Challenge 13: Nashville Predators (Discussion Thread)

Post by **timmy_t** » Mon May 25, 2009 2:27 am

Ahh--ok

jbsnadb · Post by **jbsnadb** » Mon May 25, 2009 2:35 am

Oy. Couldn't pull off a trade for a decent netminder in the first fifteen days, so I had to sign one. The best guy available was Olaf Kolzig, who will hopefully hold his own at the age of 39.

I would love to know how people pull of some of the deals they have, but no matter what I offered, it was never good enough.

Post by **timmy_t** » Mon May 25, 2009 3:03 am

Sometimes you have to give a little too much just to make sure they take the trade...

Peterman5000 · Post by **Peterman5000** » Mon May 25, 2009 3:46 am

Trotz is a great coach.

Your tactics are the biggest cause for failure.

EHM is all about the tactics, personnel second.

jbsnadb · Post by **jbsnadb** » Mon May 25, 2009 3:54 am

Wow, thanks for the extreme showing of negativity.

I did not realize his contract was up. Once I came to my senses, I signed him back.

Post by **timmy_t** » Mon May 25, 2009 4:37 am

I was looking through the NHL at upcoming free agents and I saw Erik Cole's contract was expiring. I decided to look at his playing time and avg ratings and I was a little shocked to find that he is playing as a 4th line RW, his avg rating over the last 10 games is 6.2, and his morale is very low. Suprisingly, Carolina is 2nd in the East, 1 point behind the Devils.

What do you guys think??

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Mon May 25, 2009 5:12 am

jbsnadb wrote:Oy. Couldn't pull off a trade for a decent netminder in the first fifteen days, so I had to sign one. The best guy available was Olaf Kolzig, who will hopefully hold his own at the age of 39.

I would love to know how people pull of some of the deals they have, but no matter what I offered, it was never good enough.

Kolzig might still have a little gas left in the tank. Good luck with him! Hopefully he'll get you through at least one season.

I only made one offer to a netminder and it was accepted. I think I got lucky. The guys I wanted (Jimmy Howard) was a spare part in Detroit and stuck on their farm team. He was at an age where he wasn't quite a prospect anymore but they didn't feel like he was ready to be their started. I ended up getting him for what I considered cheap, Jonathan Blum. He was still a prospect playing in junior (but under contract to my team at the start of the game). They felt they could wait on him to develop. I didn't see much potential in him.

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Mon May 25, 2009 5:14 am

timmy_t wrote:I was looking through the NHL at upcoming free agents and I saw Erik Cole's contract was expiring. I decided to look at his playing time and avg ratings and I was a little shocked to find that he is playing as a 4th line RW, his avg rating over the last 10 games is 6.2, and his morale is very low. Suprisingly, Carolina is 2nd in the East, 1 point behind the Devils.

What do you guys think??

I haven't used Cole lately but he used to be a guy I'd add to my team all the time back in the days of the original database. He played the physical style that I like. If you can get him to sign for you, I think he might be a good addition. I'd be a bit surprised if he does though. IIRC, he's looking for more than we're allowed to offer to a player in the tier he falls into.

Captcrunch · Post by **Captcrunch** » Mon May 25, 2009 5:52 am

I want to start out by thanking the guy who had the idea of starting that challenge thing. I've been looking for something to mimic the fun I had playing the "expension draft" challenge of the free version of EHM for a long time (on another site... that's what made me ultimately buy EHM 2007 in the first place).

My season started really bad with a 4-15-1 record but things are stabilizing to a degree where I feel I can be somewhat competitive.

Goalies

Ellis started his season by crashing and burning in the most horrible fashion. His first starts were 6-3, 5-1 and 8-1 defeats with ratings of 5-5-3 respectively. Meanwhile, Rinne got to play pretty close games of 3-2 defeat, 6-4 win and 2-0 win with ratings of 8-8-10. I quickly sent Ellis to the minor and called back Dekanish, which had horrible starts but my trainers kept telling me how willing he was and how well he was playing. Ellis got his confidence back in the AHL, getting a stellar 6-0-0 record, 0.98 GAA, 0.968 SV% and 9.83 rating avg and is now playing more like a starter. Reality caught back to Rinne, who could not handle his starter job, and got relegated to the AHL with a record of 2-5-0, 5.11 GAA, 0.853 SV% and a 6.58 rating avg. Dekanish is playing poorly in the NHL, with a 3-6-0 record, 5.76 GAA, 0.828 SV% and a 6.33 rating avg but at least he's young so he has a good reason...

