Challenge 20: Dallas Stars (Discussion Thread)

[bruins72]

How are the Sharks doing in everyone's game? In my game they were competitive until their GM traded Thornton, Marleau, and Clowe. Now they're a joke. They probably would have traded Heatley too but they ran out of time.

The Sharks are 8th in the conference (we're 7th) right now in my game. I'm 46 games in. The only trade the Sharks have made is Ian White to the Islanders for Travis Hamonic. In my game the surprise (or maybe not since they always do poorly in EHM when I'm not running them) stinker team is the Bruins. They haven't made any trades but they did waive both Recchi and Ryder. Most of the other low ranked teams are the ones you'd expect to be there.

[fz50]

So, after a great first season were I was knocked out in 7 games in the 2nd playoff round, I'm fired midway through the 2nd season after being just 4 points out of a playoff berth. I guess I raised the expectations a bit too much for the 2nd season...

Anyways, I'd like to readd myself as a GM, but in the rules it says that I have to provide a screenshot that shows that I'm under the budget at the time I was fired. How am I supposed to make that screenshot? Now that I'm fired I can't see the budget I had anymore right? Any pointers here?

Sure, go ahead and re-add youself.

Ok, thanks. I was just wondering, are we allowed to use the option of no human manager firings ingame?

[bruins72]

No, because if you're fired for being grossly over budget, we'd expect you to be fired and not re-added.

[Círyatan]

Finally, I'm off. After 26 games we're 6th in the Conference (13-9-4). My lines so far are (usually):

Morrow – Richards – Eriksson
Benn – Ribeiro – Langenbrunner
Ott – Sutherby – Williams
Barch – Petersen – Burish

Daley – Robidas
Grossman – Goligoski
Fistric/Skrastinš/Woywitka – Blindenbacher

Lehtonen
Raycroft

so no surprise there, though we were without Eriksson and Morrow for some time, with Segal/Wandell/Gagnon/Gazdic filling in. The first two lines have been great, but the bottom-6 have been dramatically worse. I didn't expect much from the likes of Barch or Petersen, but Ott, Sutherby and especially Burish have been disappointing. And I have to say that I miss Nickerson from the Oilers Challenge. That guy was money. Barch just can't win a fight. Well, alright, he's won three in eleven attempts, but that's far from impressive...

Glennie so far has 39P in 25G, but he's being rated by my scouts as having at best third line potential, so we'll see.

Sharks have shipped out Wallin and with no other big changes they're currently tenth in the West.

[bruins72]

If Benn struggles, you really should consider sending him down to the AHL and putting Wandell in his place. Wandell has played above his attributes for me. In 47 games so far, he's got 41 points (18G 23A) and a 7.15 Average Rating. I'm sure he's getting those stats because of who he's on a line with (Ribeiro and Langenbrunner) but it's working out. Meanwhile, Benn is averaging over 19 minutes per game in the AHL.

[Círyatan]

I wouldn't say he does. I thought long about who to put on 2nd line LW, Benn or Wandell, but in the end went with Benn. Now he's got 21 points in 25 games, while playing on the 2nd PP and having average TOI around 17-18 minutes. That's not bad. Wandell, on the other hand, played equally well when called up to fill for the injured Morrow (6 points in 7 games) and is doing good (but not great) in the AHL. Still, if Benn starts to struggle, I'll send him down alright.

[dmarchuk1]

Stats are not updating, Im uploading challenge stats but wont let me go further than S2 40 games.

[timmy_t]

Stats are not updating, Im uploading challenge stats but wont let me go further than S2 40 games.

I don't understand what you mean. Do you mean you can't load S2 game 60? I'm looking at the stats and I don't see your S2 40 game loaded.

[dmarchuk1]

Precisely, Ive attempted to upload my stats twice now and each time it says its good but upon reloading the page its still requesting the game 40 stats.

[timmy_t]

Hmmmmmm...... This may sound stupid, but how about clearing your browser's history and cookies and then restart it. It may be computer-related, you know?

[dmarchuk1]

nm, got it figured. It was PEBCAK.

