The Conn Smythe Corner ®

The League
The Conn Smythe Corner is a fantasy hockey keeper league played on Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey.

Staff
The comisssioner of The Conn Smythe Corner is Steve Lyberopoulos. Lyberopoulos founded the League in September 2012. In January 2013, Gerardo Discepola and Charles L. Raizenne were named co-commissioners.

Defunct Clubs/Managers
* denotes Puttin' On The Foil

Rosters
Each franchise is allowed to declare up to 23 players on its active roster (19 dressed, 4 bench) according to the following distribution:
 * 4x Centers (C)
 * 8x Wingers (W) - there is no distinction between LW/RW
 * 6x Defensemen (D)
 * 1x Goaltender (G)
 * 4x bench (BN)

In addition, franchises are afforded the following special designations:


 * 3x Injured Reserve +
 * day-to-day (DTD) eligible
 * 1x NA (Not Available)
 * players not active in the NHL

Regular Season
The season consists of ~21 matchups spanning approximately ~23 weeks. Each team plays everyone else in the League at least one time - as of 2015-16, teams participate in eight (8) out-of-conference matchups (1 matchup against every non-conference opponent) and in thirteen (13) in-conference matchups (at least 1 matchup against every conference opponent, 5 in-conference matchups randomized).

Two conferences, consisting of eight (8) teams each, are split into groups drafted by the previous season's finalists. The finalists are sorted into separate conferences before proceeding to draft teams into their own conference.

Please refer to the Conference Draft page for past results.

Postseason
8 teams out of 16 qualify for the postseason in The Conn Smythe Corner. Conference leaders earn the #1 and #2 seeds, with the remaining 6 playoff teams determined by overall standings. Teams are re-seeded every round to ensure that the highest seeds respectively face the lowest remaining seeds.

Cam Ward Cup Playoffs

 * Round 1: Quarter-finals
 * #1 vs #8
 * #2 vs #7
 * #3 vs #6
 * #4 vs #5


 * Round 2: Semi-finals
 * [Winner #1] vs [Winner #4]
 * [Winner #2] vs [Winner #3]


 * Round 3: The Cam Ward Cup Final
 * [Winner A] vs [Winner B]

Consolation Tournament
Starting in 2016-17, a Consolation Tournament was created for the 8 teams that did not qualify for the postseason. These 8 teams will face off in a bracket designed to determine final standings. The winner of the Consolation Tournament will earn the 9th overall pick in the following Draft, while the team eliminated in the lowest-seeded matchup will pick 16th overall.


 * Round 1: Quarter-finals
 * #9 vs #16
 * #10 vs #15
 * #11 vs #14
 * #12 vs #13


 * Round 2: Semi-finals
 * [Winner #1] vs [Winner #4]
 * [Winner #2] vs [Winner #3]


 * Round 3: The North Stars Memorial Final
 * [Winner A] vs [Winner B]

Draft
The draft takes place once a year in September, preceeding the start of the NHL season. There are 23 rounds and 16 teams selecting for a total of 368 picks.

Format
The draft format is standard. Rounds 1 through 6 are snaking. Rounds 7 through 23 are standard and not snaking.

Order
Based on the previous season's results, the League's draft order will be as follows:

9 to 16 are determined by the final results of the Consolation Tournament.
 * 1) League Champion
 * 2) Runner-up
 * 3) Winner of 3rd place matchup
 * 4) Loser of 3rd place matchup
 * 5) to 8 determined by consolation bracket

PTO (Professional Try-Out) Draft
At the conclusion of the 23-round Draft, a special 1-round PTO (Professional Try-Out) Draft takes place. Teams take turns making one (1) selection from the eligible pool of undrafted players.

Please consult the PTO page for more details.

Locations

 * 2012-13: online only
 * 2013-14: John Molson School of Business - Montreal, QC
 * 2014-15: John Molson School of Business - Montreal, QC
 * 2015-16: The Fun Barn - Hardwick, VT, USA
 * 2016-17: The Fun Barn - Hardwick, VT, USA

Keepers
Please see the Keepers page for more detail.

General managers may keep anywhere from zero (0) to four (4) players each season according to the keeper rules and guidelines of the league.

Players are ascribed Tiers based off of where they were selected in the draft. These tiers denote their keeper status and the compensation required to keep them. Tiers range from A, players drafted in rounds 1 through 3, to D, including undrafted free agents. Compensation and caps vary from Tier to Tier.

In addition the above, there are certain allowances that GMs must keep in mind when declaring keepers. A maximum of two (2) centers (C), wingers (W), and defensemen (D) as well as one (1) goaltender (G) may be kept at any time in any keeper combination or scenario.

Players may be designated keepers for a maximum of three (3) seasons before being released to the draft.

*X = denotes the round in which the player was drafted.

Downgrades
Teams are permitted one (1) downgrade attempt per season, where they can attempt to reduce the compensation of one eligible prospective keeper.

