Official League Rules

Before the League disturbs the result of a game or series, it will consider whether the violation had a material impact on that result.

Members must raise a known violation promptly, as soon as they become aware of it. If you identify a problem, such as a mistake in your opponent's playoff lineup post, raise it before the game or when you notice it. Sitting on a defect to see whether you win first is bad faith and will not be rewarded.

Violations that are administrative or technical in nature, such as failing to update a roster page for a properly signed and eligible player, are handled with management-level penalties: loss of draft picks, loss of trading rights, strikes. Violations that create a real competitive advantage, such as using a player who is not on your roster or not in the League, are far more serious and may result in forfeits, reversals or suspensions.

Very few violations will ever justify reversing a game that was otherwise played fairly and competitively. LMS has been and always will be a league where champions are decided by team skill on the sticks, not by keyboards.

The League enforces a strict zero-tolerance policy for bigotry, hate speech, discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or any other protected characteristic.

This policy applies at all times, everywhere, to everyone who chooses to play in an LMS league. It reaches every form of communication, including voice and text in League and team Discords, the Discords of other CHEL leagues, in-game and console messaging, private messages on any platform, and social media.

Violations may result in whatever discipline the Discipline Department and Executive Committee consider appropriate, up to and including a permanent League ban.

Members who verify they are at least 18 may be given access to the League's chirp channel, where more off-topic adult subjects, more colorful language, more aggressive trash talk and more candid critique are permitted than in the general channels.

The Commissioner and Executive Committee may amend these Rules at any time.

League officials may issue rule updates, guidance, interpretations and directions through Discord. These must be followed. They are not part of the Rulebook unless identified as a formal amendment, and every one of them is recorded in the Rulings and Interpretations register with the date issued and the Rule it construes. Each entry is codified, superseded or withdrawn at the next version of the Rulebook.

The Commissioner and Executive Committee may act, or decline to act, on any matter as they consider in the best interests of the League, whether or not these Rules address it.

No rule change, modification or correction to the current Rulebook takes effect after the mid-season rule lock date in the Season Parameters, except to correct a manifest error. This Rule does not limit the case-by-case authority in Rule 1.5.

LMS plays the title and on the platforms set out in the Season Parameters. Both leagues are 6v6: five human skaters and one human goalie per side, cross-platform.

LMS operates two leagues, the LMSHL and the LMSAHL. LMSAHL games are played at the same times as LMSHL games and usually between affiliated organizations. Each league tracks its games, standings, stats, playoffs and awards independently. An LMSAHL club may be owned by someone other than the owner of its affiliated LMSHL club.

Both leagues are divided into conferences and divisions as set out in the Season Parameters.

The League's internal governance structure consists of the LMS Commissioner, one person, the LMS Deputy Commissioners, two to three persons, and the League Admins, five to nine persons. The Commissioner, Deputies and Admins collectively comprise the League's Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee is generally charged with day to day league operations, player tickets, league rules, marketing and communications.

The League also contains various departments and committees that help run different aspects of the league. These include the Discipline Department, the Transactions Department, the IT and Website Department, the Salary Cap Department, the All-Star and Awards Committee, and the Fairness and Competition Committee (FCC).

Departments and committees are typically headed up by an Admin with a special role, such as the Discipline Dealer, the Transactions Tsar, the Awards Arbiter, the Cap Chief and the Chief Justice of the FCC. For who currently holds these roles, see the Season Parameters.

Every member must join and remain in the primary LMS League Discord. Once assigned to a club, players must also join and remain in their club's Discord.

Owners and Management must be responsive in the main Discord in order to follow League news, arrange games with opposing management, and communicate with players and Admins.

Stats are tracked automatically through the EA SPORTS NHL API and published on lmshl.com. Every player must be registered on the website and assigned to his in-game club to be eligible to play in League games. Report website errors to the Admin team.

A player on an LMSHL or LMSAHL club who leaves the main League Discord without prior Admin approval, intends to quit or abandon his club, and fails to return within 72 hours, may receive an automatic ban for the remainder of the current season and the whole of the following season.

• A. A player is considered to intend to quit or abandon if he has told his management or the Admins he is quitting, or has failed to communicate with management or Admins at all before leaving.
• B. If a player is not in the main League Discord on a game day and plays for his club, that club may be required to forfeit the game once the Admin team confirms it.
• C. A player banned under this Rule is not eligible to be placed on injury reserve and must be released by his club. He may appeal to the Discipline Department or Executive Committee, which may affirm, reverse or modify the ban.
• D. This Rule may be relaxed in the off-season, or in special circumstances announced in the League Discord.