Prospects

I swear my prospects are insane. Mr.Colin Wilson, being referred to by my scouts as a player "like Jason Spezza", did not want to sign a contract with me unless he was considered a "core player". Now, I know I'm not the Red Wings, but its going to take more than a 19 year old prospect still playing in Boston U to convince me of such a thing. Maybe next year he will not have such a high opinion of himself. If worst come worst, I still have untill 2009 to sign him.

I threw everything but the kitchen sink at Alexander Radulov. Giving him the highest annual salary possible, along with a 3 million signing bonus (yet again, the highest possible signing bonus) and a handful of really though performance bonus like "scoring 1 goal", "getting 1 assist" and "actually showing up for your first game" and he still did not want to sign. I don't know what I'll do with him.

Another young guy, Patric Hornqvist, is being praised by coaches and scouts (his evaluation has lowered a bit during the season, becoming a "Goal scoring foward, 2nd line potential, like Mike Fisher") and he actually has great stats but he can never clinch an opportunity when it presents himself. Being handed the reigns of the 2nd line after an infuriating injury to both Jason Arnott and Radek Bonk, he performed with an average rating of 5.5. Maybe another year in the AHL will do him some good.

Good surprises include Hugh Jessiman and Antti Pilhstrom. Jessiman is doing a great job on the third line while Pilhstrom caught fire early in the season and is still trying his best on a line with Legwand and Erat with 12 goals, 7 assists for 19 points in 32 games. He is described as a "poor man's Sean Avery" by my scouts and they are looking at me in the most bizarre fashion for trusting him with my 2nd line's LW but since he is scoring...He is not playing that good these days and might slow my second line a bit... maybe I'll try Jessiman on the 2nd to give him a bonus (he actually scored 3 goals in his last 15 games to Pilhstrom's 5... )

Lines

My line combination is still the same from the start although I tweaked by tactics a fair bit so as not to get buried in goals like in my first month (a certain 10-1 debacle against the Canucks comes to mind).

My first line, probably like everybody in the contest, is Sullivan-Arnott-Dumont. They are responsible for a bit more than 52% of my goals (yikes...). I play them for 60 seconds shifts and try to match them against the other team's 3rd line.

My second line is Pilhstrom-Legwand-Erat. Believe it or nor, Pilhstrom is actually the scorer on that line. They chip in with a bit more than 29% of my goal scored and are matched with the other team's 2nd line with 40 second shifts..

My third line is an essentially defensive one with Jessiman-Bonk-Ortmeyer. They are always matched against the other team's 1st line and they trap trap trap in 30 second shifts. I actually had to change their setting the most and allowed them to create a bit more offense because they were getting severely depressed and had horrible ratings. I put Bonk on the point of my 2nd power play to cheer him up a bit and replaced Nichols with Jessiman on the left wing with some effect.

My fourth line is only there to relieve some pressure and play a 20 second terror-filled shift for the head coach. Nichols if there to provide some stability to a Fiddler-Nichols-Belak trio. Belak can get into all the fight he wants since he only sees around 5 minutes of ice time a game anyways

Overall

I'm last in the league, 2 points behind the Senators, Blues and Blackhawks but I believe I am slowing gaining some momentum. After a 4-15-1 start, I am now 10-20-2 and getting a bit more competitive. Ellis had a 9-7-8-8-6 in his last 5 games and Dekanich is not doing that bad with a 8-6-7-5-8 rating in his. I can only pray to whatever got there is that my luck holds

.

jbsnadb · Post by **jbsnadb** » Mon May 25, 2009 6:04 am

Signed him for two, but he'll probably hang them up after the season. If not, I'll get rid of him.

