The Conn Smythe Corner ®

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

Staff
The Commissioner of The Conn Smythe Corner is Steve Lyberopoulos. Lyberopoulos founded the League in September 2012. Gerardo Discepola (since 2013) and Matthew Taddeo (since 2018) serve as Co-Commissioners.

In January 2013, Gerardo Discepola and Charles L. Raizenne were named Co-Commissioners. On December 31, 2017, Matthew Taddeo was named interim Co-Commissioner, replacing Raizenne. On April 7, 2018, at the Second Annual Connies awards, Taddeo's interim status was removed and he was officially named Co-Commissioner of The Conn Smythe Corner.

Clubs
The Conn Smythe Corner houses 16 professional fantasy Clubs located throughout the United States and Canada.



You may consult comprehensive all-time manager statistics on the Managers page.

Defunct Clubs & Retired Managers
 * denotes Puttin' On The Foil 

Rosters
Each Club may roster 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, Clubs are afforded the following special designations:


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

'The LA Rule'
Clubs may carry up to, but not more than, six (6) active goalies on their roster at all times.

"Active goalie" means a goalie who is healthy (without "O", "DTD", or "IR" designations) in a G spot, BN spot, or IR+ spot.

Thus, healthy goalies who are "stashed" on IR+ count against the six active goalie cap. Goalies with an "NA" designation are excluded from the active goalie cap. Healthy goalies who are "stashed" on NA also count against the six active goalie cap.

Clubs that enter a situation that puts them over the active goalie cap through this use of IR+ or NA will have until the following day's first game played to rectify their roster and remove any offending goalies in order to comply with the cap. Failure to comply will result into an automatic locking of the team's roster in addition to a SANCTION, which may include the modification of final League standings if the impugned active goalie cap violation materially affected the outcome of the playoff picture.

Dubbed "The LA Rule" to honour the goalie hoarding largesses of the Los Angeles Sharks and GM Ian "Daddy Needs a Goalie Keeper" Gerard in 2017-18, the Sharks controversially hoarded nine goaltenders on their roster through the end of the season (Scott Darling, Anton Forsberg, Philipp Grubauer, Anton Khudobin, Darcy Kuemper, Kari Lehtonen, Juuse Saros, Harri Sateri, Alex Stalock). As a result of these actions, Toronto Arenas GM John Lenz was unable to add Dallas Stars backup Kari Lehtonen in the first round of the Cam Ward Cup® Playoffs following an injury to his starting goaltender Benjamin Bishop. Without the points Lehtonen ended up providing that would have been sufficient to secure the victory, the Arenas would go on to lose in to the Vancouver Blazers, 348.25-322.75, eliminating them from Cam Ward Cup® contention. GM Lenz vociferously criticized the then-legal actions of GM Gerard, and engaged with his counterpart in a chirp-thread now known as Backupgate. GM Gerard proceeded to shred GM Lenz for his lack of foresight in securing the services of Lehtonen weeks earlier when he was on waivers. Both big men nearly came to blows and had to be separated. A barn fight in rural Vermont has been scheduled for an undisclosed future date.

At the conclusion of the 2017-18 season, a majority of the League's managers indicated they were favourable to League legislation to address the actions that occurred in Backupgate. The League implemented "The LA Rule" in response, effective for the beginning of the 2018-19 season.

Regular Season
The season consists of ~20 matchups spanning approximately ~22 weeks. Clubs play against every other team at least one time and participate in eight (8) out-of-conference matchups (1 matchup against every non-conference opponent) and in twelve (12) in-conference matchups (at least 1 matchup against every conference opponent, 4 in-conference matchups randomized).

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

Please refer to the Conference Draft page for past results.

Postseason
8 Clubs 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 Clubs determined by overall standings. Clubs are re-seeded every round to ensure that the highest seeds respectively face the lowest remaining seeds. Finalists face off in a week-long matchup in pursuit of the legendary & revered Cam Ward Cup®.

The 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]

Please click here to view a list of past Cam Ward Cup® winners.

The North Stars Memorial TourneyTM
Starting in 2016-17, a Consolation Tournament, dubbed The North Stars Memorial TourneyTM (NSMT) was created for the 8 Clubs that did not qualify for the postseason. These 8 Clubs 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]

Please click here to view a list of past North Stars Memorial TourneyTM winners.