All regular season games in both leagues are played on the game days and in the time slots set out in the Season Parameters. The number of games per club, the length of the season and the trade deadline are also set out there.

Both leagues follow the current NHL divisional playoff format. Every round is a best-of-seven. Games 1 through 3 are played Wednesday in the three scheduled slots, Games 4 through 6 are played Thursday in the three scheduled slots, and Game 7, if necessary, is played Friday in the first slot.

The League creates a Discord channel for each playoff series, with a lineup thread created by an Admin. Both clubs must post their lineup of six players and their positions in that thread before game time. The away club must post no later than one hour before game time and the home club no later than 30 minutes before game time. The Discord timestamp controls.

• A. Offenses accumulate per club, per series. Counts reset at the start of each new series.
• B. A club may commit up to two offenses in a single game.
• C. Late lineup. Posting after the deadline.
• D. Illegal lineup. The six who play do not match the last timely post.
• E. No post. No lineup posted before puck drop. This counts as two offenses, one late and one illegal.

Penalties apply by total offenses accumulated in the series:

Where two or more clubs finish the regular season tied on points, standing is determined in the following order:

• 1. Greater number of total wins, including overtime wins.
• 2. Greater number of regulation wins.
• 3. Head-to-head record, meaning the greater number of points earned in games against each other among the tied clubs.
• 4. Goal differential across the entire regular season.
• 5. If the first four do not resolve the tie, the clubs play a single game, and the winner takes the higher seed.

A tiebreaker game under paragraph 5 is played in the slot set out in the Season Parameters. Home ice is decided by a coin flip conducted by an Admin in the League Discord where both clubs can see it. Home ice cannot be assigned on a standings figure, because reaching paragraph 5 means every standings tiebreaker has already come back level.

Every club must have a lineup of six players ready for its scheduled games. Only the correct LMS clubs and only rostered players, permitted random assignments and permitted emergency call-ups may be used.

The home and away designation on the schedule must be followed exactly so that stats track correctly through the API.

Using the wrong club or an ineligible player may result in a forfeit loss for the club that did so, unless exceptional circumstances apply, such as a club being unavailable through an EA error.

LMSHL clubs must use AHL Roster players as emergency call-ups on game nights. LMSAHL clubs may use random assignments, the Player Loan Program, or request a free agent emergency call-up, subject to the restrictions in Article 6. AHL management should contact the Admins to request an emergency free agent.

Every Owner must submit an ownership application in Discord, which is reviewed and recommended by the Executive Committee. Owners are appointed at the discretion of the Commissioner and may be removed at any time for a violation of these Rules or for other good cause shown.

Ownership may not be transferred unless the transfer and the transferee are approved by the League.

Owners are held to the highest standard of conduct in the League and must adhere to these Rules and to the separate Owner Conduct and Discipline Policy at all times.

Disciplinary matters concerning Owners are handled exclusively by the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners, with advice from the Discipline Department. Management discipline is handled by the Discipline Department in the same way as players and other members. Owner disciplinary decisions are published in the League rulings channel.

The Commissioners generally enforce a two-strike policy for Owners: a warning, a first strike, and a second and final strike, which results in loss of ownership privileges. Penalties attached to a warning or strike are set at the discretion of the Commissioners and may include loss of draft picks, loss of players, loss of Discord privileges and loss of games.

Every Owner must appoint a GM and may also appoint an AGM. Appointment and removal of management within a club is at the Owner's discretion and does not require League approval, but every appointment must comply with these Rules and with any disciplinary decision in force.

Owners may trade players they have appointed to management positions.

Clubs must identify their GM and AGM on their team channel roster and ensure those members hold the correct Discord roles.

The League does not generally involve itself in an Owner's management decisions, but may investigate where a violation of these Rules is alleged.

Owners, GMs and AGMs in both leagues are locked to their club and league for the season. Random assignments may not hold LMSAHL management positions. AHL Owners and management are not eligible for the Player Loan Program.

At the beginning of each off-season, new Owners of expansion clubs in either league may be permitted to acquire one player to serve as their GM for the following season. These acquisitions take place over a defined period known as the Management Transfer Window.

The acquisition may be any person other than another LMS Owner, including a player new to the League, a free agent, or a currently rostered player. The player being acquired must consent.

A player acquired through the Management Transfer Window may not be traded the following season and must remain in that club's management until the end of the playoffs, unless the Admin team grants an exception.

No club may lose more than two players to Ownership and Management Transfer Window acquisitions in the same off-season.

Every organization carries an LMSHL club and an LMSAHL club. Every player under contract holds one of three roster statuses.

