract Options

• Options must be subsequent to committed terms. No committed terms can succeed an option year.
• Options can come in the form of Player Options, Team Options or Mutual (GM & Player Agreeing) Options. A contract may only have one total option year.
• No options aside from the 3 options listed above will be enforced by the Commissioner's Office.
• Any option must be agreed upon before the start of Free Agency or the player will hit the Free Agent Market. For an inactive player with a Player Option the team may pick up or decline the option for them.

 

2.7 – No Trade Clauses
Contracts may include a No Trade Clause (NTC), which is voided for the remainder of a contract, should the player waive it:

• A NTC gives the player the right to veto any trade involving themselves. 
• In the event of League Expansion, a NTC also acts as a no-movement clause, and must be waived by the player in order to be exposed during an Expansion Draft
• An active player must user the Player Management section of the VHL Portal that they wish to waive a NTC before any trades or movement involving that player will be processed.
• If a player goes inactive whilst on a contract with a NTC, the inactive's clause may be waived at the commissioners' discretion.

 

2.8 - Backup Goalie Cap Deduction

• Teams with two human goalies will be allowed to deduct up to 2.5M from the lower of the two goalies salaries when determining their total cap hit. 
• The deduction will always come from the lower of the two goalies salaries, regardless of the order in which they were acquired. 
• Example: A team owns a low TPE goalie with a salary of 1.5M. At the deadline, they trade for a veteran goaltender at 60% for 2.7M, while keeping the original goalie on their roster. The amount of the deduction would be 1.5M. 
   

2.9 - VHLM TPE Eligibility

• Players are eligible to play in the VHLM if they are at or under 400 TPE at the finance cutoff for the current season.
• Once a player has earned 401 TPE, they will no longer be eligible to play in the VHLM and will automatically be called up to the VHL at the start the next season.

 

2.10 - VHL TPE Floor

• Players are eligible to play in the VHL if they are above 300 TPE by the start of the current season. 

 

 

3 – HOLDOUTS / SALARY ARBITRATION

3.1 – Salary Arbitration
Salary Arbitration is a tool available to players to settle contract disputes involving contract length and salary. There are certain rules and restrictions to applying for salary arbitration.

 

For a player to apply for salary arbitration, you must do so during the final season of your current contract, or before the Entry Draft of that off-season. In order to apply for arbitration, please PM a commissioner.

 

• A team may take a player to arbitration only during the off-season in which they are drafted. If a team is unable to reach a contract agreement with a draftee, they can take that player to arbitration at any point from the time of the draft to the start of the regular season by submitting a PM to the commissioner.
• A salary arbitration ruling will be determined by the commissioners and will be based on TPE, activity, team composition, and other factors
• A team may walk away from a ruling, however a player may not. If a team accepts a ruling, it is final. If a team walks away from a ruling for a draftee however, they will become an unrestricted free agent not a restricted free agent.
• A salary arbitration deal may not be re-worked in any way during the first season of the contract. During the second season, a team is able to give a raise on the contract if they wish, and an extension can be negotiated

 

3.2 – Holdouts

• Any player who elects to hold out will not be eligible to play in either the VHL or VHLM until they have signed a VHL contract
• If the player is a draftee, the team that has drafted their rights has the ability to take them to salary arbitration
• The team holding the player’s rights has the ability to trade their rights to another team if they cannot reach a new contract
• If the player already has a contract signed they will have to sit out their contract if no deal can be reached
• A player with a signed contract that elects to holdout will not have their contract count against the salary cap
• A player may end their holdout at any time
• Holdouts will be monitored by the commissioners to ensure that both parties are working towards a productive conclusion. If one or both parties is not working towards a conclusion, additional steps may be taken at the discretion of the commissioners.

 

4 – FREE AGENCY 

4.1 – Unrestricted Free Agents
An unrestricted free agent will be determined as a player who has 0 years left on their contract, a player who declined a player option/the GM declining a team option or not officially picking up the option at the time of the start of free agency, and is not a restricted free agent under the definition described in Section 4.1.

 

• A contract must meet TPE – Salary minimums for every season in the contract.
• After the trade deadline has passed, teams may not sign a player from free agency until the conclusion of the playoffs.
• A player may accept a contract at any time after the contract is offered, unless there is a limit on free agency length in the off-season.
• All contract offers must be offered by the GM in the VHL Portal.
• Free Agent Contracts will have a cap hit equal to the salary earned during that given year.
• As described in Section 2.5, one-season contract extensions to inactive players are valid as long as the team offers the player a contract extension prior to free agency opening AND the player doesn't decline it before the start of free agency AND that player hasn't posted in 30 days leading up to the start of free agency.

 

Example
Helsinki signs Player A to a 4 year, $16 million dollar contract structured as follows
Season 1: $3 000 000
Season 2: $3 000 000
Season 3: $5 000 000
Season 4: $5 000 000

 

The cap hit in Season 1 and Season 2 would be $3 000 000, and the cap hit in Season 3 and Season 4 would be $5 000 000

 

4.2 - Inactive Players / Free Agents

An Inactive Player is any player who has not had a TPE Update in the past 30 days. An Inactive Free Agent refers to a UFA who has not updated their player in the 30 days prior to the opening of Free Agency. 

 

Free agents falling under this category will be distributed via a priority-claim based system.

