PLAYOFF POOL RULES

 

Participant(s) will be used interchangeably with the term team(s).

 

1. Entry Fees and Prizes

 

1.01 – The entry fee is $200 per participant.

 

1.02 – These fees are due by e-transfer 10 days before the Draft each year. Money collected from these fees will be put in full into the jackpot prize money.

a. The entry fee secures your spot into the upcoming pool. Failure to pay your entry fee by the due date may result in you losing your spot because a replacement participant will be sought after the due date for any participant(s) who have not yet paid.

b. Participation in the Draft can only be done in person. Your payment of your entry fee is your agreement that you alone will be coming to the Draft to make your draft pick selections. This explicitly means sending someone in your place or bringing someone to assist you is not allowed.

c. For those that can’t make it in person in a particular year (and therefore can’t participate that year) and they don’t want to lose their spot in the following years in the pool, let Nick know before the entry fee due date and you will be given this accommodation.

            i. This accommodation will only be given to participants who have at least a 7 year tenure in the pool.

            ii. This accommodation is not meant to be used regularly. It’s for those that have a difficulty in participating in person that particular year. The accommodation may possibly not be granted for individuals who request it more than “rarely”.

 

1.03 – There will be two cash prizes to be won and paid out at the end of each playoff pool season to the participants who finish in the top two places (i.e. most points). The jackpot prize money will be divided so that the participant who finishes in 1st Place receives 60% of the jackpot, and the participant who finishes in 2nd Place receives 40% of the jackpot. (See Section 2.04a-f in cases of ties)

 

1.04 – The two participants who finish with the most points at the end of the Playoff pool season will be considered the WINNERS. The participant who finishes in 1st Place will be awarded the designation “Champion” and the participant who finishes in 2nd Place will be awarded the designation “Finalist”.  (See Section 2.04a-f in cases of ties)

 

1.05 –  Any costs associated with the pool, including (but not limited to) using online pool managers and our pool website hosting, will be paid for evenly between the two Winners at the end of the pool season. This will be done by deducting these costs from their prize money.

 

2. Scoring of Points

 

2.01 – The top eight players (most points) on each participant’s team will be used to calculate total points for each team (i.e. two lowest point players will be dropped). In the case of a tie in points between two or more players on the same team, the first tiebreaker stated below (2.04a – player in Stanley Cup Finals) will be used to rank the players. If still tied, the player chosen first will count.

 

2.02 – Points will be awarded based on the following:

Goal = 1 point

Assist = 1 point

 

2.03 – Statistics provided by the NHL will be considered the official and final source for determining points.

 

2.04 – In the case of a tie between two or more participants in the overall standings, the following tiebreaker(s) will be used to determine the ranking of participants:

a. The participant who had more of their top eight players in the Stanley Cup Finals that were just played (note: only the player’s team needs to have played in the Finals, player does not need to play). If there is still a tie, then

b. Each tied participant’s two dropped player’s points will added to the participant’s total points. If there is still a tie, then

c. The participant who had more of their players including their two dropped players in the Stanley Cup Finals that were just played (note: only the player’s team needs to have played in the Finals, player does not need to play).

d. If there is still a tie between the participants’ teams after the tiebreakers, they will be considered as having finished in the same place in the standings.

e. If the participants’ teams tie for 2nd place, they will split the 2nd place prize money equally and they will be designated Finalists.

f. If the participants’ teams tie for 1st place, they will split the total jackpot prize money equally and they will be designated Champions. In this case, there will be no 2nd place Finalist(s).

 

(Note: For Annual Playoff Pools 1-8, the following tiebreaker(s) were used to determine ranking of participants’ teams that were tied:

a. more total games played by top eight players

b. more total points of all ten players

c. more total games played by all ten players

Total games was replaced by players in Stanley Cup Finals as total games played could be misleading due to the fact some series go longer than others.