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

Format
Rounds 1 through 23 are standard and not snaking.

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


 * 1) Cam Ward Cup® Champion
 * 2) Runner-up
 * 3) Winner of 3rd Place matchup
 * 4) Runner-up of 3rd Place matchup
 * 5) to 8 determined by consolation bracket

9 to 16 are determined by the final results of the North Stars Memorial TourneyTM. The winner of the North Stars Memorial TourneyTM receives the 9 seed, while the runner-up receives the 10 seed.

Results
You may consult the League's historical draft results on the Draft Results page.

Prospect Draft
At the conclusion of the 23-round Draft, a special 2-round Prospect Draft takes place. As of 2017-18, CSC Clubs may now draft eligible Prospects and hold their rights over time, depending on their development and progression.

Please consult the Prospects page for more details.

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

Please consult the PTO page for more details.

Live Draft Locations

 * The First DraftTM 2012-13: online only
 * The Second DraftTM 2013-14: John Molson School of Business - Montreal, QC
 * The Third DraftTM 2014-15: John Molson School of Business - Montreal, QC
 * The Fourth DraftTM 2015-16: The Fun Barn - Hardwick, VT, USA
 * The Fifth DraftTM 2016-17: The Fun Barn - Hardwick, VT, USA
 * Le Sixième DraftTM 2017-18: Domaine La Légende - St-Donat, QC
 * The Seventh DraftTM 2018-19: The Fun Barn - Hardwick, VT, USA
 * The Eighth DraftTM 2019-20: The Fun Barn - Hardwick, VT, USA
 * The Ninth DraftTM 2020-21: online only
 * The X DraftTM 2021-22: Ranch Mont-Tremblant - Val-des-Lacs, QC
 * The Vegas DraftTM 2022-23: Las Vegas, NV, USA (expected)

Draft Picks
During the offseason, and/or after Yahoo can no longer process trades, CSC Clubs should refer to the Draft Picks page when discussing and completing trades involving draft picks.

Stat Corrections
In the case of late stat corrections that were not applied by Yahoo where the matchup result (win or loss) would have changed as a result of the stat correction being properly applied, the League will manually edit the final playoff seeding at the conclusion of the regular season should that changed matchup result affect playoff positioning.

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 draft pick compensation required to keep them. Tiers range from A, players drafted in Rounds 2 through 3, to D, which includes undrafted players claimed off waivers. Compensation and caps vary from Tier to Tier.

In addition the above, there are certain positional allowances that must be respected: 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) consecutive seasons, after which they will be released to the Draft.

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

Downgrade Waivers
Clubs 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
In the offseason, CSC Clubs may sign one (1) Unprotected Player from an opposing team to an offer sheet. Clubs may only win one (1) Offer Sheet Bid per offseason, and cannot bid on other Unprotected Players concurrently to an active bid or after a successful one. Compensation and premiums are determined by the Keeper's draft round.

The full 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.

Criteria
In order for a trade to be validly consummated, Clubs must be in control of the requisite players and/or assets at the time of the transaction. The only exception to this is 3-way transactions, whereby multiple transactions may be executed to arrive at the 3-way result. Otherwise, a Club cannot trade away a player it does not own, nor a draft pick it has traded to another organization

Players
Clubs cannot promise to trade players in the offseason to their trading partner. All players that are named in a trade must exchange hands at the moment of the transaction's announcement. This means that buying Clubs cannot promise to trade away a potential Keeper in the offseason to a selling Club in return for a rental player.

Draft Picks
All Clubs must comply with the requirements set forth in Atlanta Rule (see subsection below) at all times. Trades that render a Club non-compliant with the Atlanta Rule will be automatically vetoed on substantive grounds.

Clubs cannot trade away picks that they have committed to another transaction by way of a conditional trade. An example of what not to do in this regard can be found with the Atlanta Flames history of agreeing to conditional pick trades and then attempting to trade away one of the picks that was committed to another team in the first transaction. If Team A has promised to conditionally trade a Round 7 pick to Team B in the event an agreed-upon condition (such as player performance, team performance) is satisfied, then that Round 7 selection is ineligible to be traded away in a subsequent transactions. Trades that include a committed conditional pick will be vetoed on procedural grounds.

