A five man executive committee will vote on all league issues and oversee all league activities to ensure all GMs are acting in the best interest of there team and the league. Anyone attempting to circumvent the spirit of the game may be fined or expelled from the GOHL. There is no fee to join the GOHL and nobody running the league receives anything extra. A 66% majority vote is needed (all GMs vote) to change an existing league rule. For a new rule vote over a 50% is needed, although the commissioner may change the wording of a rule to prevent a GM from abusing the intention of a rule.

The GOHL is a league designed to bring fellowship and the enjoyment of hockey, played by computer, among friends. In order to participate (run a franchise) you must be dedicated. We do not want to have a high turnover rate among team owners. Active owners make the league more fun and enjoyable. All team owners are expected to participate in all league activities. If winning is the only thing that will maintain your interest, please choose another league to join, because you will not be welcome here. For every winner, there will be several losers. We must all understand and accept that.

In the GOHL we have our own listserv and it is considered a privilege to use it. All communication using either the listserv or the league mailing list must be respectful to all league members. Neither the use of profanity nor the criticism of any league member will be tolerated. The list is not to be used for chain letters or a personal forum. This league was established to have fun. There is no place for disrespectful behavior. Anyone who is disrespectful of his fellow owners will be placed on email moderation and may be dropped from the league.

If a GM must leave the GOHL, but might want to return in the future they should give the commissioner a minimum 30-day notice. Any GM who leaves the GOHL with no concern for the franchise will not be allowed to return in the future.

Every May any team wishing to relocate to anyone city or change the team nickname must email the CEO explaining why the team would like move. The executive committee will vote to determine which team(s) may be allowed to move the franchise. This is the only time a team will be considered for a move. No more then two teams can move each year to keep league stability.

Every August the GOHL will have the league members vote to replace anyone on the executive committee. Anyone getting 13 or more votes will be removed from the executive committee. A league vote will then be held to fill any vacant spots. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), also called the commissioner will oversee all league matters. The CEO may be over ruled if three other members of the executive committee vote against him. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will be responsible for making sure accurate financial statements are kept for all teams. Each GM is encouraged to keep their own records and use the CFO as a partner. The Chief Web Officer (CWO) will develop and maintain the official GOHL web site. The Chief Computer Officer (CCO) will take care of weekly league files and rule votes. The Chief Draft Officer (CDO) will be responsible for setting up and running all the drafts. Members of the executive committee will help each other as needed to ensure everything is completed.

As of November 2002 these positions will be held as follows. CEO-Anthony Blanda, CDO-Jimmy Martin, CWO-Marc Daigneault, CCO-Lou Lombardo & CFO-Chris Gotay. All league members are encouraged to help with the running of the league.

If a league member does not believe they have been treated fairly they may make an appeal to the executive committee within 72 hours of the occurrence. Anyone making league wide complaints on the listserv may be fined and have draft picks taken away. A simple majority vote by the executive committee would over rule whatever was appealed. The commissioner may suspend a draft, free agent signing period or weekly game file while the executive committee votes. The league will charge a processing fee of $300,000 for any appeal that does not receive a majority vote.

The GOHL utilizes a utility called Aphcomm, which is used to set lines and shifts. All GMs must use Aphcomm to send their line-up profiles to the commissioner each week. All basic strategies on the team strategy page are allowed. None of the explicit line assignments or line weights can be used. Anyone found to be using these might be expelled from the league. Only the CEO and CCO can use the "manage rosters" feature, to finalize a trade. Anyone using this feature will be expelled from the league.

Each week every GM will play there home games. Teams must dress 18 skaters and two goaltenders. The injury feature will be turned off. All other features are set to NHL standards, excluding overtime. The commissioner will set dates and times for games to be played. Any GM who cannot play a game must let the commissioner know, so that the computer can simulate the game.

Players may not exceed actual games played in the previous NHL season, plus 10%. By using the Aphcomm utility a GM may check his players usage for the season very quickly. Each game that a player is used or put in a lineup to be used (removed by executive committee), that exceeds their maximum games may result in a $500,000 fine per game and suspension from an equal amount of playoff games.

A league member may call for a vote to have the GOHL place restrictions placed on a player included on the yearly disk for player(s) with extraordinary stats in a low sampling of NHL games played.

Any GOHL skater or goaltender, which played 40 or more games in the previous NHL season, may play all GOHL playoff games. Any other players cannot exceed playing three GOHL playoff games in a row. If a player is overused during the playoffs, the team will be fined $500,000 and the player will be suspended for 3 games.

Eight teams from each conference will make the playoffs. Teams will be seeded within their own conference, with division leaders seeded in the top two spots. NHL tiebreaker rules will apply to the GOHL in the case of a tie. Teams eliminated in each round will pick ahead of remaining teams in the next draft even if they finished with more regular season points.