• A. NHL Roster. Eligible for LMSHL regular season and playoff games only. Not eligible for the LMSAHL regular season or the Calder Cup playoffs. May be traded for other NHL Roster players or NHL draft picks, not necessarily one for one, and may not be traded for AHL players or AHL picks. May be waived to AHL Roster, subject to claims.
• B. AHL Roster. Eligible for the LMSAHL regular season and the Calder Cup playoffs, and eligible to serve as an emergency call-up in the LMSHL regular season and playoffs. May be traded only for other AHL Roster players, not necessarily one for one. First round NHL draft selections, players at or above the salary threshold in the Season Parameters, and players named to the Legends List are not eligible for AHL Roster status.
• C. Random Assignment. A player automatically assigned to an LMSAHL club on lmshl.com during the regular season. Not under contract and carries no salary cap hit. Eligible for the LMSAHL regular season, and for the Calder Cup playoffs on meeting the games played requirement. Not eligible for the LMSHL except as an emergency call-up.

Roster limits, the injury reserve limit and the salary cap for each league are set out in the Season Parameters. The roster limit is a hard limit and applies at all times. A club may not temporarily exceed it.

Every contract has two parts: a designation, which fixes the salary, and a term, which fixes how many seasons it runs. They are set independently. A player may hold an N8 on a one-season deal or an N8 on a two-season deal, and the cap hit is the same either way.

• A. Designation. NHL contracts run N1 through N18, where the number is the salary in millions. AHL contracts run A1 through A7. Entry level contracts run R1 through R5. The full schedule is in the Season Parameters.
• B. Term. A contract is one season or two seasons, except an entry level contract, which is fixed at two seasons. The number of two-season contracts a club may hold is set out in the Season Parameters and counts re-signings only. One-season contracts are unlimited.
• C. Salary floor. A player's salary does not fall below half his salary from the prior season. A player in the second year of a two-season contract keeps the salary that contract set.
• D. Cross-league salary. A player who appeared in both leagues in the prior season is priced against the cap of the league in which he played more games.
• E. Cap compliance. Contract designation does not override any movement or eligibility Rule. Waivers, call-ups, emergency call-up limits and playoff eligibility apply to a player regardless of what he is paid.
• F. Salary methodology. Salaries are calculated under the Salary Methodology in Appendix II, using regular season stats only, and are recalculated each season from final statistical results.

Separately from roster status, a player may carry a status that affects who controls him and where he may be assigned.

• A. NHL Prospect. A player selected in an NHL round of the entry draft, as set out in the Season Parameters. An NHL Prospect assigned or waived to AHL Roster may not be traded or released by the AHL club without the consent of the NHL Owner.
• B. AHL Prospect. A player selected in an AHL round of the entry draft. Before an AHL Prospect is assigned or called up to NHL Roster, the AHL Owner must consent. Once that consent is given and the player holds an NHL Roster contract, the NHL club does not need consent again to trade him.
• C. Legends List. A player identified by the League as too skilled for the LMSAHL. See Rules 5.3.2 and 5.3.3.

Owners and general managers are expected to play their whole roster during the regular season. Clubs must play roster players over random assignments where possible.

There is no minimum games played per week for a rostered player, but a club must qualify enough players for the playoffs in both leagues by the end of the regular season. Those requirements are in Rules 5.6 and 5.7.

Emergency call-up limits across both positions are set out in Rule 6.13.

LMSHL. At the end of the regular season the club's players are ranked by games played. The eleven players with the most games played must each meet the higher requirement. The remaining players must each meet the lower requirement. Both requirements are in the Season Parameters. A player who meets the requirement that applies to him is fully eligible for the playoffs.

Nothing is declared in advance. A club does not nominate which players make up its top eleven. The ranking is taken from the final games played figures.

A free agent signed during the regular season is held to the free agent scale in Rule 6.3 and is left out of the ranking.

Games played in either league count toward the requirement.

LMSAHL. Every AHL Roster player is held to the same requirement, set out in the Season Parameters.

• A. AHL Roster players in the LMSHL playoffs. An AHL Roster player who qualifies for the Calder Cup playoffs may serve as an emergency call-up in the Stanley Cup playoffs, up to three games. Games played as an emergency call-up in the LMSHL playoffs do not count against his three of six limit in the Calder Cup playoffs.
• B. Random assignments. A random assignment qualifies for the Calder Cup playoffs on meeting the games played requirement in the Season Parameters. A Legends List random assignment is not eligible for either league's playoffs.
• C. Unassigned emergency call-ups and Player Loan Program players. Not eligible for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Unassigned emergency call-ups qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs on meeting the requirement in the Season Parameters. Player Loan Program players are not eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs.
• D. Free agents signed during the regular season. See Rule 6.3.

