Rosters for both NHL and AHL teams must be compliant to league rules no later than Tuesday, December 10. Let's see how many of you have read everything so far. For some weird reason last year, I had a group of GMs who thought that meant something else for some reason and they were fined stiffly. It's literally what it says! This is the opening night deadline for ALL rosters.
The rules remain the same: 13 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goalies (with the option of one extra skater) on your NHL roster and a minimum of such for your AHL roster. Remember that the simulator does NOT enforce this, so it is up to you to make sure you are compliant! Just because you've set your rosters and lines for Game 1 does not mean that you have them set for Game 2. If you have a player on waivers who you see that you will lose or if you are expected to win a waiver claim, this must be accounted for on your opening night roster. The only exception is if the waiver claim doesn't expire until Wednesday, to which you should make accomodations as soon as possible. Additionally and as always, ALL of your dressed skaters need to be in the main lineup!
Anyone who does not meet the appropriate roster criteria -or- does not have lineups properly set for both NHL and AHL teams, will be disciplined.
The new league file and the regular season schedule are in the process of being posted. As you know from past seasons, the schedule will be in heavy flux for the next several weeks (especially the AHL) in order to adapt it to our calendar. If you have a custom AHL affiliate, the chances are likely that even your first few games of the season will be changed in the coming days. I'll be trying to cram the schedule down as best as I can so that we don't have playoffs running into July!
I also remind you to double-check that your captains are in order for this season. This can have an effect on your team performance.