Every August, a reverse order six round draft will take place for all players on the APBA disk that are not under contract to a GOHL team. The first pick of the draft will not be made until after the free agent signing period ends. A live draft should begin this process on a Sunday night (9:00 P.M. EST.) in August. The top 5 picks must be made on that night. Any GM who cannot make the live kick off must leave a short list of picks with the commissioner. Picks must be made within 24 hours of the last pick for the balance of the draft or the executive committee will make the pick for a missing GM. Anyone going on vacation must alert the commissioner as to when they are returning and leave a list of 2 picks per missing day. A 7 day vacation means leaving 14 picks with someone. If all 14 players were picked before the 7 days ended, the draft would be held until the GM returned. This is much easier then leaving a list of 144 players for a one-day draft. These draft picks may be traded, up to two years in advance. Any team at the 30 player limit may trade away draft picks or cut players during the draft.

If a team exceeds 30 players from a trade, draft or free agent signing, the GM will have 48 hours to reduce the team roster by either trading player’s away or cutting players. The CFO will cut the player with the lowest yearly contract if the GM does not announce a cut after 48 hours. If more then one player has the same contract, the older player will be released. The team would still be responsible for the player's contract as per the GOHL buyout rules.

The GOHL contract system for drafted player's works as follows. GMs must announce the player's contract when he is drafted. If the GM does not specify the length of contract, a 5-year contract will be assigned.

An extension may only be offered once to a player per contract. An extension does not constitute a new contract. A player signed as a free agent may have an extension offered. The GOHL contract extension system works as follows.

All extensions must be included in the May financial statement before the player would start the final year of their contract. Example, player "A" is drafted and given a four year $400,000 per year contract. After the third season he is given a four-year extension, the final year of the previous contract is wiped out and he starts earning $1,200,000 per season ($400,000 x 3.0).

A player may have his contract bought out for 50% of his yearly pay on the May financial statement. A player may have his contract bought out for 100% of his yearly pay from June to the September financial statement. All other buyouts will cost the team 100% of his next year's pay. A player bought out during week #1 of the season would have already been paid for that season, plus he would get next years full salary.

If a player under contract does not appear on the APBA disk, a league-funded insurance policy pays the yearly contract, not the team. The year is counted towards the contract, he still counts towards the team 30-player cap, and he cannot be offered as compensation on the free agent exposed player list. An insured player may be released on the May financial statement at no charge to the team. The release of an insured player at any other time would fall under the buyout rules.

The GOHL will play a 78 game schedule. Two games against the twelve teams in the opposite conference, four games against the six teams in the other division and six games against the five teams in the same division. The season will be 20 weeks long with a one-week break for the all star game.

Once a player’s contract expires he goes through free agency. This will start in July every year. The commissioner will release a schedule, which will include approximately 20-25 players per week, for 6 to 8 weeks, so that all GMs know which players will be available each week. Players will be arranged in alphabetical order. Any GM who will miss a week may have a fellow GM put in a bid for a player, but the commissioner must be notified about this before it happens. Minimum contract offer is $100,000 per year. Maximum length is 5 years. The offer must have the same dollar value each year. A signing bonus may also be offered, but it cannot exceed the value of the yearly offer.

Each week (before Saturday midnight EST) every GM must make a qualifying offer for their pending free agents. If no offer is made the player will be an unrestricted free agent going to the highest offer and no compensation will be due. Minimum qualifying or contract offer is $100,000 per year. Maximum length is 5 years. Weekly bidding will begin on Monday's at 12:00 AM EST and stop on Friday's at 11:59 PM EST.

If no bid is put on a player he will go into the entry draft. If there is bidding on a player, each bid must exceed the last bid by at least 20% and the yearly offer cannot decrease. Every GM may make one bid per player. The GM who had the players’ last contract may match the final offer exactly without a 20% increase, provided a qualifying offer was made.

If the two GMs cannot agree on compensation within 24 hours, the GOHL player compensation chart will be used as follows.

Cash payment is based on the total value of the offered contract. Exposed player is a player under contract and included on the upcoming season disk from the team offering the free agent contract. The GM losing the free agent may assume the contract of one player in addition to the draft picks and cash. The draft picks must be available within the next two drafts. The GM losing the draft picks will select which year they come from and which teams draft picks will be surrendered in the compensation package. Teams cannot trade for a player and then use him as exposed player after a team has announced they will not match a free agent offer. A player received in another compensation package may be used to complete a current compensation case.

If a player were going to enter the Free Agent draft, but he did not play enough games to make the APBA disk; his team may offer him a qualifying free agent contract. The player would not qualify for insurance on the contract, but the team would retain his rights. Other teams would then be able to offer a higher contract, as per GOHL free agent rules.