[timmy_t]

[fz50]

So, I seem to have stumbled upon my regular challenge problem. It's now July 1st before the 3rd season in my game, and I'm offering contracts to me RFAs. Then when I press continue, and get to July 2nd, I get three messages which say that my exclusive rights to negotiate with Goligoski, Wandell, and some other AHL level player have expired, and they become UFAs. I've had this problem in challenges before too, but not with as important players as Goligoski. Other people have mentioned the same problem in earlier challenges too, so I guess it's not just me. Might be a bug because of all the altered ages in the database?!

Anyways, since I had a feeling this might happen I took a screenshot of the list of players I qualified, and there it clearly says that this guys should become RFAs. What can I do now? Am I allowed to sign this guys as UFAs, since I'm able to prove that the rights is not supposed to expire? How a mod can weigh in here ASAP, since I'm eager to get on with the 3rd season.

[Bodhi]

Hey all,

Just posting on my first challenge to say hello!

Great idea you guys have going here and it has been a lot of fun so far comparing my performance with the rest of you, although i'm not doing all that great with Dallas and there is a fair possibility that I will get canned - lol

Richards has been solid for me but i'm not getting anywhere near the production from my wingers that some of you have managed to pull off.

My chances of making the playoffs look dim but I'm going to mess with the line ups and tactics to see if we can make a late charge for 8th.

On a side note, the sharks had a fire sale in my game too with the top 3 being shown the door.

Anyway, back to business ... good luck guys.

[braeden]

11 games in my record is 5-6-0.

Ducks lead the West with a record of 7-2-2

Penguins lead the East with a record of 8-1-0

Vanek,Perry,Krejci and Lecavlier all lead the NHL with 16 points

[bruins72]

So, I seem to have stumbled upon my regular challenge problem. It's now July 1st before the 3rd season in my game, and I'm offering contracts to me RFAs. Then when I press continue, and get to July 2nd, I get three messages which say that my exclusive rights to negotiate with Goligoski, Wandell, and some other AHL level player have expired, and they become UFAs. I've had this problem in challenges before too, but not with as important players as Goligoski. Other people have mentioned the same problem in earlier challenges too, so I guess it's not just me. Might be a bug because of all the altered ages in the database?!

Anyways, since I had a feeling this might happen I took a screenshot of the list of players I qualified, and there it clearly says that this guys should become RFAs. What can I do now? Am I allowed to sign this guys as UFAs, since I'm able to prove that the rights is not supposed to expire? How a mod can weigh in here ASAP, since I'm eager to get on with the 3rd season.

Yes, if you've got a screenshot as proof, you can go ahead and re-sign them as UFAs. My suggestion would be to get your guys re-signed ahead of time in the future so you don't have to worry about it.

[bestrafer7]

I've found some success late in the season with Jamie Benn on my second line after my playoff chances were spoiled. In his final ten games, he posted 6 goals and 8 points while playing 12-16 minutes with time on the first PP unit aside Richards and Eriksson. I didn't really find success with Trevor Daley, I'm certainly thinking about not tendering him a qualifying offer and maybe picking up a top 4 defenseman in the offseason. I need a true second line LW and a stronger offensive output from my bottom six. Here's to hoping Glennie can make the squad come September.

[bestrafer7]

My 1st season's NHL draft has concluded and I have to say it was pretty successful.

Rd 1 6 Ovr - D Adam Larsson (Skelleftea AIK)
Rd 2 36 Ovr - LW Brandon Saad (Saginaw Spirit)
Rd 3 66 Ovr - LW Reid Boucher (USNDT - Headed to the University of Minnesota - CHL Rights with Sarnia)
Rd 4 96 Ovr - C Victor Rask (Leksands IF)
Rd 5 126 Ovr - D Scott Mayfield (Youngstown Phantoms - Headed to the Wisconsin Badgers - CHL Rights with Kitchener)
Rd 6 156 Ovr - RW Tyler Biggs (USNDT - Headed to University of Maine - CHL Rights with Oshawa)
Rd 7 186 Over - G Juha Metsola (Haemeenlinnan Pallokerho Jrs)