 

4.3 - Inactive Free Agency

• Initial priority will be determined by the reverse order of the standings including playoff results (the list will be identical to the order of round 2 and above in the draft). 
• For claims opened on the first day of free agency, teams will have 24 hours from the time of the first claim to submit claims. At the end of 24 hours, the team with the highest priority claim gets the player. This means claims can be retracted at any time during the 24 hour period.
• Should a player submit a TPE Update within 24 hours of being claimed as an inactive free agent, the player will become 'active' and return to Free Agency.
• For all claims opened after the first day of free agency, 12 hours will be used instead of 24 for everything in the above paragraph. 
• Only ONE claim can be active at a time per team. Once a claim is made, the claiming team falls to the bottom of the list. 
• All players claimed will be automatically signed to one-year contracts at their TPE minimum salary. These players will not be eligible to receive bonuses. 
• For each teams first claim each season, they may claim any player they choose. For subsequent uses, it must be used on the highest TPE player available unless there is a justifiable reason not to. Example: A team needs a goalie, so choosing the highest TPE goalie over a higher TPE player would be acceptable
• To prevent circumvention of the above rule, players claimed in inactive free agency cannot be released. This means a team cannot get around the requirement that the highest TPE players be claimed first by continually signing and releasing players to effectively 'climb down' to lower TPE players. They can still be sent down to VHLM teams, if they are below 401 TPE, but not if the only reason for it is to circumvent the rules. 
   

4.4 - Tampering

The act of tampering, which is prohibited by the VHL, is defined as any member of a VHL team making direct, or indirect, contact in order to entice, or persuade, or attempt to entice, or persuade a member under contract with another VHL team to enter into negotiations with, or request a trade to, a team that they are not currently under contract with.

 

The punishment for tampering is decided upon by the VHL Commissioners, and may include sanctions against offering Free Agent contracts to the player(s) in question, sanctions against offering any Free Agent contracts in upcoming Free Agency period, and/or draft pick forfeiture.

 

In the event a Commissioner is on, or is the GM of, a team involved in a tampering allegation, that Commissioner will not be involved in determining the league's course of action. If deemed necessary, other members of the league's senior leadership may be brought in to review the situation. 

 

4.5 - GM Players in Free Agency

GMs may not sign their own player out of Free Agency unless league approval is provided prior to the start of Free Agency.

 

5 – TRAINING CAMP

5.1 - Basic Rules of Training Camp

• Training occurs during the pre-season, before the start of the Regular Season. 
• Any player who is signed to a VHL team may claim their team's Training Camp for that season.
• Training Camp does count as uncapped TPE.

 

 

6 – TRADES

6.1 - General Trading Rules

• If a GM makes a trade offer in the portal, they are accepting the trade on their team's behalf. Once a receiving GM accepts a trade offer in the portal, it is considered accepted by both parties, and posted to the forums.
• All trades will be reviewed by the Commissioner's Office or the VHL Financier before they are made official in the portal. If a trade is found to be excessively detrimental to a franchise, intentionally compromising to the integrity of the league, or in violation of any other trading rule found in this section, it can and will be vetoed by the commissioners. 
• After the trade deadline has passed, no trades are allowed to be made until the end of playoffs.
   

6.2 – Reversing a Trade

• Once a trade has been accepted by all parties, it cannot be reversed unless it's blocked by the commissioners as per Section 6.1.

 

6.3 – Trading Draft Picks

• Draft picks may only be able to be traded two years in advance during the regular season (before the trade deadline). During the off-season, draft picks of that off-season's draft and the two consequent drafts can be traded. (i.e. In S31, a team could not trade a S34 draft pick. However upon the completion of the season, S34 picks could be dealt along with S32 and S33 selections.)
• Trades found to bypass the above rule (i.e.  trading a S40 3rd during the regular season and then having it traded back for a S42 2nd in the off-season.) are not allowed. If such trades are made, the 2nd trade (the one in the off-season) will be blocked by the commissioners.

 

6.4 - Conditional Trades

Teams may add conditions to trades, so long as they do not circumvent any other rules regarding player movement, including, but not limited to: Traded Draft Pick restrictions or Violating the integrity of the league.

 

• Any, and all, conditions must be explicitly stated at the time a trade occurs, and agreed upon by both parties. Once a condition is agreed upon, make sure to tag a commissioner, who will add a condition tag to the thread, to be followed up on upon completion of the condition(s).
• All conditions must convert prior to the conclusion of the following off-season.
• Any draft pick that is part of a condition may be traded in a separate trade, so long as the receiving team understands that there are conditions attached to that pick
  • i.e. If Helsinki makes a trade with Davos, guaranteeing the higher of two S75 1st round picks held by Helsinki at the time, then makes a trade sending the "other" S75 1st round pick to Toronto. Toronto must acknowledge that they would receive the lower of the two picks, while Davos receives the higher.
• The League Office holds the right to veto any conditional trade it feels circumvents league rules.
   

6.5 – Trading Salaries
When trading contracts, teams essentially pay whatever is left on the player's salary. The amount of salary taken on by a team at different points of the season and off-season are split into 4 groups. The team trading for the player is required to pay the following:

• 100% - off-season - Game 85
• 85% - Game 86 - 200
• 70% - Game 201 - 345
• 60% - Game 346 - ~432 (75% of the season; number not always correct)
• 50% - Trade Deadline Day (supersedes end range for 60%)

 

The team trading away the player is required to pay the % of the salary not taken on by the team trading for the player.

 

If a team trades for a player who has already been traded during the season, they pay the percentage of the original salary.