Every LMSHL club must qualify the minimum number of NHL Roster players set out in the Season Parameters. Every LMSAHL club must qualify its own minimum, also in the Season Parameters.

The minimum sits above the mathematical floor on purpose. Eleven players is the fewest that can staff a seven game series under the three of six limit in Rule 5.9, but that assumes every one of them is available on the right night. Games 1 through 3 are played Wednesday and Games 4 through 6 Thursday, and a skater who plays all three Wednesday games has spent his three of six and cannot appear Thursday. The margin above eleven is what keeps a club from forfeiting a playoff game when availability falls unevenly across the two nights.

A player who is waived from the LMSHL to the LMSAHL, called up from the LMSAHL to the LMSHL, or who serves as an emergency call-up, will finish the regular season with games in both leagues. For the purpose of playoff eligibility in either league, all of his regular season games count, whichever league they were played in. The thresholds are in Rules 5.6 and 5.7 and in the Season Parameters.

Two limits apply regardless of how the games are spread. A player who finishes the season on an NHL Roster contract is not eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs, unless he returns to his AHL club under Rule 6.10.4. A player who finishes the season on an AHL Roster contract is eligible in the Stanley Cup playoffs only as an emergency call-up.

Examples

Example 1. Player A has played 5 games through the first six weeks. Before the final week he is called up from the LMSAHL to the LMSHL with nine games remaining. Even playing all nine he finishes with 14 games across both leagues, one short of the 15 that is the lowest LMSHL requirement. As a rostered NHL player he cannot drop back down for the Calder Cup playoffs. Player A is eligible for neither.

Example 2. Player B is waived from the LMSHL to the LMSAHL having played 18 LMSHL games. Even if he does not play again, he is eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs, because 18 games across both leagues satisfies the AHL requirement of 15. Having qualified there, he may also serve as an emergency call-up in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Example 3. Player C starts in the LMSHL, plays 10 games, is waived to the LMSAHL and plays 10 more. With 20 games across both leagues he is eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs, and may therefore also serve as an emergency call-up in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Example 4. Player D plays five LMSAHL games. He is eligible for neither the Calder Cup playoffs nor an emergency call-up in the Stanley Cup playoffs, because he did not qualify in his own league.

In both leagues, an eligible player may play at most three of the first six games of a playoff series. The order does not matter. The limit of three applies whether the series runs four, five or six games. A club may play its top six in Games 1, 2 and 3, or 1, 3 and 5, or 4, 5 and 6, or any other combination within the limit.

There is no restriction on who may play Game 7, provided the player is playoff eligible.

The League holds an entry draft each off-season for players new to the League. Players become eligible in several ways, including playing in qualifying off-season tournaments such as the LMS World Junior Championship or the LMS Off-Season Cup, or playing the prior season in the LMSAHL as a random assignment.

The draft is unified across both leagues, drawing from the same pool of prospects. The number of rounds, and which rounds belong to which league, are set out in the Season Parameters. The League holds a fifth round only if the number of prospects allows, at its discretion based on sign-ups.

Clubs may contact undrafted prospects before the draft and are encouraged to do so. It reduces the chance of a player refusing to report to the club that drafts him and being banned as a result.

The entry draft order follows inverse regular season standings from the prior season. The Stanley Cup and Calder Cup winners select last and the runners-up select second to last. Expansion clubs are placed after the clubs that missed the playoffs, and the order among multiple expansion clubs is random.

The League runs two free agency periods each season: off-season bidding, which opens immediately after the re-sign window closes, and mid-season bidding, which closes at the trade deadline. Both are administered by the Transactions Department and processed on lmshl.com.

• A. Eligibility. Free agent bidding fills roster openings created by quits, bans, trades and unfilled vacancies. Players not selected in the entry draft, not signed during the re-sign window, or released to free agency are eligible to be bid on.
• B. Off-season bidding. Opens after the re-sign window closes and before the regular season begins. Free agents may be signed to a one-season or two-season contract, subject to the contract limits in the Season Parameters. A player signed in NHL off-season bidding is NHL Roster for the number of regular season games set out in the Season Parameters before he may be waived to the AHL.
• C. AHL off-season bidding. During the off-season only, LMSAHL clubs may bid on any free agent who went unsigned in NHL bidding, in a subsequent AHL bidding window.
• D. Mid-season bidding. Both leagues run weekly bidding windows up to the trade deadline. All free agents signed mid-season receive a one-season deal at the winning bid salary and must be re-signed in the following off-season re-sign window.
• E. Conduct of bidding. Bidding takes place on lmshl.com. All accepted bids are final once announced. Free agents count against the salary cap and the roster limit on signing. A free agent may be traded, but may not be waived or assigned to the AHL during the lock period in paragraph B.
• F. Playoff eligibility. A free agent signed during the regular season qualifies for the playoffs on the sliding scale in the Season Parameters, which reduces the games played requirement according to how late in the season he signed. He is held to that scale only, and not to the roster slot requirements in Rule 5.6.
• G. Compliance. Every bid and signing is verified by the Admin team and announced in Discord. Exceeding the cap, exceeding roster limits, or exceeding the contract limits is subject to reversal and discipline.

