The purpose of the league is for entertainment, fun and learning. No prizes of any monetary value will be given, and there shall be no membership fee for joining. The LBHL intention is to ease new internet league owners, and non-participators of replay leagues that own the windows FACEOFF game into Internet play and prepare them for future Internet leagues. The owners have voted and the LBHL will be a continuous league. As stated the LBHL is for new owners of the windows Faceoff game and are welcome to join if there are openings. All owners MUST be able to zip files and unzip files sending and receiving.

League Commissioner and Gripe Committee
  The League Commissioner will over see the LaBatt Blue Hockey League keeping the league stats, track rosters, coach files, and trades. The League Commissioner will actively search for assistants to take over the stats compiling and form a gripes committee to sit in on situations that might arise in the LBHL. The gripes committee is a 3-member panel appointed by the commissioner to rule on any trade and rules disputes.

To e-mail the League Board or the Gripe Committee:
Paul Gardner Jr and John Lethbridge League Board
Gripe Committee

The sequences of events for a gripe to be heard are as follows:
1. Commissioner makes initial rules interpretation.
2. One of the parties involved, or a third party makes a formal gripe to the Commissioner.
3. The Commissioner notifies the gripe committee chairman
4. The gripe committee chairperson solicits the opinion of the parties involved and the commissioner.
5. The grip committee votes, with each of the 3 members receiving one vote for a decision.
6. An appeal of the ruling goes to a vote of the entire league. The person making the gripe may not appeal if the ruling is not in his favor. A gripe must be made within one week of the time the entire league is informed of the action. The Commissioner's responsibility is merely to break a tie on a league vote. If one of the parties involved, or a third-party files a gripe and they are on the gripe committee, they are not aloud to get involved or vote within the committee or if it goes to the league as a whole.

League History, Structure, and Regular Season
   The first year 1998/99 season consisted of twenty teams with each individual picking a NHL team. The top six NHL teams with total points from the 1998 NHL season were not able to be selected. So for the 1998-99 season Dallas, New Jersey, Detroit, St Louis, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Philadelphia Flyers are excluded from being picked. Nashville had no team so they are not included either. The six teams made up the six round weighted free agent draft and the free agent pool. Teams were divided by their respective division as per the 1997-98 season with the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers moving to the Central Division of the Western Conference to even out the divisions. All teams play a balanced schedule of 76 games. Each team will play every team in the league 4 times. The division winners and top six non-division champions from each conference will advance to the playoffs each year. The computer coach programmed by the STRATEGY EDITOR will manage all LBHL road games. The text results of all games played will be sent to the entire league. The XXX.fot files (home game results) will be sent to the League Statistician. The Regular season will run November through the first week of April with the last three games of the season being completed the first week of April.

Player Usage
  All players are restricted to playing their actual number of games played. If a player goes past his allotted games, he is suspended for the remainder of the season and playoffs.

Injuries
  Injuries will be used for the game being play only. Once the game has been played all players are eligible to play again.

Seasonal Play
  The season will start with a 2 week Exhibition Schedule. These games and their stats will not count toward season records or statistics. Each team will play an average of 15 games every month, with each team playing their home games averaging 7-8 per month. The first week of April will have the final 4 games played. Each owner will play only his home games, the "computer coach" will play the away games. The league statistician must receive by the 28th of each month the XXX.fot file "ZIPPED" which contain home games stats for the given month. XXX.fot files not received by this deadline may be auto played at the discretion of the commissioner. Repeated offenses will be grounds for disciplinary action, which might lead to expulsion.

The Playoffs
  The division champions and top six non-champions in each conference will advance to the playoffs. The first round will be 1-8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5. Home ice will be awarded to the top seeds using a HHAAHAH format. The lowest surviving seed in each round will be paired against the highest seed left in each round. If less then 20 teams are in the league a revised amount of teams eligible will be done. If any game(s) during the playoffs are to be quickplayed then the commissioner will quickplay the games. Both teams will send strat's with in proper time. If no strats are received then one(s) will be made up by the commisioner.

The tiebreaker is as follows for regular season, wavier wire, and playoffs:

1. most win
2. divisional record
3. team goals for
4. team goals against
5. record within the division
6. coin flip

Faceoff Configurations Options
  The following are to be set in the options for the game:
Skaters Limit: 18
Goalie Limit: 2
Modern Day Fatique
Injuries: Random
Overtime: 5 minutes, skaters 4 on 4, end on a goal, and overtime loss points will be awarded as in the NHL

Visitors Instructions (STRATEGY EDITOR)
  The Faceoff Strategy editor will manage each teams road games. At the beginning of each month each team will wait until the NEW league files are sent before programming or altering their Strategy file. Each owner is responsible for sending out their XXX.fot file zipped to the league by the 8th of the month or permission is given to your opponents to play with the computer managing your team, which includes the computer selecting the starting roster. If a problem arises that a XXX.fot file can't be sent you must notify the League Commissioner of this for other arrangements to be meet. Teams will distribute one zipped XXX.fot file each month to the league every month or the previous coach file will be used.

Trades
  Trades may be done anytime during the season and must be done by the 25th of each month with roster moves take effect on the 28th of the month when all player movements are due. All GM's are REQUIRED to use the official roster files provided by the League statistician. The new league files will be e-mailed to each team by the 8th of every month. Each team must announce the trade to the league commissioner before it is to take effect then if they wish to announce it to the league. All trades are subject to review to the league commissioner. NO TRADE shall be voided by the League Commissioner unless it is NOT in the best interest of the league.

