RHL Constitution

REWIND HOCKEY LEAGUE CONSTITUTION

Established April 2016

Modified March 2025

SECTION I - LEAGUE PURPOSE AND REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW

1. The purpose of the Rewind Hockey League (RHL) is to replay NHL hockey seasons starting with the 1974-75 season. The RHL will attempt to maintain a certain amount of the integrity of the actual franchise rosters through those years, while at the same time allow owners the flexibility to manipulate their team through trades and yearly free agent drafts. The RHL is designed for owners who may be fans of a single club and want to experience both the high and low points that their favorite team went through in the past.

2. All owners are required to use the 2015 (or later) version of the Strat-O-Matic Hockey Computer game. Upgrades may be requested by the commissioner if Strat-O-Matic implements a mandatory rule change to the game or the season currently played by the RHL needs an upgraded version in order for it to be operational. Owners are required to have each season's authorization code.

3. The RHL is looking for owners who intend to make a long-term commitment to this league and to their team. Owners will be expected to play 8 home games per month.

4. When a team becomes vacant in the RHL, the commissioner will conduct a 72-hour window where a current RHL owner may request to relinquish his team and take ownership of the vacated team. If more than one owner submits a request during the window, the vacated team will go to the owner who has been a member of the RHL the longest. An owner may exercise this option only once during his RHL tenure. If this is executed during the season, the owner will continue to manage his current team for the rest of the season, and then switch teams at the end of the season. (The vacated team would go under league management for the remainder of the season.) This rule does not apply to expansion teams.

SECTION II - THE COMMISSIONER

1. The commissioner is responsible for seeing that the RHL is run in a fair and equitable manner at all times.

2. The commissioner's duties shall include, but not be limited to:

a. Approving new owners

b. Creating the league schedule

c. Organizing and conducting the annual free agent draft

d. Maintaining league Web site, group site, etc.

e. Creating and distributing league files

f.  Maintaining league records

g. Ruling on disputes between owners

h. Determining and assigning penalties for rules violations

i.  Ruling on issues not covered in this constitution

3. The commissioner may appoint any interested owner to serve as an assistant commissioner to help fulfill the duties listed above.

4. Should the commissioner resign or be unable to perform his duties, the other league owners will be responsible for electing a successor by majority vote. Any league owner, including the commissioner, may submit nominations for a successor.

5. The commissioner is permitted to operate a team in the RHL.

SECTION III - LEAGUE SETUP

1. The RHL will largely follow the structure of the NHL in any given season, with the exception that there will be fewer teams.

2. The RHL began play with the 1974-75 season. Twelve teams were assigned to owners by lottery. For each assigned team, the owner received the players designated as regular (R) or extra (X) players (approx. 20-23 players, depending on the team). Owners had right of first refusal for players that were designated as computer-only (C). Those players that were not kept were released and joined players from the six unassigned teams as free agents.

3. In seasons when the NHL expanded by at least two teams, the RHL will add franchises as follows:
   1979-80: The four WHA franchises (Edmonton, Quebec, Hartford, Winnipeg)
   1992-93: Ottawa and Tampa Bay
   1993-94: Anaheim and Florida
   1999-00: Columbus and Minnesota Wild
   Owners who are awarded these teams will inherit the players that were on those teams in the seasons listed above.

4. Divisional/conference alignments in the RHL will attempt to reflect actual divisional/conference alignments in the NHL for the season currently being played.

SECTION IV - FREE AGENT DRAFTS

1. Prior to the draft, teams will be given the opportunity to release players that they do not wish to retain for the upcoming season. (For seasons when expansion occurs, the expansion team owners will start their teams with the 18 regular carded (R) players. Then, they will protect at least six, but no more than 12 extra and/or computer-only players (X or C) before the draft. Those players not protected will become free agents and therefore eligible to be drafted by any RHL team.)

2. Drafting will be done via e-mail. For each selection, the owner will have a specific period of time (as determined by the commissioner) to make the pick. Owners may send lists ahead of time to the Commissioner or elect to have the SOM Draft-O-Matic feature draft their free agents if they wish. Teams will draft until they have accumulated 30 players on their roster. The draft will consist of seven rounds. For the first six rounds, teams will draft one player per round. In round 7, each team will select as many players as necessary during its turn to get to the 30-man quota. If a team reaches 30 players before the end of the draft, it will forfeit its remaining picks.

3. RHL teams will draft free agents in order based on their regular season records from the previous RHL season. Also, non-playoff teams will always draft before playoff teams and the defending Yelnats Cup champion will select last. In expansion years, the expansion teams will be placed between the non-playoff teams and the playoff teams in the draft order. If necessary, a coin flip or random draw will determine which expansion team drafts first.