As the League grows it holds off-season expansion drafts in which expansion clubs select from unprotected roster players on returning clubs. The format, protection limits, minimum exposure and maximum losses per club are set out in the Season Parameters. Unless announced otherwise for a given off-season, these Rules apply to both leagues.

• A. Purpose. Expansion drafts stock newly admitted clubs with eligible players from returning clubs.
• B. Protection lists. By the announced deadline, every returning club submits a protection list identifying which returning players it protects and which it exposes. Owners are automatically exempt from selection. A player serving as GM or AGM is protected or exposed like any other player and counts against the club's protection slots if protected. An unsigned returning player may not be protected. A player who has not re-signed by the re-sign deadline is automatically exposed.
• C. Eligible returning player. A player who appeared in the prior regular season and is reasonably expected to meet the minimum availability standard for the upcoming season. Only eligible returning players count toward a club's minimum exposure.
• D. Identifying ineligible exposures. A club exposing a player who is not expected to meet the availability standard, or who is on injury reserve, must clearly identify him as such on the protection list. A player who has quit the League is not an eligible returning player and does not count toward the minimum.
• E. Failure to meet the obligation. A club that exposes ineligible returning players without notice, or otherwise fails to meet its expansion obligation, is subject to salary cap sanctions, loss of draft picks, and Owner or Management strikes.
• F. Transaction freeze. From the protection list deadline until the expansion draft concludes, no waivers, call-ups, send-downs or trades of players eligible for selection may be processed.
• G. Expansion picks. Expansion clubs may not trade expansion draft picks during the draft. Selections may be traded after the draft concludes, subject to roster and cap compliance. A player selected in the expansion draft may not be traded back to his prior club until the conclusion of the upcoming season.
• H. Contract on selection. A player selected by an expansion club reports to that club for the upcoming season. His contract status with his prior club does not affect his eligibility for selection. On selection the expansion club assigns him a contract under this Article, subject to the contract limits and the salary cap.
• I. Compensation for no-shows. Where a player selected in the expansion draft fails to report to his expansion club, as confirmed by the Admin team, the expansion club may be awarded a compensatory pick at the end of the round set out in the Season Parameters, if available in next season's draft. Compensation applies only to confirmed no-shows. It does not apply where the expansion club trades or releases the player voluntarily.

• A. LMSHL transactions. Trades involving NHL Roster players are handled by the organization's NHL Owner and management.
• B. LMSAHL transactions. Trades involving AHL Roster players are handled by the organization's AHL Owner and management. Random assignments may not be traded.
• C. Cap and roster limits. A player retains his contract when traded. No trade will be approved that leaves any club party to it over a roster limit or over the salary cap.
• D. Draft picks. During the season, NHL clubs may trade only the NHL rounds of the entry draft and AHL clubs may trade only the AHL rounds, as set out in the Season Parameters. Picks in a round listed as not tradeable in the Season Parameters may not be traded.
• E. Expansion picks. See Rule 6.4.
• F. Prospects. The consent requirements for NHL Prospects and AHL Prospects are in Rule 5.3.

The League does not allow players to formally request trades. A player may raise the subject informally with his owner and management.

Owners and management may not retaliate against a player who asks to be traded while continuing to comply with these Rules and to show up for his club. Dropping a player to free agency or to emergency call-up status is a last resort, and in almost every case management is expected to at least explore a trade request in good faith.

Players and management may open a support ticket with the Admin team regarding a trade request or any other locker room issue.

The League does not allow a club to release a player before his contract expires except in the circumstances below. Dropping a player is a last resort. Owners and management are expected to play the hand they dealt themselves.

A release is posted in the player release channel, tagging the Admins for the relevant league and the Discipline Department, and must cite the paragraph relied on. A player is not released until the post receives an approval reaction from the Commissioner or an Admin and the release is made on lmshl.com.

