Evan,
I may be in the minority here but I don't really see how racing to register for teams is more fair than a draft based on last seasons standings. I can understand how that might be the best option for the B league, but for the A league I'm assuming all or nearly all of our coaches played last season. Why couldn't the order go from the worst records who didn't make the playoffs picking first, then the worst regular season record of the first round losing teams picks, etc., etc., until finally the Stanley Cup Champ picking last. I would be happy to go through the standings and figure out the order for u. You could start the draft at any time on Aug 5th, give people 1 minute to make their selection. If they can't make the draft have them send u a list ranking their picks from 1-20. It sounds like this is what the people who aren't going to be around are doing anyways. If they don't send in a sheet or get online in person, they go to the end of the line and u randomly pick them a team at the end.
Please consider this option when it comes to picking teams, it will create parity in the league, which is good for the league.
Feez
P.S. I would pick 4th from last under this system.