Trade Deadline
  Trading of players and draft picks end with 5 weeks to go in the regular season and begin once the championship is over.

Annual Free Agent Re-Entry Draft
  At the end of each season each team will be required to submit a protected list of players totalling anywhere from 25-30. Only players that were on the the previous seasons LBHL team rosters are able to be protected. Draft order based upon LBHL last season's standings with the team that has the least amount of points drafting first through the top point team drafting eighteenth. The two teams in the championship will draft with the league runner up drafting nineteenth and champion twentieth. The regular draft will last 5 rounds and with all teams having all the picks they have acquired through out the season too. After the regular draft a supplemental draft will be conducted with the teams that protected less then 30 drafting a maximum 5 rounds or till their team reaches 35 players. Only carded players will be allowed to be selected in the supplemental draft. Some teams at the end of the re-entry draft may be over 35 players (see Rosters for cut down time). Teams not at the minimum of 32 players will draft additional players in the supplemental draft. These picks will be by lowest point total first and only to the minimum of 32 players. If a GM cannot be available for the draft, he must supply the League Commission with DETAILED draft instructions and understand that this system is imperfect and that the Commission is in no way responsible for draft mishaps.
a. No draft picks may be traded from drafts beyond the upcoming re-entry draft until draft day
b. Teams shall be able to have any player on their regular season ending roster be one of the 25 to 30 players protected whether the player played this year or not in the NHL which means carded or uncarded
c. The only players on teams that are NOT allowed to be protected are free agents picked up or free agents traded for.

2000/2001 Free Agent Re-Entry Draft order
  Sun Prairie, Liverpool, Trail, Manitoba, Gotham City, Jersey, Lake Erie, South Hampton, Charlotte, Chatham, London, New Castle, Buffalo, Long Island, Nipawin, Quebec, Toronto, Phoenix, Mile High, New Jersey

Free Agent Pickups
  Players left over from LBHL ten round re-entry draft will form the base of the free agent pool. At the beginning of the year the only time a free agent may be taken is when a teams roster drops below 32 players from an unbalanced trade. You will be allowed to pickup a pool player(s) to get back to the 32 player roster. Once the season starts a limit of 3 pickups for the season with a maximum 1 pickup for the given month will be allowed and the players are not allowed to be protected after this season. If free agents are picked up and roster is at 35 or over then a player must be dropped to allow pickup. If the player that has been picked up is traded then the team receiving the said player will not be able to protect that player when protected lists are due. They must be return to the free agent pool. The rating of the free agent pick up from the player pool that the team selects shall be no higher then 2/2 defenseman or forward or a goalie with a .890 percentage. The team with the lowest point total has priority if more than one team wants players. If a team needs to select more than one player (below 31) team(s) will choose the additional players by round which is based on a reverse order of the standings if more than one trade occurs. Player pickups will be at the time of the trade due to multiple trading in months so teams will know who are available. All pickups will be completed by the 25th of each month with notification done to the commissioners and the statistician.

1. There will be a best out of three series (a team needs two wins) to win the all-star series. For the 1999/2000 Season the Western Conference will play the first and third game (if needed) at home. The Eastern Conference will play the second game
2. The owners of the teams', which lead their own conference, will play the home games. The owner who has coached his team to the best road record in his conference will create the strategy file for the road-game(s). But all the players in the team will have to get the same amount of ice-time (not exactly the same but pretty close anyway)
3. Both all-star teams will consist of 18 skaters and three goalies, every team will get two players to the game, one team in each conference will get three players to make it a total of 21 players per team
   • The two teams who get three players into the game will have a goalie, defenseman and an attacker. Ten teams (5 in each conference) will get an attacker and a defenseman to the lineup, the rest of the teams (4 teams in one conference) will get two attackers
   • Only the players and the goalies who are able to play at least 10 games are allowed to play in the all-star game
4. Every owner will send a list of the players they want to the all-star game to a designated owner running the all-star voting (at least a player in each position and maximum 2 at one position and a total of 8 players). Once the commish has the lists he will send the lists to the owners who'll take care of the teams (the owner of the team, which leads the conference). Then they choose eight players for each position and send this list to the league. Then every owner will vote numbering one to three with three rated the player highest at that position for the starting-lineup for both conferences. After the starting lineup is chosen, the two owners will choose the rest of the players in the best interest of the team. Then the owners will send the final rosters to the designated owner running the all-star voting and the "all-star league" will be setup
5. As mentioned earlier, every player must get to play, you can't play just 12 guys for the whole game, everyone will have to get to play evenly. One goalie will play only one period, if the game goes to over-time, the goalie who played in the first period, will play the first over-time period and so on
6. The game settings. No game injuries and the overtime ends to a goal. Otherwise the same settings as in the league play
7. The home games played in the Western Conference will be played using the strat which is made by the owner who has the best away record (ending January) in the Eastern Conference. The home game played in the Eastern Conference will be played using the strat which is made by the owner who has the best away record (ending January) in the Western Conference

New Rules
  Any member can propose a new rule or amendment from the period after the season until the beginning of the Exhibition season the following year. The league then votes on all proposed rules. If the majority of the league doesn't vote for the rule then the change in the charter or rule is dropped

E-mail Paul Gardner and John Lethbridge about the league Back to Home Page