• A. Holding out, refusing to report, refusing to play. The player refuses to join the club Discord, refuses to give the minimum availability in Rule 6.8.1 for two or more consecutive weeks, quits the League or the club Discord, or otherwise refuses to play. A player has 72 hours to return to the main League Discord before he is banned for abandonment under Rule 2.4.
• B. Ban. The player is banned for at least a season. A player serving a short suspension may not be dropped and replaced until the suspension has run.
• C. Club fit. Poor locker room fit, poor attitude, quitting games early, arriving late, insubordination, self-tampering or similar misconduct. Management must open a support ticket with supporting evidence and have the release approved before removing the player.

A random assignment is a player automatically assigned to an LMSAHL club on lmshl.com during the regular season, based on the club's roster size and positional need. Random assignments are not under contract and carry no salary cap hit. They receive a Discord role and must be listed separately from rostered players on the club's team channel roster.

Random assignments supplement AHL lineups and prevent forfeits on nights when a club is short. Because they did not take part in the League's off-season scouting and are awarded by chance at no cost, they are not expected to contribute materially at the LMSHL level.

LMSAHL clubs may use random assignments during the regular season, but must play roster players over random assignments where possible.

Random assignments may not be traded and may not be called up except through the mid-season draft in Rule 6.9.1. A random assignment drafted or protected in the mid-season draft stays with his club as an AHL Roster player. Random assignments remaining at the end of the season are released to the following season's entry draft pool.

A player may be moved between NHL Roster and AHL Roster status during the season. A club may want to move a player for eligibility reasons or to add depth for a playoff push.

Call-ups and waivers are posted in Discord for League approval and then made on lmshl.com.

• A. Initial designations. Before the roster compliance deadline in the Season Parameters, clubs may designate their players between NHL Roster and AHL Roster without waivers or call-ups. Those initial designations must comply with these Rules.
• B. Consent. An NHL club may call up any AHL Roster player without the AHL Owner's consent, except an AHL Prospect or a player acquired by the AHL club by trade within the preceding 18 League games. The AHL Owner may consent to either but is not obliged to. A player named to the Legends List may be called up notwithstanding this paragraph.
• C. Waivers. A player waived from NHL Roster to AHL Roster is subject to claims by NHL clubs only. Competing claims are resolved in inverse standings order. A club that successfully claims a player moves to the bottom of the claim priority order for the remainder of the season. An unclaimed player is assigned to his organization's AHL club.

This Rule governs when an AHL player may declare for the NHL entry draft.

• A. Eligibility. Only a player between the first and second season of an entry level contract may declare. A player on any other contract is not eligible to declare and goes to free agent bidding. A player who has previously declared may not declare again until he next meets the condition.
• B. Declaring. The League opens a declaration window in the off-season after the playoffs conclude. An eligible player must notify the Admins and his AHL Owner of his intent within the posted deadline.
• C. Right of retention. Once a player declares, his organization's NHL Owner is notified and has the first right to retain or promote him before the draft.
• D. Outcomes. If the NHL club retains him, he signs with that club under the usual contract Rules. If it declines or does not act before the deadline, he enters the draft pool. If drafted, he joins the drafting NHL club on an entry level contract and must be rostered for the upcoming season, except first round selections. If undrafted, he reverts automatically to his AHL club as an AHL Roster player for the following season, with no further paperwork.

Injury reserve is for a player on an extended but temporary absence, such as a long vacation or a stretch of work that will keep him away. It is not a roster or cap management tool. Every move onto and off injury reserve is posted in Discord for League approval and then made on lmshl.com.

• A. A player placed on injury reserve must have told his owner or manager that he will be away for an extended period and intends to return.
• B. A club may hold no more than the number of players on injury reserve set out in the Season Parameters at one time.
• C. A player must remain on injury reserve for a minimum of nine League games, being one full game week.
• D. A player on injury reserve does not occupy an active roster spot and does not count against the salary cap. Returning him requires an open active roster spot.
• E. A player on injury reserve has no trade value and his rights may not be traded.
• F. A player who has left the League Discord may not be placed on injury reserve.
• G. An Owner may not go on injury reserve. A club may place a GM on injury reserve but must name an interim GM.
• H. A player on injury reserve is exempt from the minimum availability requirement in Rule 6.8.1.
• I. A club may protect or expose a player who is on injury reserve at the end of the season, but an injury reserve player does not satisfy the minimum exposure obligation in Rule 6.4.

An emergency call-up fills a lineup when a club cannot ice six players from its own roster. Both leagues have access to emergency call-ups.

