Blackhawks Challenge-3rd season and beyond discussion thread

Post by **Shadd666** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 11:04 am

After 3 consecutive seasons over 100 points, Handzus was asking over 5M$... But i had only about 2M$ free for him, so i had to let him go

Fortunately, Vincent Lecavalier stayed free agent all season long in 08-09 and i signed him for 2 years at 1.770M$

With Malkin at 3.4M$ for 2 years, i have my top 2 center guys for about what Handzus was asking. I'm sad to had to let Handzus go though

thunderbug · Post by **thunderbug** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:01 am

Let's see season 3 ended well. We took the president's trophy and lord stanley. Smolinski decided to call it a career after that. That will help considering I have Ruutu who's been doing well on the first line. After that its Toews, Richardson, and Bolland. I was surprised when the Avs waived Richardson. The season 4 team is together, but it appears that season 5 will look vastly different. The entire team is in a contract year during season 4 with the exception of Toews and Richardson. Just curious what your guys' offseason for season 3 was like. There were so many big name FAs it wasn't funny. Zetterberg, Sundin, Neidermayer, Khabi just to name a few. Additionally there were a lot of great rfas. Jordan Staal, Wiikman, Leino were just 3 to name.

Post by **batdad** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:36 am

Season 3 offseason...was hell for me.

Post by **Shadd666** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:10 pm

season 3 off-season only FA acquisition: Vincent Lecavalier for 2 years at 1.770M$ per year. Yup, steal. He has been free-agent all season 3 long, reason why he asked so few bucks. He wanted a 1 year deal at 2.2M$, but after a few negociations, i get him 2 years at 1.77M$, as no-one else was offering him a contract.

He will only be on my second line though, as Malkin is better than him now. Then Yelle still centers my checking line and Patrick Sharp has no other spot than the 4th line. So i'm pretty strong at center. On the left side, it's Ruutu on the first and Morrow on the second. Then Dingman and Pandolfo are challenged by James Neal and John Tavares in the pre-season games. Neal will probably be my homegrown. On the right side, Hossa and Blunden are the top liners. Foy is solid on the 3rd line, even if i'd like more speed. Bolland will probably make the team on the 4th line with 2nd powerplay unit duties. So my lines will (probably) look like this:

Ruutu - Malkin - Hossa
Morrow - Lecavalier - Blunden
Dingman - Yelle - Foy
Neal - Sharp - Bolland

Seabrook - Morris
Kalinin - Clymer
Methot - Morrisonn

Price
Holmqvist

backups: Rawlyk, Marty Murray, Pandolfo

I should deal Pandolfo and use Dingman as a backup to free some space for Tavares, but how could i use Dingman as a backup? He won the Selke in season 2 and finished runner-up in season 3! So Tavares will probably join only in season 4, as i'll probably won't be able to re-sign Ruutu, who had 2 consecutive 100 pts seasons and will probably had a third this season. He won't be HG eligible though, but i don't mind. Skille and Irving are already NHL ready. Shutron, Wilson, Kulemin, Daugavins, Bickell, Cherepanov and others are in Norfolk. I don't have prospect issues

Some big names are still on the FA market and i still have the possibility to sign one FA this season. Should be interesting to sign one later during the season to strengthen this little team...

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 1:12 pm

Just about every offseason has been kind of hellish for me. It seems like I'm always in a situation where I have to trade some players away that I might not have wanted to trade but I'm pushing the TBL budget. And if I'm safe and don't need to trade anyone away to get under budget, I don't have the budget space to go after any UFAs. The only luck I've really had in that regard is landing a couple really good prospects who weren't signed by the team that drafted them and turned UFA at age 20. The most notable of them being Angelo Esposito. The budget problems are my own fault though. I don't like to let anyone leave the team as a free agent unless they're total junk. I almost always re-sign them (even if it's for too much) and then try to trade them for picks or prospects. Plus, I didn't think ahead for long term in the challenge when dealing with contracts over the first couple seasons. Instead of offering a little more and getting a longer contract, I went for less money right then. Unfortunately, they want even more when their contract comes up again. It's a vicious circle!

thunderbug · Post by **thunderbug** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 5:49 pm

I had a pretty good season all around. Only one of my players came from outside the system, and that was because it was an offer I couldn't refuse. Gagner was never signed by Tampa (the team that drafted him) so his rights were up for grabs. I swooped in and picked him up. It was before the draft so if I need to I can use him as the HG. I most likely will use Shutron though and give Gagner 2 years in the AHL with my depth at Center. I tend to try and plan out my roster a couple years in advanced. I will pencil things in because of things like cap space, people's game turning to rubbish, or just funkiness.