 

Example:

Kronos Bailey earns $5 000 000. Helisnki trades him to Moscow at Game 160. Moscow pay 85% of his salary, Helsinki pays 15%. Then for some reason Vancouver decides they are willing to pay more, and trades for him too, from Moscow, at Game 210. They don't pay 70% of the 85% that Moscow was paying, but 70% of the original $5mil salary. Moscow pays whatever is left over. So, to summarize:

 

Helsinki pays 15%: $750 000
Moscow pays 15%: $750 000
Vancouver pays 70%: $3 500 000

 

6.6 - Trade Deadline

• After the trade deadline (approximately Game 432) teams are not allowed to make trades until after the last game of the playoffs.
• A time and date for the trade deadline will be announced by the commissioners each season. 

 

6.7 – Trades involving a GM's Player
Any trade involving a GM receiving their own player will be subject to review by the Commissioner's Office.

6.8 – Reacquiring a Player Previously Traded
Any trade to re-acquire a player that was traded within the past 2 seasons, and has not signed a new contract, will be subject to league approval. If a player has signed a new contract between being traded and being re-acquired, and is playing on the new contract, this rule will not apply, though the trade will be subject to regular rules and regulations.

 

Example:
Moscow trades Jet Jaguar to New York in Season 72 off-season, with 3 seasons remaining on his contract. Should Moscow re-acquire him during Season 72 or 73, the trade would be reviewed by league commissioners.

 

6.9 - Trading Free Agent Rights

Any player whose rights are traded during the off-season may not re-sign with the team(s) they were traded from, during that same off-season.

 

Example

Dakota Lamb is a Free Agent in the S77 Off-Season. Warsaw trades Lamb's rights to Moscow, following the S77 Playoffs. Moscow fails to agree to a contract with Lamb, and trades Lamb's rights to New York.

 

Upon the opening of Free Agency, Lamb would be ineligible to sign with either Warsaw or Moscow, but would be free to sign a contract with New York.

7 – CALL-UPS AND SEND-DOWNS

7.1 - VHL Send-downs

Only players that are in compliance with VHLM TPE Eligibility may be sent down during the off-season.

 

7.2 - VHL Call-ups

Any eligible player may be called up by their VHL team during the off-season. No call-ups may take place during the season. Refer to Section 2 for eligibility.

 

8 – RELEASING PLAYERS

8.1 – When Releasing A Player
After being released, a player will be treated in accordance with the Free Agency rules in Section 4. 

The team will take a cap hit of half the players annual salary for each year left on their contract. Also the player will get that % of cash to their credit as well.

 

Example:

Player A has 4 years left at 2 million each year

 

If Team A wants to cut Player A it would look like this for the cap hit.
Year 1: 1 million
Year 2: 1 million
Year 3: 1 million
Year 4: 1 million

 

8.2 – Buying Out A Player
If a player is bought-out by a team, they cannot be re-signed by the same team within the same season. If this happens in the off-season then that player cannot be re-signed until the next off-season.

 

9 - VHL DRAFT

9.1 – Draft Lottery
The first six picks of the first round of the VHL Entry Draft work on a lottery structure. For the purposes of Standings, non-playoff teams will rank 11-16, regardless of Regular Season points earned (i.e. If Toronto finishes in 6th place in the North American conference, but had more points than two European conference Playoff teams, they will be considered 11th Place in the standings, despite finishing with the 9th most points in the league, overall).

 

The odds for winning the lottery are based on the VHL's regular season standings, and begin as follows, though they may change following the Draft Lottery Tournament, as outlined in Section 9.2:

 

16th Place: 25.0%
15th Place: 20.0%
14th Place: 17.5%
13th Place: 15.0%
12th Place: 12.5%
11th Place: 10.0%
 

Only non-Playoff teams are eligible for the Draft Lottery. The maximum spots a team can move down is 1 spot. If the result of the lottery still allows teams to move down a maximum of one spot, there will be additional lotteries until teams may no longer move down.

 

Example:

If 16th Place wins 1st Overall, there will be a second lottery to determine 2nd Overall. Conversely, should 11th or 12th Place win 1st Overall, there will be no further lotteries.
 

9.3 - Draft Order
The first six picks of the draft will be determined by the draft lottery as outlined in Section 9.1. 

The following picks in the first-round are determined by both playoff and regular season standings:

 

7. Team eliminated in the Wild Card Round, who was ranked lower in the regular season standings.

8. Team eliminated in the Wild Card Round, who was ranked higher in the regular season standings.
9. Team eliminated in the Quarter-Finals, who was ranked lowest in the regular season standings, among teams eliminated in the Quarter Finals.
10. Team eliminated in the Quarter-Finals, who was 2nd lowest in the regular season standings, among teams eliminated in the Quarter Finals.

11. Team eliminated in the Quarter-Finals, who was 3rd lowest in the regular season standings, among teams eliminated in the Quarter Finals.

12. Team eliminated in the Quarter-Finals, who was highest in the regular season standings, among teams eliminated in the Quarter Finals.

13. Team eliminated in the Semi-Finals, who was lower in the regular season standings.
14. Team eliminated in the Semi-Finals, who was higher in the regular season standings.

15. Continental Cup Finalist.

16. Continental Cup Champion.

 

In subsequent rounds, the first six selections will be based on reverse regular season standings, with 16th Place getting the first pick in each round. The rest of the picks of each round come in the same format as above.