If no offer was made and he was on a future disk, he would go into the entry draft and demand no compensation. If a player has two years remaining on his contract and does not make the APBA disk, the GM may offer a contract extension to the player.

There is no limit to trading, but the commissioner may alert the executive committee to any trade that does not appear to be made in the best interest of a team. A trade may not be allowed if it is extremely unfair. No trades will take place from the 60 game mark to the league release of the May financial statement. When a trade is made both parties must confirm the trade with the commissioner. Please include full names, draft picks and any cash involved in any trade. Any draft picks traded must be from the next two entry drafts. No deals that include future considerations will be allowed.

New GMs will have a league appointed mentor for 30 days to review possible trades or contract offers. The mentor will make sure the new GM understands all of the GOHL rules and discuss any trade offers to ensure the new GM is not taken advantage of.

Anytime a team cuts a player during the season he automatically goes through waivers. All teams have 24 hours to offer the player a contract. The team claiming the player with the lowest winning percentage will sign the player. Contracts must be consistent with the "New Contract" section. Players signed during the season will receive the full years pay.

Players claimed after the trading deadline are not eligible for that year’s playoffs. Players that are released at the time of the May financial statement cannot be claimed and will go into the following draft if they played enough NHL games to be included on the yearly disk.

Each team will be given an $11,000,000 bankroll to start the 1998 season. Every year each team will increase their bankroll by $1,000,000 ($16,000,000 for 2003) when submitting the May financial statement. Unused money will be carried over into the next season. Financial statements will be handed in every May and September. They will include every player under contract, pending free agents, first year of contract, length of contracts, yearly salary, traded cash or draft picks, cash left over and total payroll. If a team is over the cap at the beginning of the season, the best player (as determined by the executive committee) on the team will not play until the payroll is reduced into a positive status. If a GM does not get his balance sheet into positive status within 7 days the best player will become an unrestricted free agent and go to the highest bidder. The yearly contract will be back charged to the new team and subtracted from the old team. This process will be repeated if the team remains over budget. All contracts are paid in full when the September financial statement is submitted. A GM may be fined up to $100,000 per error on their financial statement.

Every January the executive committee will vote to determine if the GOHL will have an expansion draft after the finals of that year. If the majority of committee members vote to expand these will be the rules for expansion. The league is not expected to expand to 26 teams any earlier then 2004.

1. All current teams must have an active GM. Any one waiting to join the GOHL must take a team in need of a GM before expansion can take place.
2. Two teams will always join at one time.
3. After the finals end all 24 teams will summit a protection list that will have 12 skaters and one goaltender or 10 skaters and two goaltenders. Free agents may have their rights protected. Players under contract that are not on the current players disk may be selected if they are not protected.
4. A team cannot lose more then one goaltender during the expansion draft. Once a team has a goaltender selected, all of there remaining goaltenders are taken out of the expansion pool.
5. The two expansion teams will now draft (order 1-2-2-1-1-2-2…ect.) by e-mail to entire league. An expansion team can only select one player from each team (no team can lose more then 2 players).
6. After the expansion draft is completed, all teams will hand in their May financial statements, showing contract extensions, cut players, players lost to expansion. The expansion teams will carry the existing contracts of any players they have drafted.
7. Now, the trading window will open again and all teams would take place in the free agent signing period, as per the GOHL rules. The expansion teams will receive the same bankroll as all other teams for that season, plus a one time $3,000,000 bonus.
8. Last would be the entry draft, as per the GOHL rules, with the two expansion teams drafting 1 & 2 (the expansion team that drafted first in the expansion draft would be placed second in the entry draft).

Every May the executive committee will review all charts/tables used in the GOHL and possibly make changes as needed to try and keep everything fair and fun. Any rule additions or amendments will also be discussed and voted on in May.

If a GM used an incorrect team or profile and the commissioner discovers this before loading the game into the league data files, the GM in error will be given a chance to replay the correct game. If the commissioner receives the file late in the week, he may just simulate the correct game. If an incorrect game or profile is loaded into the league data, a GM may be fined up to $300,000 depending on the error and how it effects the league.

During the playoffs the home team will play the first four games against the computer each round. Games 5, 6, and 7 will be zipped by the commissioner (unless his team is in the series). Box scores will be sent to the involved GMs first, so a report can be written about the game. If no report is written within 24 hours, the commissioner will release the box score to the league.

Beginning with the 2000-2001 season the GOHL will have an all star game in late December. The Brooklyn Railsplitters hosted the 2000-2001 game, the Peel Region Peelers hosted the 2001-2002 game and the Valleyfield Aliens hosted the 2002-2003 all-star game. The Prairie State Stingers will be hosting the 2003-2004 all-star game. The home team GM will work with the CCO in setting up an all-star ballot, filling out the rosters and setting the line-ups.