• A. Requesting. Management may not find their own free agent emergency call-ups. A request for one must be posted in the proper channel and the League official overseeing emergency call-ups assigns them first come, first served.
• B. AHL players in the LMSHL. An NHL club may use AHL Roster players and random assignments from its own AHL affiliate. It may not remove a player from the AHL club's starting six without that club's agreement. Where an AHL club releases a starting six player to its NHL club and then cannot ice a lineup after requesting an emergency call-up and exhausting its options, it receives a free reschedule for every game it cannot play that night.
• C. Regular season limits. A player may serve as an emergency call-up in at most three games as a skater and six games as a goalie, and in no more than six games in total across both positions.
• D. Playoff limits. An AHL Roster player who qualifies for the Calder Cup playoffs may serve as an emergency call-up in the Stanley Cup playoffs in up to three games, at any position. Limits for the Calder Cup playoffs are in Rule 5.9.3.
• E. Recording. NHL clubs must record their use of AHL Roster, random assignment and free agent emergency call-ups on their team channel. AHL clubs must record their use of free agent emergency call-ups. The record must list the player, the dates played and the number of games.

An AHL Roster player or random assignment may serve as an emergency call-up for another LMSAHL club on nights when he is not in his own club's lineup. A player may not be used against his own club, and his club may recall him by 8:00 PM EST on a game night if it needs him.

No club may use the same loaned player more than three times in a week or more than six times in a regular season. The Player Loan Program is not available in the Calder Cup playoffs and is not available in the LMSHL at any time.

Owners create their in-game club as "LMS" followed by the team name, with no city. LMS in capitals, the team name in normal case. For example LMS Bruins, LMS Red Wings, LMS Rangers. AHL clubs use "LMSA" the same way, for example LMSA Bruins.

Players are encouraged, though not required, to join their club's in-game club so they can play together outside League games and so private matches are easier to arrange.

Owners and general managers must be members and in-game GMs of their club on every game day so that private matches can be set up.

The in-game scoreboard abbreviations for every club are in the Season Parameters.

Every club receives stock branding and arena content for its in-game club. Unless granted an exception, clubs must select stock branding and use their club's real logo and colors.

Clubs are encouraged to use their team's current home, away and alternate jerseys, and may use recent special event or retro jerseys, including Reverse Retro, Winter Classic, Heritage Classic, Stadium Series, anniversary and older jerseys.

Where a club has not received its branding or has not unlocked the required uniforms, it should use custom branding and recreate its team's logo, colors and jerseys as closely as possible. An AHL club without an alternate jersey may create a reasonable one using custom branding, subject to League review and approval.

All AHL clubs wear dark stock uniforms at home and light stock uniforms away.

Players are encouraged to use authentic hockey gear. Players may use a male or female player model but may not play League games using a fantasy character or build.

The League does not restrict base player classes. Every base class is permitted.

EA's premade fantasy builds and character skins are banned from League games, whether or not they were obtained with money. This includes every themed build released with an in-game season.

The X-Factors banned for the current season, and the tiers at which they are banned, are listed in the Season Parameters.

The League does not generally regulate in-game behavior. Players may use whatever tactics, abilities and features they choose, whether or not those features work as EA intended.

The broad prohibition on unfair and unsportsmanlike conduct in Rule 1.3.2 still applies and can reach in-game conduct in extreme cases. Indefinitely delaying the end of a game through repeated delay of game penalties, or abusing a forced fight glitch, are examples.

League review of in-game conduct should be rare. Players are expected to police themselves and to play like competitive adults. A dispute about egregious in-game conduct or serious abuse of a bug must be supported by evidence and may be brought to the Executive Committee, which decides first whether to take the matter up at all. Its decision is subject to final review by the Commissioner.

Owners and management arrange private games through Discord. Games are played on the server set out in the Season Parameters unless both clubs mutually agree to a different server. Once selected, the server may not be changed.

Games are set up with four minute periods, with each club searching as home or away exactly as the schedule states. Grudge Match must be disabled.

Passwords are case sensitive and are formed as the league prefix followed by the home club's abbreviation, for example LMSHLNYR or LMSAHLGR. See Discord for exceptions caused by the EA profanity filter.

This Rule governs an involuntary disconnect during a game.

Step one: at the first whistle

At the first whistle after a player disconnects, the club that lost him chooses one of two options.

• A. Finish the period with a CPU. Any goal scored by the CPU replacement does not count. If the disconnect happens in the third period and the score is not tied when the period ends, the game is over. Otherwise go to step two.
• B. Quit at the first whistle and go to step two.

Step two: the resumed game

A new game is started to play out the remaining time.

