EHL Official Rule Book

Est. November 6, 2023

Mission Statement

The Electronic Hockey League, formerly the VXHL, was established in 2023 with the goal of creating a competitive and fair World of Chel league, while remaining a healthy community. The rules listed from this point on are established with the intention of achieving the goal listed above, and are applied to all EHL affiliated Discord servers, league sponsored events, and any interactions between league members.

1. General Team Rules

1.1. Team Rosters

• 1.1.1. All teams are required to have no fewer than 6 players on their roster, and no more than 18.

  • 1.1.1.1. This total includes Owner and General Manager

• 1.1.2. Teams may assign up to 3 players to LTIR.

  • 1.1.2.1. These players will not be included in the roster or cap budget.

• 1.1.3. Teams may sign 2 ECU per game day in the regular season.

  • 1.1.3.1. ECU’s can play 2 games and then are once again considered Free Agents until they are signed by a team full time.

1.2. Uniforms and Equipment

• 1.2.1. Each team is required to have a Home (dark) and Away (White) Jersey.

  • 1.2.1.1. Home jerseys can be any color excluding white, or lightly shaded colors.
  • 1.2.1.2. Away jerseys MUST be primarily white.
  • 1.2.1.3. Alternate jerseys can be any color but must be dark or white, depending on if being used as a replacement for the home or away jersey.

• 1.2.2. If both teams load in with the same color jersey as a result of a glitch, teams can quit and restart the lobby as if the game hadn’t started with no Penalties.

  • 1.2.2.1. If teams load in with similarly color jerseys as a result of a team ignoring rule 1.2.1.2 then that team will take a 2 minute minor after the lobby is restarted.
  • 1.2.2.2. If teams come to a prior agreement before the game, or if both teams complete a period these rules are null and void, and the result of the game will stand.

2. Salary Cap and Allocation

• 2.1. All teams are given a maximum cap of $90,000,000.

• 2.2. Teams may spend their money however they see fit; However, the League Office retains the right to veto any contract or transaction at any time.

  • 2.2.1. Players being drafted in their first Entry draft will be signed to a 1 year 750,000 entry-level contract (if they joined after the draft they will be available for bidding).

  • 2.2.2. At the end of their ELC players are offered the chance to resign with their team, or elect to join the free agency pool.

  • 2.2.3. Free Agents may resign or enter the bidding pool.

    • 2.2.3.1. During the season Free Agents will automatically be added to the Free Agent bidding, and will be assigned to the highest bidder.

  • 2.2.4. Players may be signed to a contract length of up to 3 seasons, and will not be reevaluated until the end of that contract.

• 2.3. Season 4’s Entry draft will be the last time unsigned returning players will be entered into the Entry draft. In season 5 and beyond, free agents will be able to resign with their current team or enter the free agent draft where they will be signed by a team.

3. Entry Draft

• 3.1. Players in the entry draft are automatically given one season contracts, but may sign to term if they have veteran status.
  • 3.1.1. Term signings must take place before the first games begin, or the player will be held to a one season deal.
  • 3.1.2. In accordance with rule 2.1.1.1, rookie players (also known as 1 star ranks) are not eligible for more than a one season deal, and cannot be signed to any term.

4. Free Agency

• 4.1. Unrestricted Free Agency will run from the Entry Draft until the first Free Agent Bidding.

  • 4.1.1. During this period teams and players will need to agree on contract details in order to be signed, and players may refuse to sign for a team.

• 4.2. Players won during the Free Agency bidding will be assigned to a team and a one season deal at the market decided price.

  • 4.2.1. If the players are of veteran status they may choose to sign an extension.

• 4.3. Restricted Free Agency will run from the conclusion of the finals to 5 days before the next season’s Entry Draft.

  • 4.3.1. During this period teams may re-sign veteran status players, and extend rookie players that have met the minimum game threshold after re-evaluation.
  • 4.3.2. Rookies that did not meet the minimum game requirement are automatically entered into the Entry Draft and may not be re-signed.
  • 4.3.3. At the conclusion of the Restricted Free Agency, all unsigned players will be put into the Entry Draft.

5. Season Structure

• 5.1. Each team will play a schedule of 48 regular season games.

  • 5.1.1. Games will be played Tuesday’s, Thursday’s, and Sunday’s with each team playing 2 games on each day.

• 5.2. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top 8 teams will be entered into an 8 team playoff.

• 5.3. Players must play at least 6 regular season games to be eligible for the Postseason.

  • 5.3.1. Teams will be seeded based on the standings of the regular season with the 1 seed playing the 8 seed, and the 2 seed playing the 7 seed and so on.
    • 5.3.1.1. Series will be best of 7, 2 games per day, with a 3rd game played if a game 7 is necessary.
    • 5.3.1.2. Teams may choose to schedule games by themselves if both teams agree to the newly scheduled game days.

6. Gamedays

• 6.1. Games will be held at 8:45 and 9:30 EST

  • 6.1.1. All games need to start within 5 minutes of their start time to avoid penalties.

• 6.2. Games that start at 8:51-5 or 9:36-9:40 will incur 1 minor penalty to start the game on behalf of the team that is late.

• 6.3. Games that start between 8:56-9:00 or 9:41-9:45 will incur 2 minor penalties on behalf of the delaying team to start the game.

• 6.4. Games that start between 9:01-9;05 or 9:46-9:50 will be listed as a forfeit on behalf of the delaying team.

  • 6.4.1. Owners and Gm’s may work together to forgive these penalties on a case by case basis, but both owners must agree.
  • 6.4.2. Team owners must agree upon a decision before loading into the game or back into the game in the event a disconnect occurs, If a penalty is decided on then the late/disconnected team must take the penalty as soon as the puck drops. The team getting the powerplay must stay still until the penalty is taken.

• 6.5. If a player disconnects, the team may choose to continue playing without them penalty free.

  • 6.5.1. If the team would like to get their player back, play will restart from where the disconnect occurred, with the disconnecting player taking a 2 minute minor.
  • 6.5.2. Owners may agree to forgive the penalties and work out the situation on their own if an agreement is made.
  • 6.5.3. AI goals do not count as used in previous seasons.

• 6.6. Screenshots of all 5 statistic screens must be taken and uploaded by at least one team to #screenshot-of-stats by 12 am that night. Stat screens listed below.

  • 6.6.1. Box score, player summary (scroll to get all categories excluding percentage rankings), and the main pause screen.

• 6.7. Failure to get a full set of screenshots by both teams will result in the match being listed as canceled.

• 6.8. Teams must use the league club in league games (for our API to work properly) unless approved by league managers for a good reason. Failure to use their league club/Notify a league manager will result in a forfeit.

• 6.9. Players must use a created loadout. (No presets such as moonlight & bones)

7. Trading and Trade Deadline

• 7.1. Trade deadline will be on the last Tuesday of the regular season at 2 p.m. eastern standard time.

  • 7.1.1. Teams will not be able to sign or trade players or ECU’s after the trade deadline has passed.

• 7.2. Traded players retain the same contract value and length that they were originally signed to. Teams may retain up to 3 players contracts in trading.

• 7.3. Trades may be voided or vetoed in accordance with the EHL Code-of-Conduct.

• 7.4. A Player may request a trade after they have played 4 games with the team.