6.1. Line Restrictions
As discussed in section 5.1, functional lines must include dressing 20 active, non-injured players. Again, of these, 12 must be fowards and at least four must be listed at each forward position (C, RW, LW), six must be listed at defense, and two must be goaltenders. A GM must submit the best lines as they possibly can or at least within reason. If any team is caught using lines that considerably hurt their team's chances of winning then it will be grounds for dismissal. The commissioners will use their discretion to monitor the lines and make sure no teams are throwing games.
6.2. 'Double Shifting' Players
As of the 2019-20 season, double shifting at 5 vs 5 is not allowed. A team must have:
- 12 unique forwards on their four 5 vs 5 scoring lines.
- 6 unique defensemen on their 5 vs 5 defensive lines
Should your team play a team, and the results would indicate that the opponent has double shifted a player, a private message needs to be sent to the BOD outlining the infraction. The BOD will then review the infraction and determine the appropriate punishment, if necessary.
For transparency on punishment(s), offending teams who are double shifting players may receive roster fines. The penalty for breaking the Double Shifting rules will be $500,000 for each offense. In addition, for extreme circumstances where an offending team is continuously double shifting a player, even after previous BOD punishments, the BOD reserves the right to additional punishment, such as removing a teams right to participate in UDFA or UFA.
6.3. Minimum Playing Time
The minimum playing time for a team's fourth forward line is 5%. A team's fourth defense pairing is allowed to be set at less than 5% (and including 0%). Reasonable explanations may be submitted to the BOD and they will review each case independently. The penalty for breaking this minimum ice time rule will be a suspension for the offending team's highest rated player for 5 sim games.
6.4. Playing Players Out Of Position
Players may play out of position, but according to the makers of the simulator, their performance will be reduced if they play at a position other than that at which they are listed.