SECTION V - REGULAR SEASON

1. The RHL regular season will be divided into 5 months. For the 1983-84 season, each team will play 80 games, resulting in 16 games (8 home, 8 away) per month. Each month of play will begin on or around the first day of the month. In future seasons, the number of regular season games may change at the discretion of the commissioner, but will be no less than 80 games, even in lockout-shortened seasons.

2.  The commissioner will send updated league files at the beginning of each month. Owners are responsible for downloading and importing the files before playing any home games for the month.

3.  Owners are required to submit a computer manager to the commissioner at the beginning of the season. Assigning a passcode to a computer manager is prohibited. Owners may submit updated computer managers to the commissioner anytime during the season. At the end of each month, owners will receive a preliminary league file and will have a 5-day window to submit updated computer managers before the official league file for the new month is distributed. If an owner wants a computer manager to be effective immediately instead of waiting for the following month, that owner is responsible for contacting his scheduled road opponents for the current month and sending the updated computer manager to them in addition to sending it to the commissioner.

4.  Owners are responsible for saving the export file and box score for each home game they play. Game files for the month are due to the commissioner by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the last day of the month. Owners who do not meet these deadlines may be subject to penalties described in Section IX of this constitution.

5. Rosters are limited to a maximum of 32 players. Free agents may be acquired during the season using the following process:

   1. There will be windows available for owners to claim free agents (between draft and season opener, and each month (1 through 4) during the season. Dates for these windows will be announced by the Commissioner.

   2. During a claim window, participating owners can submit free agent claims privately to the Commissioner before the end of the window.

   3. Once the window closes, the Commissioner will award the free agents based on record at the end of the month prior to the window (previous season for the post draft and Month 1 windows). The team with the lowest point total at the end of the month prior to the window will receive its first claim. Next, the team with the second lowest point total will receive its first remaining claim. Then, the team with the third lowest point total will receive its claim, etc. This process will continue until all participating teams’ claims are resolved. This process can be repeated a maximum of one more time in the event a team submits more than one free agent claim.

   4. In the event of a tie in the standings, the tiebreaker procedure listed in Section VI, Rule 1 will be used, with the lower number in each criterion taking priority.

   5. The roster limit of 32 must not be exceeded at any time. If acquiring a free agent puts a team over the roster limit, it must release a player in order to stay at or below the roster limit. (See Section VII – Team Roster Management for more information regarding which players are eligible to be released.)

6. Team owners may trade players and/or draft picks for the upcoming two drafts during the season until the end of Month 4. All trades are subject to approval by the Commissioner (or a neutral owner if the Commissioner's team is involved). If approved, the trade will be effective the following month. If a trade is made where a team acquires more players than it gives up and goes over the 32-man roster limit, it must release players in order to stay at or below the roster limit. (See Section VII – Team Roster Management for more information regarding which players are eligible to be traded.)

7. Players are limited to the number of games they actually played in the NHL during that season. There shall be no restriction on the number of consecutive games a goalie can start in. For all lockout-shortened seasons, players’ limits will be pro-rated to reflect a full season.

SECTION VI - YELNATS CUP PLAYOFFS

1. At the conclusion of the regular season, 12 teams will qualify for the Yelnats Cup Playoffs. The top three teams in each division will qualify. Any ties will be broken using the following criteria:

   1. Most wins

   2. Head-to-head record

   3. Head-to-head goal differential

   4. Division record

   5. Division goal differential

   6. Overall goal differential

   7. Overall goals scored

   8. One-game playoff, with home team to be determined by coin flip

2. Playoff matchups will be organized in divisional brackets (Patrick, Adams, Norris, Smythe) like they were in real life from 1982 to 1993.

3. For the first round, in each division, the second-place team will play the third-place team in a best-of-5 series.

4. For the second round, in each division, the first-place team will play that division’s first round winner in a best-of-7 series.

5. For the third round, the remaining Patrick Division team will play the remaining Adams Division team in the Wales Conference Final, and the remaining Norris Division team will play the remaining Smythe Division team in the Campbell Conference Final. Both series will be best-of-7.

6. For the Yelnats Cup Final, the two remaining teams will play a best-of-7 series.

7. For each series, home ice advantage will go to the team with the better regular season record. If the teams have the same record, the tiebreaker criteria listed in Section VI, Rule 1 will be used to determine home ice advantage.

8.  At the beginning of each playoff round, the commissioner will send updated league files. Participating owners will have two weeks to complete a playoff series. For each home playoff game, owners must submit export files and box scores before the deadline. If two owners are unable to complete their series before the deadline, they can request an extension to the commissioner which should include a schedule for the games to be played agreed upon by both owners. If the owners cannot agree on a reasonable timetable, the commissioner has the authority to either assign a neutral manager to play the remaining games or autoplay the remaining games to ensure that they are played in a timely manner.