Please consult the Downgrade Waivers page for more detail.

Offer Sheets
Starting in 2015-2016, CSC franchises will be able to sign one (1) Unprotected Player from an opposing team to one (1) offer sheet per calendar season. Compensation and premiums are determined by the Keeper's Tier.

The process and details can be found on the Offer Sheets page.

Trades
A trade occurs, in order, under the following circumstances**:
 * 1) Two general managers agree to an exchange of players and/or draft picks
 * 2) The trade is reviewed by the Commissioner and Co-Commissioners
 * 3) The trade is approved by the Commissioner and Co-Commissioners
 * 4) The trade is officially allowed on Yahoo!
 * 5) Yahoo! processes the trade and players are assigned to their new, respective rosters.

** Notwithstanding any exceptional procedural regulations that will have been clearly communicated to all managers by the Commissioner. In that case, the aforementioned regulations communicated by the Commissioner supersede the trading steps indicated in this article.

Trade Review
Trade reviews are conducted in tandem by the Commissioner and Co-Commissioners and will produce a decision which will be rendered within a maximum of 48 hours after the trade's original announcement.

Commissioner Review
Once a trade is agreed to, the Commissioners privately vote on whether it should be allowed or disallowed. Although a vast majority of trades are instantaneously allowed, certain trades may be flagged by the Commissioner or Co-Commissioners for extensive review. Following this, the review process is launched and a decision is made on whether to allow or disallow the trade. The review process flows as such:


 * 1) A trade is flagged for additional review by the Commissioner or Co-Commissioners
 * 2) The Commissioners discuss the proposed trade and its perceived issue
 * 3) Input is sought out, if required, from one or both general managers
 * 4) This information is taken into consideration as the commissioners come to their verdict
 * 5) An announcement is posted

The Commissioners may contact the parties directly, before posting an announcement about a trade being disallowed, if they are of the view that the trade can be salvaged with minimal variation.

It is at the Commissioners' discretion to disallow a trade if it is believed that the transaction provides one of the parties with an unfair advantage that, in their judgment, threatens the competitive balance of the League. Therefore, the Commissioners will never disallow a trade because one team clearly "won". Vetoes are the worst-case scenario for any trade situation, and vetoes are only handed out in the most extreme of cases (or whenever the St. Louis Eagles are involved).

Waivers
The Conn Smythe Corner's waiver acquisition system works on the basis of a soft-cap budget of $38,000,000, a hard-cap budget of $47,000,000 via a minimum bid of $500,000 and incremental bid increases of $50,000 at a time.

Please consult the Waivers page for full details on the implementation of the waiver budget system.

Incremental bids
As of the 2015-2016 season, teams must increase their bids by $50,000 at a time on Yahoo!. Bids that do not conform to the fixed incremental bid increase will be invalid and the team will be subject to a fine of $1,000,000 in waiver money for first offences and over $1,000,000 for each subsequent offence.

Bids such as $500,001 and $1,890,100 are not valid. Each bid increase must be by $50,000.

History
You may consult history about the League by clicking here: League History

Records
You may consult the League's records page by clicking here: League Records

Preamble
While this is a fantasy hockey league that is not played for monetary gain, there are some expectations attached to being a general manager in The Conn Smythe Corner. The League seeks to create a serious fantasy sports environment while at the same time retaining the element of fun. General managers participating in the League are expected to recognize and respect the fact that commitment is a necessity to remaining a part of The Conn Smythe Corner. In addition to the above, general managers are expected to remain professional at all times with their peers and in the publication of press releases issued by a franchise's communications department.

Lineups
General managers are expected to set their lineups on a regular basis. Should a general manager elect to be inactive in setting his lineup, the Commissioners have the right to flag him for offseason review. As a daily fantasy league, CSC franchises require continual and consistent maintenance.

League Dues
All general managers must support the continuing operation of the League by collectively accounting for any League-related cost. This is the only charge of admission into the CSC, as this is not a cash league, and any expenses or costs will be transparently detailed in full.

In 2015-2016, the League custom-built the Cam Ward Cup, purchased a custom scheduling algorithm, acquired a custom domain name for housing this wiki.

Vetoing
While there has always been and likely will always be intense scrutiny on the trade vetoing process, general managers are to refrain from publicly or privately lobbying for a position on a pending veto decision. In privatizing the process, the Commissioners have made it their goal to reduce any undue influence that may introduce external bias into the trade review process. Subjectivity will always be a component of trade review, but it is the League's intention to manage the impact of emotions and strong opinions on a sensitive process.

Probation
The Commissioners may choose to place any general manager on probation prior to the start of a CSC season. This will occur privately and it is meant to warn general managers in the event they have been any one or more of a) inactive in setting their lineup b) not actively participating in the League or c) have numerous outstanding complaints against them on the record that the Commissioners deem to be serious enough so as to warrant an official warning.