10 – EARNING TPE

“TPE” stands for a “Total Points Earned.” TPE can be earned in many different ways as outlined below. In the VHL we have a weekly earning cap of 12 capped TPE/week. All work submitted with the intention of claiming TPE MUST be your own. Submitting the work of others will be subject to a TPE earning suspension at the discretion of the league Commissioners.

 

For more a more user friendly post on how to earn TPE, see here.

 

10.1 – Weekly Main Point Tasks
Members are allowed to submit 1 point task per week worth up to 6 capped TPE. Point Tasks can be any ONE of the following:

• Media Spot is a 500+ word VHL-related article.
• Graphic / Video is a VHL-related graphic/video.
• Podcast  is a 15+ minute VHL-related podcast.
• Welfare / Pension is a click of a button in the VHL Portal if you don't have the time to submit one of the above three tasks, but only offers 4 (for Welfare) or 5 (for Pension which is earned by having 2 700+ TPE players in the past) capped TPE.
• Affiliate Point Tasks from the SBA are also allowed to be claimed as an Affiliate Point Task.

 

A point task week is from 12:00 AM PST Monday - 11:59 PM PST Sunday. Should you need an extension, please personal message a commissioner BEFORE the week is over. Conversely, Point Tasks may not be posted ahead of time, unless they qualify as a multi-week claim, without Commissioner approval. Members without a player may not post a Point Task.

Point tasks count against the weekly earning cap of 12 TPE/week.

 

10.2 – Weekly Supplemental Point Tasks
There are some other ways members can earn weekly TPE that are referred to as Supplemental Point Tasks. These Point Tasks are capped at 6 TPE per week and count toward the weekly earning cap of 12 TPE/week. These tasks may only be completed during the week they are claimed.

 

VHL.com Articles or VHL Radio Podcasts

These are the second method of earning capped TPE each week and can be found here. Members can submit up to two (2) forms of VHL.com/VHL Radio submissions in any given week.

 

• A VHL.com Article is a short, 150-word piece of writing that will immediately earn you 2 capped TPE.
• A VHL.com Graphic is a simple VHL-related graphic (for example, a player card).
• A VHL.com Radio Podcast is simply a short podcast - it only needs to a few minutes and will earn you 3 capped TPE. 
   

Like Point Tasks, the topic of any of these can be pretty much anything, as long as it VHL-related in some way.

 

Affiliate VHL.com Replacement

The VHL affiliate program includes leagues, wherein a submission in said league may count as a replacement for a VHL.com submission, valued at 2 capped TPE. Affiliate VHL.com Replacement submissions do count against the limit of two (2) VHL.com submissions per week.

 

List of eligible leagues:

SBA - Weekly Quote

SSL - Article/Graphic/Podcast

PBE - Weekly PT

 

Press Conferences 

Up to 2 capped TPE per week can be earned through Press Conferences, where you can answer your team's press conference questions, ask questions in other players press conferences or answer questions asked by others in your own press conference. Press Conference rules can be found here.

 

Trivia

Up to 2 capped TPE per week can be earned through participating in VHL Trivia, where you answer VHL related questions stored in the VHL Portal. Trivia can be found here.

 

Reviewing

Up to 2 capped TPE per week (1 per review) can be earned by giving constructive criticism on another user's Main Point Task. You can find out more about Reviewing here.

 

Game Recaps

Up to 2 capped TPE per week (1 per game recap) can be earned by providing a summary of a game simmed in any of the VHL's leagues or official tournaments. You can find more about Game Recaps here.

 

10.3 - League Jobs

It takes a lot of people to keep everything in the VHL running and, as such, we frequently post in the Job Interviews section to hire new members. Jobs offer capped TPE each week, with the amount depending on the job. Certain jobs will pay more, for example Simmers earn 8 capped TPE per week, while others will pay less

 

In relation to theme and other doubles (or triples, etc) weeks, job pay of 6+ counts as a PT meaning if the earner wishes to use it instead of a PT to claim the bonus that is allowed. However in replacing a PT it replaces any option of a PT. This means, for example, that the user cannot claim theme week off of pay and also welfare. That would be two distinctly different “PT’s” which is not allowed.

 

This is in contrast to normal weeks where Job Pay is just looked at as capped TPE, regardless of how much is earned. It is not a “PT replacement” automatically and can be used however a user chooses. This could be replacing their PT, their supplemental tasks, etc. This includes being able to claim welfare alongside job pay with the usual limitations that possesses.

 

10.4 – Career Point Tasks

There are some one-time point tasks that members are allowed to submit ONCE during their career at any time. These include Prospect Scouting Report, Rookie Experience, Career Reflection and Biography. While the first three of these have certain time limits and are 400 words for 5 TPE, Biography can be completed at any time and rewards 8 TPE for 800 words.

 

These do not count against the weekly earning cap of 12 TPE/week.

 

10.5 – VHL Fantasy Section
The VHL Fantasy Section offers members another chance to grab some TPE. There is the VHL Fantasy Zone, which asks you to predict winners and statistical leaders for the week, with a TPE reward based on how many you get correct. There is also the VHFL, which is signed up for during the off-season and sees you participate against 5 other members in a draft of VHL players, with the goal to pick the team you think will generate the most fantasy points in the upcoming season.

 

This does not count against the weekly earning cap of 12 TPE/week.

 

10.6 – Player Store
Players can spend money at the Player Store at any time during their careers. Their bank balance is determined by the cumulative value of their contracts throughout their career, minus any purchases. Additional cash is sometimes given out by the league for special occasions. The entirety of each seasons contract is added to players balances at the beginning of that season. 