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 9:29 pm

I can't get a handle on projecting my budget, so it's hard to plan ahead for guys having to leave and bringing guys up to replace them. I always keep my AHL affiliate stocked though.

My Esposito signing was a situation just like your Gagner signing. The team that drafted him didn't sign him, so he was free. I always keep an eye out for those guys. I won't bother signing centers like that now unless they're especially talented. I'm just so deep at the position. If anything, I could use RWs! I did pretty well drafting RW in the last draft though.

thunderbug · Post by **thunderbug** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:08 am

I'm having problems finding good left wingers. So far all I have gotten are centers and rw. I have Zackapeja(sp) and thats about it down in Norfolk. Everyone else was a convert. atleast thats any good.

Post by **Shadd666** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:36 am

Little issue with my core roster selection for season 4 (09-10), as Neal played 1 game before i remembered to take the screenshot

Btw, when you look at his pre-season stats, how couldn't i select him?

Anyhow, if you feel it deserves a penalty, it's fine to me.

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 2:26 pm

I know I'm not going to get bent over one game played before the screenshot.

Neal is one of those guys I've been watching in my last couple games and I really like the looks of him. Too bad Dallas won't even consider trading him in my game.

thunderbug · Post by **thunderbug** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:15 pm

In my game he's not doing that well. He's still got some pretty nice stats but nothing that makes you go wow. Dallas traded him after the first season to Tampa who has mistreated him from day one. Tampa won't trade Neal anyway, but the Isles were willing to part with this beast. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l218/ ... avares.jpg

Post by **Shadd666** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:48 pm

Wow!

Stupid enough to deal the rights to Tavares?

I made a deal to pick him in 2009, but it was mostly a fair offer. My 1st round pick + my 5th round pick + Jonathan Toews to Montreal for Habs 1st round pick (who was the 1st overall). Toews never gone over 11 in stamina in 3 seasons, preventing him to play top line minutes, so i planned long time to deal him for the Tavares.

Neal is actually seeing 3rd/4th line duties and is on the 2nd powerplay unit, averaging around 12 to 14 minutes per game. Initially, i wanted Bolland as my HG. He is in the team too. But then i've seen that Ruutu (who i use as my top line left winger) is an upcoming free agent. He had back to back 40 goals and 100 points seasons, and will probably have his third consecutive this year, working with Malkin and Hossa. So he'll ask way more than his current 3.4M$, and i won't be able to sign him at his value. So Neal has his rookie season right now to be able to contribute on a scoring line next year, probably the second, actually hold by Morrow. Tavares should have make the team too, but i just didn't had roster space for him. Skille and Irving are ready too, but i had no space for them either.

Post by **Calv** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 12:13 am

End of season bonus points:
Phreak 52
batdad 44
rookier 42
bruins72 34
Lidas 34
thunderbug 30
bigargon 16
CatchUp 6
Danny 6
Shadd666 4

Improvement Points:
rookier 11
Phreak 11
bigargon 7
bruins72 5
Lidas 4
corinthian 4
thunderbug 3
batdad 2
fishi 2
shadd666 1

Playoff bonus points:
thunderbug 11
Shadd666 11
rookier 11
Phreak 11
batdad 11
bruins72 11
bigargon 4
corinthian 4
CatchUp 4
Danny 1

Which means:
Phreak

rookier

batdad

thunderbug · Post by **thunderbug** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 6:19 am

Congrats guys. Is this the longest streak of challenge seasons where a mod hasn't won and if not what is it?

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 2:21 pm

Congrats, everyone!

Post by **batdad** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:46 pm

WEll...since this is my first challenge as a mod. Yes this is the longest.

Post by **Calv** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 4:07 pm

I'm going to set the first deadline for 9.4 to be after christmas, and maybe after new year as well

Post by **Shadd666** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 11:46 pm

Congrats to everyone

darn, i still suck

Deadline after Xmas? Wow, so i'm way in advance for once!