I am very happy to land a top defenseman in this draft year as there was a good adbundance of solid D-men in the draft. I passed up Duncan Siemens and Ryan Strome. I was loaded up the middle and Siemens didn't bring enough of an offensive threat to my blueline. Joe Morrow was around, but Larsson is a level up in talent and potential. Brandon Saad has good offensive presence with a good upside as a top 6 forward. He can hopefully fill in on the second line in years to come. Reid was another strong player with a tremendous shot for an 18 year old. Boucher can bring a strong offensive game better has better than average defense. Victor Rask is a strong two way player that projects as a third liner, a slower Travis Zajac-type player with good hockey sense and playmaking ability. He won't score a ton of points, but should challenge for a bottom 6 forward spot in 2-3 years. Mayfield was a puck moving defenseman who I thought was a steal in the 5th round. I picked up the three US players who were outside of the CHL because they all have CHL rights with OHL teams and I will likely dump them in the CHL for a few years instead of the NCAA. Tyler Biggs is another surprise so late in the draft, but he should develop into a solid player along the likes of Rask with a smaller upside. Juha Metsola was a hailmary-type pick. Didn't really think about anything, but that his save percentage in the Finnish Jr league was amazing at .960 with 18 wins in 19 games.

[timmy_t]

I've finished my first season. I ended up 39-34-9, which was barely enough to squeak into the playoffs. The last set of games I went 10-10-2, but I was without Richards (twice, for one week each), Ribeiro (for 10 days), and Ott (for 3 weeks). I faced the Flames in the first round and was destroyed 4 games to 1.

I was really happy with my top two lines (Morrow-Richards-Eriksson and Ott-Ribeiro-Langenbrunner) but the rest were trash. Richards won the Art Ross and the Rocket Richard trophies. He credited his GM for his outstanding play. (Gotta love that!) I took B72's advice and re-signed Langenbrunner for one more year. Also, Steve Ott did really well with that line: he had 52 points in 57 games. I think I tried him on the 3rd line with Sutherby and he was horrible. ( a bunch of 6's followed up by a 5'er here and there)

My defense was absolutely horrible this season. I scored 306 goals which was the best in the league, but I gave up 318 goals which was worst in the league. I'm hoping I can stop the flood of goals with my season two trade and free agent signing.

Fistric ended up with 1053 PIM's in 72 games. I had his fighting set to "Encouraged," and while he seemed to do well at first, he ended up going 31-30 in his fights. It makes me wonder if some of the fights he lost negatively affected our team's morale... I think I'll set him to "Allowed" for next season and see how he does.

Benn and Wandell split time between both clubs and although they were good in the AHL they just weren't ready for the big time yet.

Benn:
With Texas- 34 GP 20-24-44 7.62 Avg
With Dallas- 34 GP 4-8-12 6.56 Avg

Wandell:
With Texas- 39 GP 13-27-40 7.38 Avg
With Dallas- 33 GP 4-11-15 6.52 Avg


Next up is the draft and then into the second season.

[batdad]

Ok folks. Been a long long time. But I am in. I am not sure if I am going to make any staff changes. I have only offered a deal to two guys. If I don't get one I will stick with what I have. On the farm, I am only hiring assistants. Day 1 has just been completed after setting up my practice schedule and routine. Day 2 I will set the scouts and go from there. I am very rusty

[batdad]

Just to be sure I am not using the wrong DB or something. I have 52 players under contract..did everyone else have this issue? I have to release 2 guys.

Yeah I see the issue now with the coach and scout. Canned em. Was not using the coach and scout was just okay.

[Syvis]

I'm widdled. I was second in the conference after 40 games and then all of a sudden I got hit by an injury bug. My two best RW's, Langenbrunner and Eriksson, played 52 and 40 games respectively. Of course I miss the playoffs by ONE POINT.

Argh, I hope the players stay even remotely healthy next season.

[timmy_t]

Ok folks. Been a long long time. But I am in...

Yeah!!!!!

[blueshirtnParis]

40 games in and BOOM!!! Lehtonen out 8 months with torn ACL...8 months!!!!!!

[Círyatan]

Ouch... Luckily, Raycroft isn't that much worse, so maybe it won't be that bad.

Ok folks. Been a long long time. But I am in...

Now the real Challenge starts. Glad to have you back, batdad!