 

No money is carried over when re-creating and, further, a player's bank balance is inaccessible once he is retired meaning no additional purchases can be made.

 

For rules regarding the carrying-over of previously purchased items (i.e. prediction multiplier, point task upgrade, etc), see the link in Section 12.3.

 

11 – VHLM

For the full set of VHLM Rules, please visit this page.

 

12 – CREATING A NEW PLAYER/POSITION CHANGES

12.1-1 – Creating a Player For the First Time
Members who have created a player for the first time will receive 30 free TPE to apply to their player.

 

12.1-2 - Adjusted Starting TPE

As of the S73 Draft Class, any member who creates a player following the opening week of Creation for their draft class (Trade Deadline 2 seasons prior to their Draft Season, i.e. the S71 Trade Deadline is the opening week of Creation for the S73 Draft), will receive 6 TPE for every week that has passed since the previous deadline upon creation. This applies to both new members and re-creates.

 

Example:

The Season 71 Trade Deadline was Monday April 20th, 2020. Anyone who creates a S73 prospect as of Monday April 27th, would be eligible for the following Adjusted Starting TPE:

 

Player Creation Dates // Late Joiner Adjustment

Apr 27 - May 03 // +6 TPE

May 04 - May 10 // +12 TPE

May 11 - May 17 // +18 TPE

May 18 - May 24 // +24 TPE

May 25 - May 31 // +30 TPE

June 01 - June 07 // +36 TPE

June 08 - June 14 // +42 TPE

 

12.2 - Career Length

Player Careers hold 9 seasons of VHL eligibility, starting with your Draft Season (i.e. S80 Prospects will have their career run from Season 80 through Season 88, inclusive. VHLM seasons prior to your Draft Season do not count towards your aggregate seasons. Playing in the VHLM after your Draft Season does count towards your nine seasons of VHL eligibility.

 

12.3 - Position Changes

Defense to Forward or Vise-Versa

Any player can switch from Defense to Forward once per career. Active players must buy a position change in the Player Store. Inactives can have their positions changed by their GMs. This change can only be made during the off-season period and must be done prior to that season's index being created.

 

Goalie to Skater or Vise-Versa

• A first-gen player will have 1 month from the date of their initial creation to switch to, or from, being a goalie at no penalty.
• Re-creates will not be allowed to switch to, or from, being a goalie. However, if a player started off with carryover AND they decide they want to switch prior to the start of the VHL Playoffs in the year prior to their draft year (i.e. S49 Playoffs for an S50 draftee) we will allow them to retire and re-create once again while keeping their original carryover.
• A re-create with no carryover will have to retire and recreate as normal should they want to switch to or from goalie. 

 

Example:

Player 1, an S50 player, started off with 50 TPE in carryover from his previous player. Just before the start of S49 Playoffs, Player 1 decides he would like to switch to goalie. He will not be allowed to switch, but Player 1 can retire, recreate as Player 2, and start again with the 50 TPE in carryover from the previous player. 

 

This will only be allowed once with the same amount of carryover. (i.e. if the example player above decided he wanted to switch again, he would start at the base 30 TPE). 

 

No TPE will carryover from the player being switched from. This includes point tasks, claimed or unclaimed. If you make the switch, you are starting over.

 

12.4 - First Generation Player

A first generation (first-gen) player is the first player a member creates. This player will, obviously, start with 0 Carryover TPE, but will be eligible for all First Generation bonuses such as the reward for reaching 100 TPE, or the first generation purchases in the player store.

 

Alternatively, a member who returns after having no players in the league (either VHL or VHLM) for three (3) seasons, may forego carryover to be re-classified as a first generation player and qualify for the first generation bonuses.

 

Should a player wish to forego carryover and re-classify as a first-gen, they must contact an Updater upon creation. Special circumstances, that do not align with the above criteria, will also be considered, to allow re-classification as a first-gen.

 

13 – RETIREMENT, RE-CREATING & DEPRECIATION

13.1 - Retiring Your Player

• All players are automatically retired after completing 9 seasons following their their VHL Draft.
  • i.e. A player whose draft season is S80 will be automatically retired following the S88 season
• If you wish to retire your player manually, you may do so through the Player Management section of the Portal, by selecting Retire Player.
• Any retirement that is manually processed will be considered final by the Commissioner(s).
• Any retirement from the start of the Pre-Season, as stated on the season schedule, through the end of the Continental Cup Finals, will be processed in the following off-season
• Any retirement during the off-season will be processed immediately

 

13.2 - Unretiring a Player

If you wish to unretire a player after manually retiring, you have seven (7) days from the time of retirement to do so, but will be penalized in escalating consequences for each day that passes, as follows:

 

• Within 24H of retirement: 1-Week Update Ban
• Within 48H of retirement: 2-Week Update Ban
• Within 3 days of retirement: 10% TPE and Attribute Reduction
• Within 4 days of retirement: 15% TPE and Attribute Reduction
• Within 5 days of retirement: 20% TPE and Attribute Reduction
• Within 6 days of retirement: 25% TPE and Attribute Reduction
• Within 7 days of retirement: 30% TPE and Attribute Reduction

 

