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All hockey leagues are different as far as what they have to offer in terms of providing that ideal mix of enjoyment, skill and compeitition.
Like most things, the MDHL can't be all things to all people. Basically, our unofficial mandate is to provide
"a fun and competitve forum for recreational hockey players". With that in mind, maintaining a competitive environment is still on the menu. With respect to levelling teams, and trading players, we enourage you to remember the following nuggets of wisdom compiled over the many seasons of our existence:
At each mid-series point (i.e. after Game #5), the MDHL
attempts to objectively evaluate the series with
the intent to maintain a competitive level of play through the remainder of the games. While existing team captains are encouraged to work out some mutual equalization suggestions, it is the
final say of the GMs to enact player trades in the interests of equalizing any
uneven competition. The following are some guidelines and criteria that are considered:
League Standings To-Date. Winning vs.
losing records (including goal differential) are factors which objectively
indicate losing teams in need of player equalization (i.e. trades).
Individual game scores and outcomes on a week by week basis are also taken into
consideration, whereas "...but that team carried the play in most of the games..." doesn't really cut it.
Substitutes will always alter the true outcome.
For games past and games yet to play, the number and skill caliber of these substitutes (and
the missing regular players they replace) will always sway a true assessment of
a game's competition level on any given night. This will *always* be the
case moving forward and therefore, will remain a difficult factor to address. JAN'06 NOTE: Pre-game sub trading and review is now are part of each game to minimize this effect. Please see Rule #18 for details.
Perceptions differ. Not surprisingly, players on the
winning team usually see things more optimistically than those on the losing
side. The latter is especially true in the "heat of the moment" fresh off a scalding loss. Take a deep breath, pop a valium and sleep on it, please. The MDHL considers both teams' perspectives but especially the losing team,
since ultimately, the equalizing trades are for their benefit.
Team strategy and player chemistry have an effect. While
opening rosters and trades are
pre-determined with a best-hope for a competitive series, the variance in strategy (line
combinations, defensive pairings, etc.) and general chemistry may add up to extraordinary or
lacklustre team performances.
Individual player performance, expectations, and attendance are variable. Our MDHL rating system and general knowledge of players' skill level are taken into consideration when forming teams. With that in mind, it's not an exact science and there is some degree of subjectivity, but it's our best option to work with (unless YOU have a better suggestion).
However, armed with the latter information, that specific player may or may not live up to expectations over the course of the current series (or even attend all the games as expected). If that player does not perform up to par (e.g. nursing injuries, missing games, or just plain bad luck) it's just one of those things to consider moving forward knowing it wasn't predicted at the time.
Other equalizing rules remain in effect. In addition to player swaps, the losing team also has control of the goaltender selection in the latter part of the series. Please see Rule #14 for details.
Captains' feedback is solicited and considered.
While captains do not have final input into the actual player transactions, their
feedback and general assessment is considered by the GMs in the course of this
exercise. They are encouraged to discuss their observations with each other and may propose mutually acceptable trade transactions to the GMs, but this is subject to GM acceptance (which may or may not result in veto). NOTE: To have captain's feedback under consideration, it must be received no later than 3 days before the upcoming Game #6 (i.e. end of day Tuesday deadline).
So, there you have it. Unfortunately, we can't please
everyone all the time, but we try our best! (heh)
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