• A. Mandatory penalty. The disconnecting club takes a new minor penalty to begin the resumed game. The player who disconnected takes it immediately after the opening faceoff, within the first minute of play. Failing to take it by the 19:00 mark results in a second penalty and a five on three. Repeated failure may result in discipline. Where the player who disconnected is a goalie, a skater designated by the disconnecting club serves the penalty.
• B. Setup. The score and any ongoing penalties from the original game carry forward and clubs should screenshot the pause menu stats. Lineups, builds and positions stay the same. Where the original player cannot return, a rostered substitute may take his place at the same position and is responsible for the mandatory penalty. No additional penalty applies for the substitution. The disconnecting club is allowed to win the opening faceoff.
• C. Length. The resumed game runs for the time that remained in the original match plus five accelerated minutes to account for the final real-time minute of the third period. The trailing club may waive the extra five minutes by leaving at the end of the prior period. If the score is tied when time expires, play continues until a goal is scored.
• D. One game. A game and its resumed game count as a single game played for every purpose, including the three of six limit in Rule 5.9.
• E. Multiple disconnects. If the same club disconnects again in the resumed game it must finish with a CPU. If the opposing club disconnects in the resumed game it becomes the disconnecting club and this Rule restarts for them. A club suffering three disconnects across the original and resumed game forfeits.

Pre-game crashes

A crash before puck drop is not a disconnect and carries its own penalties.

Every game must be played through the first and second periods. Where a club is seven or more goals ahead at the end of the second period, or reaches a seven goal lead at any point in the third, the trailing club may quit without penalty from the Discipline Department.

Example 1. Club A leads 7-0 at the end of the first and 11-2 at the end of the second. Club B could not quit after the first, because the first and second periods must both be completed. At the end of the second it is down nine and may quit.

Example 2. Club A leads 6-0 at the end of the second. Club B scores twice to make it 6-2, then Club A scores three to make it 9-2 with five minutes left. Club B could not quit at 6-0 or 6-2, and may quit once the lead reaches seven at 9-2.

One player on the winning club must screenshot the end of game screens and post them in the appropriate winning pictures channel. Where there has been a disconnect or another unusual occurrence, post every relevant screenshot with a written explanation of what happened and the final score.

Management of the winning club must upload and finalize the result on lmshl.com by the deadline in the Season Parameters. Select the match, view match details, update match data, allow the EA API to locate the game, import it, then edit the score and enter the accurate period by period box score. Do not enter the full score in the first period. Box scores must be accurate and entered in good faith.

A game is not finalized until the match status shows Final. Imported stats alone are not enough if the match still shows in progress. Open a website support ticket for technical problems or to correct a mistake.

An offense is a win not uploaded and finalized by the deadline in the Season Parameters. Offenses count per day, not per game. No club is in violation where the API or the website is not working.

Forfeits are discouraged in the regular season and strongly discouraged in the playoffs. A forfeit is recorded as a 1-0 win for the club that did not forfeit. Where a club has any concern about fielding six players for an upcoming game, management should request an emergency call-up under Rule 6.13 as soon as possible.

The Discipline Department, headed by an Admin with the assistance of a Deputy Commissioner, reviews alleged rule violations and player and management misconduct.

Misconduct by Owners is handled by the Deputy Commissioners under the supervision of the Commissioner, with the assistance of the Executive Committee.

Except where player privacy or safety requires otherwise, disciplinary action is open and transparent. Written explanations are posted in the League rulings and discipline announcement channels.

Rule 1.3.2 lists examples of prohibited conduct. It is not a complete list. The discipline guidelines, which set the base sanction, the progressive sanction and the mitigated sanction for each category of violation, together with the mitigating circumstances the League considers and the limitation period for each, are set out in Appendix I.

The guidelines are guidelines. Rule 1.1 governs how they are applied.

This policy exists to protect League integrity, competitive balance, and the time every participant commits to the League.

• A. Tier 1. Club abandonment, failure to meet minimum participation requirements, and isolated or low-level harassment.
• B. Tier 2. Repeat Tier 1 violations, escalated conduct, and any behavior detrimental to League operations or culture. Discipline may escalate within this tier based on severity, history or intent.
• C. Tier 3. Severe or sustained harassment, League sabotage or intentional disruption, and extreme misconduct affecting League stability. The Discipline Department sets the length within the range.
• D. Paying a buyout ends the ban. It does not expunge the violation and it does not affect how a later violation is treated.

All rulings, escalations and reinstatement eligibility are determined by the Discipline Department.

A member subject to discipline may appeal. Player discipline is reviewable by the Executive Committee and the Commissioner. Owner discipline is reviewable by the Commissioner.

An appeal contests the fairness or the severity of a ruling. A ban imposed under Rule 2.4 may be appealed to the Discipline Department or the Executive Committee, which may affirm, reverse or modify it.

A dispute about the application of these Rules is resolved by the responsible League department or committee, subject to review by the Deputy Commissioners, the Executive Committee and the Commissioner.