13.3 - Re-Creating Rules

• Once you retire, you cannot make player store purchases with your retired player's balance. 
• If your previous player wins any awards after he is retired, you may claim the TPE for those awards on your new player.
• If you retire during the season, you may claim that seasons prediction points on your new player. However, prediction point multipliers bought in the player store are not allowed to be claimed on a new player. If you purchased one and retired, you will receive only your base prediction points.
• You cannot claim unclaimed point tasks or any other unclaimed contest/giveaway TPE on a new player without direct permission from a Commissioner. Multi-week PT’s with claims remaining can be finished off on a new player so long as the user has not intentionally stopped claiming them in order to utilize the PT after recreation. IE if a user writes 2000 words, doesn’t claim it for 4 weeks, and then claims 4 weeks worth after recreation the updates will be denied. If said user writes 2000 words, claims 3 weeks, recreates, and claims the final week that is allowed. Intention will be judged by commissioner discretion.
• All players begin with 30 TPE, any adjusted starting TPE or carryover TPE is added to the starting 30.

 

13.4 - TPE Carry Over

• Any player retired with over 50 total TPE will earn carryover at a rate of 4% of the retiring players TPE, up to a maximum of 50 TPE.
• Carryover will be earned on top of the 30 starting TPE that all players receive. This means the maximum starting TPE is 80 (30 base + 50 carryover). 
   

13.5 - Depreciation for S80+ Players (S80 and newer)

All players from S80 onwards will be subject to depreciation in the off-season prior to their 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th seasons of play in the VHL. Seasons in the VHLM do not contribute for this calculation.

 

Your TPE level will not be depreciated, only your attributes will be. Experience, Poise and Leadership will not be subject to depreciation.

 

Depreciation for Skaters

• Start of Sixth VHL Season: 5% off each attribute regardless of value
• Start of Seventh VHL Season: 8% off each attribute regardless of value
• Start of Eighth VHL Season: 12% off each attribute regardless of value
• Start of Ninth VHL Season: 12% off each attribute regardless of value (While the Jagr purchase can still be made in a player’s ninth season, there is no Still Kickin’/Old But Not Forgotten equivalent for a player in their ninth season).

 

Depreciation for Goalies

• Start of Sixth VHL Season: 3% off each attribute regardless of value
• Start of Seventh VHL Season: 5% off each attribute regardless of value
• Start of Eighth VHL Season: 7% off each attribute regardless of value
• Start of Ninth VHL Season: 7% off each attribute regardless of value (No Depreciation items are available for goalies to purchase in their ninth season).

 

** All decimal places .5 and higher will be rounded up.
Example:

Player X has a depreciable attribute at 99 going into their 6th Season.

99 X 0.03 = 2.97
99 - 2.97 = 96.03 therefore their attribute would now read as 96 post-depreciation.

 

 

14 – GENERAL MANAGERS

14.1 – General Managers and their Players
As of Season 69, GM Players are no longer linked to their teams. Players created by GMs are treated the same as normal players, with a few exceptions:

• Manipulation of draft stock so that a GM's player falls to their pick outside the 1st round will result in penalties, to be determined by league commissioners.
• Per Section 4.5, GMs may not sign their own players in Free Agency, without league approval
• Per Section 6.7, any trade involving a GM trading for his/her own player is subject to league approval
   

14.2 - Keaton Louth Rule

All teams must start a secondary goalie at least 8 times during the season; meaning no goaltender may start more than 64 games, in one season, for a single team. Failure to comply with this maximum will result in punishment, at the discretion of League Commissioners. Punishment will range from draft pick/cap space fines, to being forced to play a backup goaltender for up to 8 playoff games to make up the extra regular season games played by their #1 goaltender.

 

Example:

Davos starts Ross 22/22 games, trades for Goalie X. Now, Goalie X is allowed to start 50/50

 

Seattle starts Funk 5/5 games, trades for Goalie Y. Goalie Y may only start 64/67 games, so a 3rd goalie would need to start the remaining 3 games

 

14.3 - Spirit of Competition

i. Best Available Roster - General Managers are expected to put forth their best available roster, every game of the season. Managers found to be violating the spirit of competition within the league, especially, but not limited to, any form of tanking, will face punishment, at the discretion of the League Commissioners. Punishment will range up to, and including, but not limited to: Draft Pick Forfeiture, Salary Cap Fines, GM Dismissal.

 

Example:

If a team in S73 is found to be playing CPU Players, or inferior Inactive Players, over better Human Created Players, they may face reduced Draft Lottery Odds, or possibly the loss of their 1st Round Pick entirely, in the S74 VHL Entry Draft. Depending on the severity of their transgression, the General Manager may also face dismissal.

 

ii. CPU Goaltenders - Teams may not start a CPU Goaltender for more than 8 games in a season, when a human created goaltender above 250 TPA is available. If the team does not have a human created goaltender on their roster, they must make a reasonable attempt to acquire one, whether that is through trade, free agency, or the VHL Entry Draft.

 

Example:

If Vancouver does not have a Human Created Goaltender on their roster to start the season, but there is a Free Agent Goaltender, Active, Inactive, or pending Retirement upon season's end, they must make an offer on said Free Agent.

 

iii. Human Goaltenders Below 250 TPA - Human Created Goaltenders who are below 250 TPA may not start more than 8 games in a season. Should they cross the 250 TPA threshold mid-season, this rule will only apply to games started before crossing 250 TPA.