9.  Teams cannot claim free agents during the playoffs.

10.   Skaters with at least 20 games played (10 in lockout-shortened seasons) and goalies with a fatigue rating of 5 or more are eligible for all playoff games. Skaters and goalies who do not meet these criteria are limited to the number of regular season games played on their card divided by 3 (round up all fractions). Players designated as computer-only are not eligible for use in the playoffs.

SECTION VII – TEAM ROSTER MANAGEMENT

1. All RHL players will have their careers divided into a series of contracts. A player's contract expires between seasons in which he moved from one team to another in the NHL. To clarify, any player whose following season Strat card is with a different team than his current season card will be a free agent after the current season, and therefore eligible to be drafted prior to the following season. (Example - Wayne Gretzky went from the Oilers to the Kings after 1987-88, to the Blues after 1994-95, to the Rangers after 1995-96, and retired after 1998-99. For our purposes, Gretzky's contracts will be said to expire after the 1987-88, 1994-95, 1995-96, and 1998-99 seasons. That means he is eligible to be drafted in the 1988-89, 1995-96, and 1996-97 drafts unless a territorial claim is placed on him or he remains Restricted due to a trade. (See below for more information.)

2. Every player will be designated as either Restricted or Unrestricted. Team rosters on the RHL website will display Restricted or Unrestricted status for each player and will be updated before the start of every season, and during the season as trades & free agent acquisitions are made. It is the responsibility of owners to be aware of their players' contract status.

3. Restricted Players - All regular and extra players (along with computer-only players kept by the owner) on a team's initial SOM roster in 1974-75 (for expansion teams, it is the roster for the year in which the team joined the NHL) are considered to be Restricted Players. All future rookies, whom owners will automatically receive at the beginning of each season, are also Restricted Players. Restricted Players may not be released, although they may be traded once. Any team that receives a Restricted Player in a trade must retain that player for the duration of his contract; he cannot be released or re-traded. Exceptions: A rookie with the X (extra player) designation may be released prior to the draft, and an uncarded (computer-only) Restricted player may be released prior to (or during) any season in which he is uncarded (computer-only) as long as that player was not previously claimed as described in Section VII, Rule 6. (Any carded goaltender that has less than 10 games played will be considered an uncarded (computer-only) player for RHL purposes.) A player ceases being Restricted upon entering the free agent pool for the first time and will then be Unrestricted for the remainder of his career, with the exception of players who eventually wind up on the initial SOM roster of an expansion team, who then become Restricted at that time. (Example – Kelly Kisio will be restricted from 1991-92 until 1992-93 for San Jose. After the 1992-93 season, Kisio will be unrestricted again.)

4.  Unrestricted Players - The following players are considered to be unrestricted:

a. Players who are not on RHL teams' rosters prior to the 1974-75 free agent draft

b.  Rookies from the unowned teams

c.  Unrestricted or uncarded (computer-only) players released by their former teams

5.  Unrestricted Players may be released or traded at any time.

6.  Teams will submit lists of released players after each season. After these lists are received, but prior to the yearly draft, each team is permitted one territorial claim from the free agent pool. The only players that are eligible to be claimed by a particular team are those free agents who actually are listed for the upcoming season with that team. Players claimed in this manner must be retained for the entire length of their contract even if they become uncarded (computer-only) at some point during that contract. A team claiming a player forfeits their first-round pick in the upcoming draft. If a team lacks its #1 pick due to a trade or having incurred a penalty, that team cannot claim any player that season. (Example - after 1987-88 Wayne Gretzky went to the Kings in the NHL. In the RHL, the Kings -- and only the Kings -- may choose to claim Gretzky prior to the 1988 draft.) Alternatively, if a team owns a player who moves to one of the unowned teams, the team may retain that player by claiming him in the manner stated above. (NOTE: A team cannot both retain a free agent and claim a player from the free agent pool in the same season. Also, a team must use its own first-round pick in order to claim or retain a player. They cannot use a pick acquired from another team.)

7. If a player is acquired by the team that he moved to next in the NHL, that player does not become a free agent at the end of his contract, for the reason that he is already on the team he "should" be on. (Example – John Davidson was selected by NY Rangers in the 1974-75 Draft. In 1975-76, Davidson -- in real life -- moved from St. Louis to the NY Rangers. Since the Rangers already own Davidson (having picked him in 1974-75), and since the Rangers are the team where he went in 1975-76, Davidson does NOT become a free agent after 1974-75 (unless voluntarily released or traded by the Rangers, like any other Unrestricted player), nor do the Rangers have to forfeit a pick to claim the player whom they already own. If a Restricted player is acquired via a trade by the team he really went to NEXT, that player's contract does not expire and he remains Restricted and cannot be released (unless he is uncarded/computer-only) or re-traded.