Phew... Hard to have some chemistry with an average of 3 injured players at the same time, actually up to 5 after 20 games

Malkin being injured for 10 days, i'm pretty happy to have signed Lecavalier in the off-season

My special units suck. They always sucked. They'll always suck. Yelle is on the go, i'm fed up with him. Pandolfo finally starts to do something good... But immediately falls down injured... Blunden and Ruutu are sleeping, Hossa wakes up from time to time to make an assist, and Brenden Morrow is my second best goalscorers, trailing only Lecavalier. Go figure.

Price slightly starts to wake up, but clearly takes his time. It seems he's waiting for the playoffs to really show his skills. My defense is too young, with only 2 players over 30 years old (Morris and Clymer, both 31). Seabrook and Morris are already exhausted after a game (What the Dickens?). And even with all of that, we manage to be top of the league! Don't ask me how, i have absolutely no clue! Maybe it's just Trent Yawney being a god behind the bench... Twice best NHL coach and once runner-up in 3 years, with 2 President's Trophy and 2 Stanley Cup rings... Hmm... Yeah... Must be Yawney...

thunderbug · Post by **thunderbug** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 2:27 pm

wow someone is already on season 7. Next season will be a tough one for me in the off season I will either have to get rid of Havlat or Ruutu. I think I've worked it out so I can keep everyone else. I will most likely get rid of Havlat just because its slightly more money and he usually gets injured atleast once a season. Ruutu has finally bloomed into a 1st line RW/C you can be proud of.

bigargon · Post by **bigargon** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 4:56 pm

challenge review

Season 7

well i broke the fundamental rule of troubleshooting
"if it ain't broke, don't fix it"
for the first 3 quarters of the season, i had a good team. I decided i want to have more goal scoring on the wing. Then i did some wheeling and dealing that put me over the challenge cap as well as disrupted my team. so my team yet again self destructed in west conference final went up 3-0 to loss the next four games.

overall I really enjoyed this challenge. i learned alot by making quite a few mistakes along the way.
some things i learned:

1. as above "if it ain't broke don't fix it" if i gotta good team don't mess with it. wait for the good deals and don't pull the trigger too soon. Don't be like Bobby Clarke (fellow Flyers fans will understand this only too well

)

2. Practice a lot in the off season. i really didn't do that until have way through the challenge. I started doing that and my prospects inproved a great deal, from that point on.

3. scout the NHL entry draft throughly. It can't be scouted enough. Excellent scouting can pick up hidden gems, like the re-gen I picked up in Pelle Edlund . he was awesome defensemen in my last season.

4. Ask questions. I got in a bind with the challenge salary cap because i did ask enough questions. i really should have asked more questions about getting past the western confernece finals.

5. I need to take my time in the next challenge i think i went through it way too quick.

6. tweek the tactics every so often the AI starts to figure out how to beat you this is really true in the playoffs. fine tune the special teams they can make or brake you in the playoffs.

i am very much looking forward to the next challenge.

My team rewards:
MVP
Handzus: year in and year out he was the backbone of my team. he was an overall great offensive and defensive player. the only thing he lack was leadership.

Best Offensive forward
Kariya : i picked him up in the fourth season, and he provided consistant goal scoring and offense.

Best Defensive forward
Madden/Handzus: both these guys were great penalty killers. though at season 7 both were starting to slip. madden was a great 3rd line warrior

best defenseman
seabrook: year in and year out for all seven seasons he provided great offense and defense.

best Goalie
Niitamaki: i had him for two year he was a good goalie, though he seemed to get injured alot. My other goalies were disappointments at best. this was the hardest position to find consistancy at.

Best Homegrown
toews: he was awesome great goal scorer. as season seven ended he was developing in to a true 1st line center.

Its been fun and it been educational .

bring on chalenge 10

Post by **Calv** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 5:04 pm

bigargon wrote: Niitamaki:

Tasku is not going to be happy with that one!

Post by **Tasku** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 6:20 pm

Calv wrote:
bigargon wrote: Niitamaki:
Tasku is not going to be happy with that one!

Heh... I'll do my best not to make a big deal about it...

N, double-I, double-T, Y, M, Ä, K, I - Niittymäki!

bigargon · Post by **bigargon** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 9:49 pm

hey at least i got the double I's right.

Post by **batdad** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:38 pm

The real life way to spell Niittymäki:

S - I - E - V - E

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 1:49 pm

Despite the Niitty mis-spelling... good post, bigargon. It's nice to reflect on what you've learned in a challenge. That's one of the great things about these challenges. You seem to learn something new each time. I think this latest challenge has probably taught us all a lot about developing our prospects and managing our rosters rather than just all out trading.