 

15 – PERSONAL CONDUCT

 

Edited November 1 by Spartan

[Will 4,660]

Changelog - July 13/16

- Revised much of the formatting

- Revised general organization and wording on much of the rule book for clarity

- Added rule changes announced over the past few seasons, for example rules on goalie-player position changes

- Added all rules pertaining to Project Player 2

[Will 4,660]

- Updated Contract Structure, Salary Cap/Floor, and Salary Brackets to conform with changes announced here

- Updated the section on multiple players to apply only to GM's as described here

- Updated section on Earning TPE to reflect new weekly cap and activities announced here

- Fixed link to VHLM Rulebook

- General cleanup of outdated sections

[Tagger 2,722]

- Updated Salary Brackets and Maximum Salaries to conform with changes announced here

- Updated Draft Rules to reflect the change from ten teams to eight teams.

- Updated Point Tasks to include reference to VHL Trivia and correct old TPE payouts for VHL.com/Radio.

- Updated Trade Deadline to correct inconsistencies

- Added Replacing a GM

[Quik 4,113]

• Clarified Weekly Caps on TPE earning
• Added links to forums for Weekly Main Point Tasks
• Clarified start/end dates for TPE Week
• Updated VHL.com Submissions to show that up to 2 different type submissions are allowed per week

[Will 4,660]

Updated RFA/Waiver/Release rules as described here: https://vhlforum.com/topic/53506-small-changes-for-s63/

Updated Salary Cap figure

Updated carryover and recreation rules 

Added official tampering rules to Free Agency section

 

I'm sure there's more but these would be the obvious ones

 

[Quik 4,113]

Updated Draft Rules with the current lottery format, as well as draft order.

[Quik 4,113]

Change Log 23-Apr-20

 

• General Clean Up, updating rules/descriptions from pre-portal days, as well as newly implemented rules
• Removed: Two-Way Contracts
• Removed: anything pertaining to Signing Bonuses/Performance Bonuses
• Removed: section on No Move Clause, amended No Trade Clause section
• Added: 2.10 - VHLM Maximum TPE Threshold; was referenced in other sections but had no mention
• Cleaned Up Training Camp section
• Added: 4.4 - GM Players in Free Agency
• Amended: "Trading a GM" to "Trades involving a GM's Player"
• Amended: "Re-Acquiring a Previously Traded Player"; Teams may now re-acquire players within a 2-season window, subject to league approval. If player signs a new contract in that time, Re-Acquisition rules do not apply.
• Updated: Draft rules to reflect 12 team league
• Updated: Career Point Task section
• Added: 12.1-2 - Adjusted Starting TPE
• Added: 12.2 - Career Length
• Amended: Section 14 to encompass anything regarding GMs, reflect new rules regarding GMs and their players
• Removed: Section 15 - Replacing a GM; no longer applies
• Added: Section 15 - VHL Code of Conduct, incorporates both the league Code of Conduct, as well as Sexual Content Policy

[Quik 4,113]

Change Log (22-July-2020)

• 4.2 - Inactive Players / Free Agents: Updated definition of Inactive Free Agent;

• 4.3 - Inactive Free Agency: Added IFA rules, that were previously linked to a now defunct sub-forum;

• 6.1 - General Trading Rules: Cleaned up language for portal based trading;

• 6.5 – Trading Salaries: Updated schedule for salary retention, based on 16-team league;

• 9.1 – Draft Lottery: Updated Draft Lottery to reflect new odds in a 6-team Lottery;

• 9.2 - Draft Lottery Tournament: Added Draft Lottery Tournament;

• 9.3 - Draft Order: Updated Draft order to reflect 16-team league;

• 10.2 – Other Ways to Earn Capped TPE: Added rules regarding Affiliate VHL.com Submissions;

• 12.4 - First Generation Player: Added definition of first-gen

[Quik 4,113]

Change Log (25-November-2020)

• 13.0 - Retirement, Re-Creating & Depreciation - Updated to include rules on retirement/unretiring your player.

[Quik 4,113]

Change Log (13-May-2021)

 

• 6.9 - Trading Free Agent Rights added to reflect the spirit of the rule in re-acquiring traded players.
• Removed rules regarding GM Player Two.

[Beketov 9,041]

Change Log (31-August-2021)

 

• Amended section 13.3 to clarify remaining weeks of a multi-week claim in relation to re-creation.

[bigAL 2,176]

Change Log (2021.09.19)

 

- Edited section 4.3 regarding inactive UFA claims. Top priority teams no longer automatically get a player they claim. Players have 24 hours from a claim being submitted on them to make a TPE Update and become an active free agent.

[Beketov 9,041]

Change Log (24-October-2021)

 

• Amended section 10.2 to clarify claiming of job pay, specifically in relation to theme weeks and welfare.

[Josh 1,671]

Change Log (10-November-2021)

 

• Personal Conduct (15) has been moved to a separate post owned by mods.

[Josh 1,671]

Change Log (2021-01-26)

• Section 2 - Added 9th season under prime contract.
• Section 2.1 - Added Players in the VHLE to contracts that are excluded for salary cap purposes.
• Section 2.10 - Reworded to indicate players are called up to the VHLE at 201.
• Section 2.11 - Added
• Section 2.12 - Added
• Section 4.5 - Reworded to indicate that league approval must be given prior to FA starting.
• Section 5.1 - Reworded to add VHLE players are eligible.
• Section 7.1 - Removed
• Section 7.2 -> 7.1 - Restricted to off-season and changed send down target to VHLE.
• Section 7.3 -> 7.2 - Reworded to indicate players can only be called up if eligible for the VHL based on TPE.
• Section 7.3 - Added
• Section 14.1 - Removed the portion about claiming GM players in the draft.