 

Furthermore, for Annual Playoff Pools 1-8, the following tiebreaker(s) were used to determine ranking of tied players within the same team:

a. more games played

b. more goals scored

c. player chosen first

More games was replaced by player in Stanley Cup Finals as games played could be misleading due to the fact some series go longer than others. Goals was eliminated as a tiebreaker because we don’t use it to rank tied teams.

 

2.05 – In the case the Playoffs are not fully completed for whatever reason, either of the following must occur for the pool to be considered valid and WINNERS to be declared:

a. If the Playoffs are cut short and no Stanley Cup is awarded, then at least the first two rounds must be completed (qualifying set of games played is not considered a round). At least one game must be completed in the third round (Semifinals) if any series in the second round (Quarterfinals) was not completed in full. If the Playoffs don’t proceed to the Finals, only rule 2.04b will used as a tie-breaker between two or more participants.

b. The Stanley Cup is awarded after a Finals series.

 

3. Team Composition/Draft

 

3.01 – Each participant’s team will be composed of players he selects at the Draft, which will be held preferrably on the first evening that the Stanley Cup playoffs start, or if not possible, then the evening before.

 

3.02 – The Draft will be conducted in two Groups each consisting of five participants and ten rounds.

 

3.03 – Group composition and the order of selection will be based on a draw to be held before the Draft. Each Group will conduct its selections in separate rooms. The order of selection in each Group reverses for each subsequent round (i.e. “Snake Draft”).

 

3.04 – Participants will sit at a table (or sequence of tables) in the exact order of the Draft selections. No exception will be allowed to sit outside this table area or to sit outside your spot in the Draft order.

 

3.05 – In the case we have less 10 participants in the pool, we will proceed with all participants drafting in one Group instead of two. If a draw with a two Group set-up was already held, the draw will still be valid as Group A will be the first set of picks and then Group B.

 

3.06 – Each participant gets a three-minute time limit for each selection.

a. If a participant says an active player’s name when it is their turn to make a selection, that said player will be their selection for that pick if that player wasn’t already selected. This will be enforced for any mention of a player’s name, inadvertently or not, even if the participant is asking about the player’s availability.

b. If a selection is not made within this time limit then the delinquent participant forfeits his pick and the next participant in line would get to pick (if the delinquent participant has another pick after the forfeited pick, the next pick would go to a different participant). Once the next participant makes a pick then it would go back to the delinquent participant to make a selection, but with half the time limit that was given before.

 

3.07 – Once the Draft commences, saying an active player’s name (who has not been selected yet) when it is not your turn to select is explicitly not allowed. The player’s status (healthy/injured, point projection, linemates, etc) is not relevant.

a. If a participant says an active player’s name when it is not their turn to make a selection, inadvertently or not, they will receive a warning the first time. If they do it again, they will lose their last round pick that year. Each subsequent violation will result in another pick lost, starting from the lowest round.

b. If the participant does it when they have already selected all their picks, they will lose any player they’ve already selected, starting from the lowest round.

 

3.08 – Once the Draft commences, player assistance between participants is explicitly not allowed. This includes, but not limited to, the sharing of player draft lists/names (sharing your list/names and/or seeking to look at someone else’s list/names) and/or sharing player information/status.

            i. Sharing the same sheet of paper of names, a magazine, online device, etc. will be considered as sharing a list of players and/or player information, no exceptions made.

            ii. The onus is on each participant to bring their own resources to the Draft and do their own research (if needed) during the Draft.

            iii. The integrity of any Draft in fantasy sports starts and ends with each participant selecting their own players. In the spirit of this and overall fairness, this includes no help from others during the draft. In addition, the significant entry fee to join this pool and win significant prize money is jeopardized when someone assists another participant during the draft.

a. If a participant is deemed to be assisting someone else and/or seeking assistance, they will receive a warning the first time. If they do it again, they lose their last round pick that year. Each subsequent violation will result in another pick lost, starting from the lowest round.

b. If the participant does it when they have already selected all their picks, they will lose any player they’ve already selected, starting from the lowest round.

 

3.09 – Flagrant disregard and violation of the rules in this pool will result in removal from participation in that pool and all future pools.