Article I — League Structure

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§1General Notes

  • Scoring is handled by Fantrax.
  • The CHA is based in California, so all scheduling uses Pacific time (UTC-08:00) unless otherwise specified.

§2Teams

  • Each CHA league has 14 teams, each operated by an individual GM.
  • Teams may be co-managed at the Commissioner's discretion.
Key Rule
No GM may control more than one team in a single league.

§3Schedule

  • CHA leagues typically run a 20- or 21-week regular season.
  • Each team plays each other team once, then the schedule repeats.
Deadline
The fantasy playoffs conclude on a Sunday at least three days prior to the end of the NHL regular season. The regular season may be shortened by one week to accommodate this.

§4Scoring

CHA leagues are head-to-head. Scoring categories:

  • Skaters: goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty minutes, special teams goals (PPG/SHG), special teams assists, takeaways, shots on goal, faceoff wins, hits, blocked shots
  • Goalies: wins + shutouts, goals-against average, saves, save percentage

Standings points:

  • Category win: 2 points
  • Category tie: 1 point
  • Category loss: 0 points

Daily lineup

Each night, the following positions start:

C, C, LW, LW, RW, RW, Skt, Skt, D, D, D, D, G, G

The Skt positions can be filled by any skater.

Key Rule
A team must have at least two games played by their goalies to collect stats in save percentage and goals-against average. Fewer than two goalie games means those two categories are forfeited.

Standings tiebreakers

If two teams are tied in the standings, ties are broken in this order:

  1. Most total wins
  2. Best head-to-head record among tied teams
  3. Most total goals
  4. Most goals in head-to-head matchups among tied teams
  5. Coin flip

Playoff matchup tiebreakers

If a playoff matchup ends tied, ties are broken in this order:

  1. Core category scoring. Goals, Assists, and Goalie Wins are "core categories." Each is worth 2 points for a win, 1 for a tie, 0 for a loss. Most points across the three wins.
  2. Goals
  3. Assists
  4. Goalie wins (+1 for each shutout)
  5. Saves
  6. Penalty minutes
  7. Faceoff wins
  8. Plus/minus
  9. Shots on goal
  10. Special teams assists
  11. Special teams goals
  12. Hits
  13. Blocked shots
  14. Takeaways
  15. Save percentage
  16. Goals-against average
  17. Coin flip (heads = higher seed, tails = lower seed)
Key Rule
Fantrax does not have a matchup tiebreak procedure — it advances a team at random. This can be overridden manually but may not happen immediately. If you feel you were advanced incorrectly, contact the Commissioner ASAP.

§5Playoffs

At the end of the regular season:

  • Top 6 teams → Championship Bracket
  • Next 5 teams → Consolation Round Robin
  • Bottom 3 teams → No playoffs

Championship Bracket

  • The top two seeds get a bye through the quarterfinals
  • The other four play head-to-head: 3v6 and 4v5
  • Winners advance and are re-seeded
  • Quarterfinal losers play each other in Round 2 for 5th place
  • Semifinal losers play in Round 3 for 3rd place — Round 3 is an extended matchup (typically 10–14 days)

Consolation Round Robin

  • Each team plays two simultaneous matchups per week for two weeks
  • Four matchups total — one against each other team
  • Teams are ranked in standings format with regular season tiebreakers applied

§6Rosters

Each GM manages:

  • A 21-player varsity roster — the one scored each week
  • A junior varsity roster of up to 30 players

Full roster construction rules are in Article II.

§7Salary Cap

CHA leagues use an NHL-style salary cap. See Article III for the full breakdown.

Key Rule
During the offseason, teams get 10% leeway against the salary cap. See Article VII §5.

§8Online Elements

Most CHA activity happens on the Capwise Hockey forum. Managers are expected to visit at least:

  • Once every 72 hours during the season
  • Once a week during the offseason

Other key resources:

  • Fantrax — scoring
  • Google Sheets — league spreadsheet (link provided when you join)
  • Transaction Portal — record transactions on the league spreadsheet after executing them in Fantrax
  • capwisehockey.com — main website
Key Rule
Failure to record a transaction may result in penalties, fines, or removal of the manager.
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