Keepers

Limits
This section outlines the minimum and maximum number of keepers required to be declared per club, and the maximum term any player can be kept cumulatively under the keeper status.


 * Minimum
 * zero (0) keepers per club


 * Maximum
 * four (4) keepers per club


 * Maximum Keeper Term
 * three (3) consecutive seasons

Keepers will be released to the Draft after three consecutive seasons under the keeper status. Irrespective of how many of those years were spent with one club, any player that is designated a Keeper for three seasons will be released to the draft.

Position Allowances
This section outlines the maximum number of players by position that can be declared keepers, in any keeper scenario. You may not name more than the alloted number of keepers by positions in a keeper submission. Positions can officially be found on Yahoo! Sports on the Yahoo! fantasy page. Players with multiple position eligibility (C/W or W/D) can be considered keepers at either of their officially listed positions. Note that position eligibility is determined as of the date of the Keeper Submission Deadline.


 * Centers (C)
 * two (2) in any scenario


 * Wingers (W)
 * two (2) in any scenario


 * Defensemen (D)
 * two (2) in any scenario


 * Goaltenders (G)
 * one (1) in any scenario

The purpose of position allowances is to prevent predatory hoarding, and subsequent constriction, of talent at certain positions.

Declaration
Keepers are declared at the the Keeper Declaration Deadline, the date of which the Commissioners announce in the offseason. The Keeper Declaration Deadline cannot be any later than one (1) week preceding the date of the Draft. Keepers are submitted via a form that can be accessed from a franchise's club page near the end of the offseason

Availability
General managers who have declared players keepers must have the appropriate compensation – dubbed Keeper Cost – in place. A player cannot be declared a keeper if the general manager does not hold the appropriate draft pick compensation.

Missing Keeper Cost
In the event the general manager does not hold the appropriate keeper cost, he has two options at his disposal:


 * 1) Trade for the missing keeper cost
 * 2) Forego the next highest draft pick held by the club.

For example: suppose a club wishes to keep David Krejci. Krejci's keeper cost is Round 5 but the club currently does not have a Round 5 selection. If the GM does not make a trade to acquire a Round 5 selection prior to the Draft the club will give up its next highest pick, Round 4, in order to successfully keep Krejci.

Please note that trades for missing keeper cost can be executed up until the Draft, or as otherwise specified by the Commissioner.

Tiers
At the very foundation of The Conn Smythe Corner's keeper system is the Tier, which determines and denotes a player's keeper status and keeper cost.

Players are ascribed a Tier dependent on where they are selected in the draft. In the case where they are undrafted, they are automatically included in the lowest Tier. Players kept for consecutive seasons transition to the next highest Tier for each year they are kept.

Each Tier is described and detailed below. Keeper Cost varies from Tier-to-Tier, and there is a cap for the number of players that can be kept from each Tier.

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

Players drafted in Round 1 CANNOT be kept under any circumstance.

Tier C: Rounds 7-13
*X = denotes the round in which the player was drafted.

Tier D: Rounds 14-23 & undrafted
*X = denotes the round in which the player was drafted.

Leveling Up
Players kept in consecutive seasons by the same club will transition to the next Tier. A player will not transition to the next Tier if he is traded and kept by a different franchise. Transitions only occur when the same club keeps the same player in consecutive seasons. Players transition immediately following the keeper submission deadline.

The Downgrade Waivers process alters the transition rules set out in this section. Please consult the Downgrade Waivers page for more information.

For greater certainty, in this section, the term "Player(s)" refers to a player who was kept in the immediately preceding offseason.

Tier D to Tier C
The Keeper Cost for players transitioning from Tier D to Tier C will occur as follows:

Round 14-23 => Round 11

Tier C to Tier B
The Keeper Cost for players transitioning from Tier C to Tier B will occur as follows:

Round 5-11 => Round 3

Tier B to Tier A
The Keeper Cost for players transitioning from Tier B to Tier A will occur as follows:

Round 3 => Round 2

Tier A
Tier A keepers do not transition, and their Keeper Cost remains Round 2 from year-to-year.

Re-Acquisition of Previous Keeper
A Player that is re-acquired by the club that kept him in the immediately preceding offseason will transition to the next Tier should the club declare him a keeper. The mere fact that the Player has been owned by another club since he was last kept does not prevent the transition from occurring.

One League Year plus one day must pass for this restriction to be lifted.

2020-21
- D(d) denotes the player in question was downgraded to Tier D according to the downgrade rules in place at the time of the keeper submission. - No(d) denotes the player in question was set to transition and subsequently was prevented from transitioning because he was successfully downgraded. - ''(os) denotes the player in question was the recipient of an offer sheet that was matched by his club. His matched keeper cost is listed in the Compensation column.''