SECTION VIII - GAME SETTINGS AND GAME PLAY

1.  The following General League Options will be used in the RHL:

a.  Show Cards In Notebook

b.  Show Cards During Game

c.  Show Board Game Info

d.  Show Roster Panels

e.  Auto Close Shot Window

f.   Base Delay for Dice = 3

g.  Base Delay for Play by Play = 1

h.  Cards per Forward Line Change = 2

i.   Cards per Defensive Pair Change = 3

2.  The following Rules League Options will be used in the RHL during the 1983-84 season:

a. Overtime = 5-min Overtime (5 on 5) (Regular Season), Sudden Death (Playoffs)

b.  Overtime Point = No Point For Overtime Loss

c.  Coincidental Minors = No Subs

d.  Shorthanded Actions = Action, Skate, Ice, and Clear

e.  End Minor Penalty on PPG

f.   Faceoff After Penalty = Pre-2009

3.  The following Lineups League Options will be used in the RHL during the 1983-84 season:

a. Number of skaters = 18

b.  Player and Goalie Rest = No Rest

c.  Injuries = Limit Injuries to Current Game

4.  The following Autoplay League Options will be used in the RHL:

a. Auto Save Box Score

b.  Auto Save Export File

5.  The following MAX Rules League Options will be used in the RHL:

a. Alternate Passing System

b.  Alternate Penetration System

c.  Support Low Penalty Minutes

d.  Enforcer Rule

6.  Teams will dress 18 skaters and 2 goalies for each game during the 1983-84 season. Teams are required to use 4 forward lines and 3 defense pairs during the first two periods. Teams may use 3 forward lines and 2 defense pairs during the third period and overtime. (A team may choose to use 4 forward lines or 3 defense pairs.) During a period, each line/pair must see the ice an equal number of times before a line/pair is repeated. 

7.  Forwards with the Point ** designation can play LD or RD on either the first or second power play unit. Forwards with the Point * designation can play LD or RD on only the second power play unit.

8.  To simplify gameplay, home team owners are required to use the following manager settings when playing their games manually:

e.  Visitor = Computer

f.   Home = Computer Lines, Human Decisions

9.  If a game is being played via Netplay, both owners will use the Computer Lines, Human Decisions manager setting. The home team will be allowed to view the visiting team's computer manager report before the game in order to match lines.

SECTION IX - PENALTIES

1.  A player is considered to be overused once he has exceeded his actual number of games played. Any team with one or more overused players is subject to penalty as outlined below. It is the responsibility of all owners to draft (or acquire free agents, when available) to fill immediate needs as well as future ones. To determine the severity of the penalty, the total number of games overused by the offending player(s) will be counted and penalties assigned as follows:

1. • 1-5 games – loss of 4th round pick

   • 6-10 games – loss of 3rd round pick

   • 11-15 games – loss of 2nd round pick

   • 16-20 games – loss of 1st round pick

   • 21+ games – commissioner’s discretion

1. • Note: A team that loses one or more picks will still draft up to a roster size of 30 players. However, the lost pick(s) will be transferred to the end of the team’s draft.

2. For teams who qualify for the Yelnats Cup playoffs, any player who is overused will be suspended one playoff game for each regular season game that he is overused. These suspensions will take effect at the beginning of the playoffs.

3. The commissioner shall have discretion to penalize members for late submission of game files as follows:

   • 15 days late – warning via e-mail to group

   • 30 days late – loss of trade and free agent acquisition privileges until late files are submitted

   • 45 days late – dismissal from league

   • Note: If circumstances arise that prevent an owner from submitting game files before the deadline, he may request either a one-time extension (usually 15-30 days in length) or that his outstanding home games be autoplayed. If he chooses the autoplay option, he can submit an alternative computer manager to use for those games in order to prevent any potential overusage issues. If no alternative computer manager is submitted, the most recent computer manager on file for that team will be used for the outstanding games.

SECTION X - RULES CHANGES

1. Divisional alignments, playoff formats, season length, required number of games per month, and game settings may be adjusted between seasons to reflect actual alignments, formats, and rules enforced by the NHL in a particular season.

2.  Any changes to this constitution not related to situations covered in Section X, Rule 1 may be adopted by a vote of all RHL owners. An owner may submit a proposal for a rule change in writing or by e-mail for consideration. Each proposal must receive at least two seconds from other owners in order to be voted upon.  A three-quarter majority vote is required for the proposed rule change to be enacted. Each owner shall be limited to a maximum of one proposal voted upon per season.