Competitive Balance
Finally, trades that undly threaten and/or compromise the competitive balance and integrity of the League will be vetoed on substantive grounds. This is an exceptional measure that may be initiated at the discretion of the Commissioner's Office, and will only be done so sparingly and with care. Please refer to the Trade Review subsection below.

'The Atlanta Rule'
In order to protect against predatory buying, the League introduced the 'Atlanta Rule' in the 2017-18 season. At all times, CSC Clubs must comply with a two-part requirement when making trades that involve draft picks. Trades that render a team non-compliant will be automatically vetoed.

This Rule was developed by the Working Group For The Protection of Predatory Buying, which was composed of Commissioner Lyberopoulos, Toronto Arenas GM John Lenz, and consultant Alex Klein. The Rule is named in recognition of buying largesses executed by both of the League's Clubs in Georgia.

A) Minimums

 * minimum 1 pick in either Round 1 or 2; and
 * minimum 3 picks in Tier A+B (total in Rounds 1-6).

B) Configurations
One of the following configurations must be respected, in addition to the minimums set out in Part A


 * 2 Tier A picks held; OR
 * 1 Tier A pick held + 1x Round 4 pick held.

Selling Cap
Effective for the 2019-20 season, and updates for the 2021-22 season, the CSC adopted a selling cap which is automatically and irrevocably triggered when a Club hits the Atlanta Rule Ceiling in a given season.

Atlanta Rule Ceiling or Ceiling means where: (i) the trading away of one (1) more pick in Tier A+B (Rounds 1 through 6, inclusively) would render a Club noncompliant with The Atlanta Rule; and (ii) the Club also trades away one additional pick in Rounds 1 through 10, inclusively. A Club hits the ceiling and irrevocably triggers the Selling Cap if both prongs (i) and (ii) are met.

Should a Club hit the Ceiling in a given season, this is the trigger that activates a selling cap for the season that immediately follows.

As a result, Clubs who become subject to the Selling Cap will be unable to acquire or trade away any Tier A+B selections during the following regular season and offseason.

Clubs can avoid becoming subject to the Selling Cap by avoiding the Ceiling.

Selling Cap Trigger Example
The Atlanta Flames have made several trades, leaving them with only their 1st, 3rd, and 6th round picks in Tiers A and B. They still have all their picks in rounds 7 through 10.

Just before the deadline ends, the Flames make one last trade: Flames receive: 20th round pick + Dylan Larkin

Trade partner receives: 7th round pick (ATLF) ''' Prong (i) of Selling Cap rule: met. '''

Prior to making this trade, the Flames were not allowed to trade away one of their picks in Tiers A or B (ie, their 1st, 3rd or 6th) without rendering themselves noncompliant with the Atlanta Rule (see Atlanta Rule > A) Minimums and B) Configurations). Prong (i) of the Selling Cap rule is met.

''' Prong (ii) of Selling Cap rule: met. '''

Now, the Flames have moved one of their remaining picks in Rounds 7 through 10 as set out in prong (ii) of the Selling Cap rule. Because they have also met prong (i) of the Selling Cap rule, and have now met prong (ii) by the trading away of one more pick in Round 1 to 10, they have thus hit the Ceiling as set out above (se Selling Cap). As a result, they have irrevocably triggered the Selling Cap for the following season and will be unable to trade away OR acquire any Tier A+B selections during the following regular season and incoming offseason.

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 and hard cap budget via a minimum bid of  and incremental bid increases of   at a time.

The 2018-19 waiver cap was set to   (soft cap limit) /  (hard cap limit). Thus, the margin of allowance was set to  

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

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

Season Recaps
2012-13 CSC Season

2013–14 CSC season

2014–15 CSC season

2015–16 CSC season

2016-17 CSC Season

2017–18 CSC season

2018–19 CSC season

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

Managers
You may consult comprehensive all-time manager statistics on the Managers page.

Awards
You may consult a comprehensive list of The League's awards on the Connies page.

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 Club'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 Clubs 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 2015-16, 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. - Admin