The IceCore Value Board tracks how efficiently each franchise is paying for
fantasy production. It compares every player's salary with the salary benchmark of the
ranking group in which that player finishes the season.
The system is designed to make the salary economy behave like a real hockey market:
cheap players who outperform their price naturally become more expensive,
while expensive stars receive a slower, predictable increase. The league itself creates
the benchmarks — the Commissioner does not set individual salary thresholds.
⚙️ How the Value System Works
➕ Base Increase
The starting Base Increase is +4 Coins. It floats only between +3 and +5 according to the league's economy.
💎 Value Increase
Players below their group benchmark receive an additional increase based on how far below the benchmark their salary sits.
⚖️ Group Benchmark
Each ranking group has its own market benchmark: the average salary of players 2–9, excluding the highest and lowest salary.
🌡️ Floating Economy
The Base Increase automatically reacts to the average of all 16 group benchmarks. No fixed inflation target is imposed by the Commissioner.
| # | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 1 | Player A | Team A | 130 | 39 | ⚖️ Above Market | +4 |
| 2 | Player B | Team B | 92 | 39 | ⚖️ Above Market | +4 |
| 3 | Player C | Team C | 60 | 39 | ⚖️ Above Market | +4 |
| 4 | Player D | Team D | 45 | 39 | ⚖️ Above Market | +4 |
| 5 | Player E | Team E | 42 | 39 | ⚖️ Above Market | +4 |
| 6 | Player F | Team F | 37 | 39 | 💎 Below Market | +5 |
| 7 | Player G | Team G | 25 | 39 | 💎 Below Market | +9 |
| 8 | Player H | Team H | 8 | 39 | 💎 Below Market | +14 |
| 9 | Player I | Team I | 3 | 39 | 💎 Below Market | +15 |
| 10 | Player J | Team J | 1 | 39 | 💎 Below Market | +17 |
Example calculation: the highest salary (130) and lowest salary (1) are removed.
The remaining eight salaries are 92, 60, 45, 42, 37, 25, 8 and 3. Their average is
39 Coins, which becomes the group benchmark. Players at or above 39 receive
only the current Base Increase. Players below 39 also receive the Value Increase.
Player F, for example, is only 2 below the benchmark: 4 + (2 ÷ 3) = +4.67 → +5 after rounding the final increase to a whole Coin. This shows that being just slightly below the benchmark does not create a dramatic increase.
Player G is 14 below: 4 + (14 ÷ 3) = +8.67 → +9. Player H is 31 below: 4 + (31 ÷ 3) = +14.33 → +14. Player J is 38 below: 4 + (38 ÷ 3) = +16.67 → +17. The exact same formula applies to every player.
Why remove #1 and #10? Extremes can distort the market signal. A very expensive player
(for example, a superstar returning from a long injury) can artificially push the benchmark up,
while a very cheap breakout player can pull it down — and can simultaneously reduce his own Value
Increase. Removing both extremes makes the benchmark represent the normal market around the player,
rather than two outliers.
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 36 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 41 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 43 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 44 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 45 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 46 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 48 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 50 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 51 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 55 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 58 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 59 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 60 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 61 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 62 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 63 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 64 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 65 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 66 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 67 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 68 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 69 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 70 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 71 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 72 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 73 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 74 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 75 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 76 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 77 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 78 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 79 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 80 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 81 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 82 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 83 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 84 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| 88 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 89 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 90 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 91 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 92 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 93 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 94 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 95 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 96 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 97 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 98 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 99 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 100 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 101 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 102 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 103 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 104 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 105 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 106 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 107 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 108 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 109 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 110 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 111 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 112 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 113 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 114 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 115 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 116 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 117 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 118 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 119 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 120 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 121 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 122 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 123 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 124 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 125 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 126 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 127 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 128 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 129 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 130 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 131 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 132 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 133 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 134 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 135 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 136 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 137 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 138 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 139 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 140 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rank | Player | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 141 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 142 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 143 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 144 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 145 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 146 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 147 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 148 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 149 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 150 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| # | Goalie | Team | Salary | Benchmark | Status | Increase |
|---|
| 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
🌡️ Floating Base Increase
The starting Base Increase is +4 Coins. It is not permanently fixed. After each season,
the league calculates the benchmark for all 16 ranking groups (15 skater groups + 1 goalie group)
and then calculates their average.
📈 Economy rises
If the rounded average benchmark is higher than the previous season, the Base Increase falls by 1.
📉 Economy falls
If the rounded average benchmark is lower than the previous season, the Base Increase rises by 1.
⏸️ No change
If the rounded average benchmark is unchanged, the Base Increase remains unchanged.
🔒 Hard limits
The Base Increase can never be lower than +3 or higher than +5. There are no other exceptions.
Rounding: the average of the 16 group benchmarks is rounded to the nearest whole Coin;
exactly .5 rounds upward. The rounded result is the value used for the year-to-year comparison.
Example: 34.49 → 34, 34.50 → 35, 34.51 → 35.
Example: Previous season rounded average = 38. Current season rounded average = 40.
The league's economy has risen, so Base 4 → Base 3. If the current average had fallen to 36,
Base 4 → Base 5. If it remained 38, Base stays 4.