[Josh 1,671]

Change Log (2022-08-14)

• Updated 13.5 and 13.6 for new depreciation rules.

[Spartan 4,443]

Change Log (2023-02-22)

Thank you to @MubbleFubbles for the work involved to get the rulebook up to date.

 

 

1.1 - Changed Salary Cap from $40M to $42M

2.1 - Added mention of VHLE into rule stating VHLM/VHLE rookie contract players do not count against salary cap.

2.1 - Added that Prime Contracts in VHLM/VHLE do not count against salary cap.

2.1 - Removed mention of General Manager Player-specific contracts.

2.2 - Removed note saying that VHLM Graduation Bonus affects TPE bracket (it does not).

2.3 - Removed section that mentioned VHLM Graduation Bonus counted towards salary bracket calculation

2.4 - Added mention of VHLE to the maximum of $3M bracket.

2.5 - Modified mention of contract threads to Portal-based systems.

2.7 - Amended section regarding waiving NTC from the old forum methods to the portal methods.

Old 2.8 - Notables section removed as Prime contracts in VHLM/VHLE and mid-season callups are no longer a thing.

2.10 - Added note that players that depreciate to 400 TPA or below are eligible to play in the VHLE.

2.11 - Changed VHL TPE Floor from 350 TPE to 300 TPE.

4.1 - Removed old Inactive Free Agency descriptions

4.1 - Modified old forum based procedures to current Portal methods.

4.3 - Changed send-down of inactive FA's restriction from "Below 251 TPE VHLM" to "Below 401 TPE VHLE"

5.1 - Clarified that players who sign for a VHLE team before their VHL Draft cannot claim Training Camp.

Old 5.2 - Trades during Training Camp removed as this was a forum-based issue, not a portal one.

6.1 - Added in mention of VHL Financier's role in processing trades.

7.1 - Removed note saying Prime send-downs were not allowed. 

10 - Added link to Ricer's TPE tutorial (Previously didn't link anywhere)

10.1 - Modified section to separate Affiliate Point Task and Welfare/Pension. Also added short descriptions to point tasks/welfare.

10.2 - Renamed to "Supplemental Point Tasks". 

10.2 - Edited descriptions that were based around old format of all VHL.coms being in same area and added direct links to the separate VHL.coms. 

10.2 - Mentioned Team Press Conferences as those typically get more submissions than Player Press Conferences.

10.2 - Modified Trivia description to account for change to Portal.

10.2 - Added Reviewing and Game Recaps descriptions.

10.3 - Made Jobs it's own sub-category (previously in 10.2)

10.4 - Removed Pre-S69 Career Point Tasks. Updated Career Point Tasks to current Career Point Tasks.

10.5 - Updated Fantasy Zone description, added mention of VHFL.

12 - New Section, added VHLE Rulebook link

13.2 - Amended Career Length section to account for nine season careers.

14.1 - Updated sections referring to Career Length.

14.5 - Fixed numbers to reflect recent Depreciation changes. Also changed Discipline to Poise with the Hybrid Attribute change.

Old 14.6 - Deleted Pre-S79 Depreciation section

Edited February 22, 2023 by Spartan

[Spartan 4,443]

Change Log (2023-03-19)

 

1.1 - Updated current salary cap ceiling
2.1 - Added note to include all first-year VHL players under Rookie brackets
2.2 - Updated salary brackets
2.8 - Updated backup goalie deduction from $2M to $2.5M

[Spartan 4,443]

Change Log (2023-08-06)

 

2.2 - Edited 400-500 Rookie bracket amount from 1.75M to 1.5M

[Spartan 4,443]

Change Log (2023-10-19)

 

2.2 - Clarified language regarding considered TPE when determining salary brackets to remain consistent with other rulebook sections (TPA -> TPA + Banked TPE)

2.3 - Clarified VHLM Graduation Bonus not counting towards TPE cutoff, as it pays out at the first sim of the following season

Edited October 19, 2023 by Spartan

[Spartan 4,443]

Change Log (2023-12-5):

 

10.1 - Removed EFL as an eligible affiliate league for affiliate PTs.

10.2 - Added a list of official affiliate VHL.com replacing leagues.

[Spartan 4,443]

Change Log (2023-12-18):

 

9.2 - Removed Draft Lottery Tournament section

9.2 - Updated Draft Lottery odds to reflect changes made in S88 Announcement

[Spartan 4,443]

Changelog (11-1-2024):

 

2.1 - Contract Parameters - Removed references to the VHLE
2.4 - Contract Maximums - Removed references to the VHLE
2.9 - VHLM TPE Eligibility - Updated TPE eligibility amount to 400
2.10 - VHLE TPE Eligibility - Removed section and updated 2.11 to 2.10
4.3 - Inactive Free Agency - Updated references to the VHLE to the VHLM
5.1 - Training Camp - Removed references to the VHLE
7.1 - Send-downs - Updated references to the VHLE
7.3 - VHLE Call-Ups - Removed section
10.4 - Career point tasks - Removed Hello Europe reference
Old Section 12 - VHLE - Removed section and updated consequent section numbers
12.2 - Career Length - Removed references to the VHLE
12.4 - First Generation Player - Updated VHL Commissioner notification to forego carryover for reclassification purposes to Updaters
13.5 - Depreciation - Removed references to the VHLE

Edited November 1 by Spartan