The GMs create the boundaries themselves. The Commissioner does not decide that salaries
"should" be around a particular number and does not manually move individual players. Auction prices,
trades, breakouts, injuries, overpays and bargains collectively create the market — the Value Board simply
measures it and the floating Base reacts to it. This creates an automatic inflation brake so that
the dynasty economy does not become increasingly broken over many seasons.
📐 Exact Value Formula
Every regular keeper receives the current Base Increase. If a player's salary is below his
group benchmark, an additional one-third of the salary gap is added.
Increase = Base + max(0, (Benchmark − Salary) ÷ 3)
The resulting increase is rounded to a whole Coin. A player at or above the benchmark therefore receives
exactly the Base Increase, while a cheap player who significantly outperforms his salary can receive a much
larger increase. There is no separate superstar bonus, no arbitrary salary threshold and no special exception.
🏒 Salary Floor · 250 Coins
IceCore also uses a 250-Coin salary floor. A franchise that falls below the floor after the
keeper process receives time to correct its roster. The goal is to prevent deliberate or accidental extreme
under-spending while giving the GM a fair opportunity to fix the situation.
If the GM fails to correct the violation within the allowed correction period, the franchise's available
salary cap is reduced by the amount it is below the floor. Example: a team sitting at 242 after the deadline
would have its 500-Coin cap reduced by 8, leaving 492 Coins. Repeated or unresolved violations
may lead to roster-move restrictions until the floor is restored. The purpose is economic balance, not a cash fine.
📊 League Economy Dashboard
The Value Board is also a source of season-long league content. These statistics describe how GMs are using
the 500-Coin economy and can be highlighted during the season or at the end of the year.
| Statistic | Leader / Value | What it measures |
|---|
| 💎 Best Economy | — | GM with the most players finishing below their group benchmark. |
| 📈 Biggest Salary Gain | — | Player whose salary increases by the most Coins in the season. |
| 🧊 Most Underpriced | — | Player finishing furthest below his group benchmark. |
| 💰 Best Value per Coin | — | Most productive player relative to salary, using the league's fantasy ranking and salary data. |
| 🔥 Breakout of the Year | — | Player who combines a major fantasy-rank improvement with a major salary correction. |
| 💸 Most Overpaid | — | Player furthest above his group benchmark. |
| 🏦 Most Overpaid Franchise | — | Team with the largest number of players above their group benchmarks. |
| 📊 Biggest Salary Portfolio | — | Team whose keeper salaries gain the most total Coins during the season. |
| 🎯 Value Conversion Rate | — | Share of a team's qualifying keepers that finish below their group benchmark. |
| 🌡️ League Market Average | — | Rounded average of all 16 group benchmarks — the number used for the Floating Base comparison. |
These are league statistics, not additional rules. They can be used for season recaps,
articles, graphics, awards or rivalry content. The actual salary escalation is determined only by the official
Value Formula and Floating Base rules above.
🗂️ Annual Value Board Preparation
The Commissioner fills this section after the regular season. It preserves the same 16 categories every year
and makes the economic history of IceCore easy to compare from season to season.
| Group | Ranks | Benchmark | Rounded |
|---|
| 1 | Skaters 1–10 | — | — |
| 2 | Skaters 11–20 | — | — |
| 3 | Skaters 21–30 | — | — |
| 4 | Skaters 31–40 | — | — |
| 5 | Skaters 41–50 | — | — |
| 6 | Skaters 51–60 | — | — |
| 7 | Skaters 61–70 | — | — |
| 8 | Skaters 71–80 | — | — |
| 9 | Skaters 81–90 | — | — |
| 10 | Skaters 91–100 | — | — |
| 11 | Skaters 101–110 | — | — |
| 12 | Skaters 111–120 | — | — |
| 13 | Skaters 121–130 | — | — |
| 14 | Skaters 131–140 | — | — |
| 15 | Skaters 141–150 | — | — |
| 16 | Goalies Top 10 | — | — |
| League Market Average | — | — |
| Previous Rounded Average | — | — |
| Next Season Base | — | +4 |
Benchmark preparation: in each group, remove the highest-paid player and the lowest-paid player,
then average the remaining eight salaries. Do this for all 16 groups. The 16 resulting benchmarks are then averaged
together. That overall average is rounded to the nearest whole Coin (with .5 rounding upward) and compared with
the previous season's rounded average to determine whether the next Base is 3, 4 or 5.
📌 Rules at a Glance
- Every regular keeper receives the current Base Increase.
- Base starts at +4 and floats only between +3 and +5.
- Players below their group benchmark receive an additional one-third of the salary gap.
- Each benchmark uses ranks 2–9 of a ten-player group; the highest and lowest salary are excluded.
- There are 16 groups: 15 skater groups and one Top-10 goalie group.
- The Floating Base is determined by the year-to-year change in the rounded average of all 16 benchmarks.
- There are no emergency adjustments, star bonuses, fixed salary thresholds or Commissioner-set player values.
- The final Value Board is confirmed after the completed regular season.
Full explanation: this Value Board is the detailed reference for the salary-escalation system;
the main IceCore Rules can link here instead of repeating the full calculation and examples.
During the Season
The Value Board may publish informative interim snapshots showing current fantasy ranks, salaries,
group benchmarks and projected increases. Interim numbers are informational only. The official escalation
is calculated from the completed regular-season results.