So far, we've been only OK in preseason, but I'm taking that as a good sign. Last season, i steamrolled my opposition in the exhibitions, and ended up going nowhere.

Post by **joehelmer** » Mon May 25, 2009 10:50 am

I've done my second trade for season 3, once again I had to pay alot, but I think it can turn out very good.

To Red Wings
Jason Arnott

To Nashville
Ville Leino
Linus Klasen

After this trade Ville Leino has done 17 points in 14 games for me, while Klasen is playing good in AHL.

This trade is one step to make my team younger and also getting a good left winger in Leino, who has accomplished in that position, but he's a natural center.

I'm now struggling as Varlamov is out with back spasms for two weeks, and Pickard is my backup goalie.

Post by **Manimal** » Mon May 25, 2009 2:00 pm

Has anyone managed to sign Radulov? My board won't let me give him what he wants. I'm now in my first off-season and signed prospects Kulyash and Josi and some other Russian forward. I drafted Tavares first overall and got a few other good one, I hope. I signed Tavares but will probably put him in junior for another year
I traded Hörnqvist,Pickard and Klein to Pit for Fleury hoping he'll steady my goaltending issues. I'm saving my other trade for later. I went tier 2 with the FA's, signing Dan Hinote(very good) and Craig Adams (good). I wanted more offensive players but the better ones went to otherclubs.
As I finished last the season before there is only one way to go. Up!

Captcrunch · Post by **Captcrunch** » Mon May 25, 2009 2:04 pm

5.2 No trades, waiver acquisitions or UFA acquisitions may be signed whatsoever during Season 1. You may, however, renew contracts with your own players and staff at any time.

So, if I understand correctly, I can try to renew the contract of Sullivan, Bonk and De Vries even if they are going UFA? (just to make sure).

Captcrunch · Post by **Captcrunch** » Mon May 25, 2009 2:06 pm

Manimal wrote:Has anyone managed to sign Radulov? My board won't let me give him what he wants. I'm now in my first off-season and signed prospects Kulyash and Josi and some other Russian forward. I drafted Tavares first overall and got a few other good one, I hope. I signed Tavares but will probably put him in junior for another year
I traded Hörnqvist,Pickard and Klein to Pit for Fleury hoping he'll steady my goaltending issues. I'm saving my other trade for later. I went tier 2 with the FA's, signing Dan Hinote(very good) and Craig Adams (good). I wanted more offensive players but the better ones went to otherclubs.
As I finished last the season before there is only one way to go. Up!

Maybe if you raise his status you'll get a higher allowed salary ceiling by the board to sign him.

I don't know how much you want to consider him a "key" player though.

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Mon May 25, 2009 4:02 pm

Manimal wrote:Has anyone managed to sign Radulov? My board won't let me give him what he wants. I'm now in my first off-season and signed prospects Kulyash and Josi and some other Russian forward. I drafted Tavares first overall and got a few other good one, I hope. I signed Tavares but will probably put him in junior for another year
I traded Hörnqvist,Pickard and Klein to Pit for Fleury hoping he'll steady my goaltending issues. I'm saving my other trade for later. I went tier 2 with the FA's, signing Dan Hinote(very good) and Craig Adams (good). I wanted more offensive players but the better ones went to otherclubs.
As I finished last the season before there is only one way to go. Up!

I think Radulov might be setup in the database in a way to somehow keep him in Russia and out of the NHL. I think his rep in North America/NHL is so low that the board limits what you can offer him. Lidas? Is this true?

Hinote was a "very good" player in your game? He was only "good" in mine. I honestly haven't been that impressed with him so far either.

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Mon May 25, 2009 4:08 pm

Captcrunch wrote:5.2 No trades, waiver acquisitions or UFA acquisitions may be signed whatsoever during Season 1. You may, however, renew contracts with your own players and staff at any time.

So, if I understand correctly, I can try to renew the contract of Sullivan, Bonk and De Vries even if they are going UFA? (just to make sure).

Yes, you may re-sign your own players while they are still under contract to you, even if they will be UFAs when their contracts expire. Remember, they don't become UFA's until their contract expires, which is July 1st.

Post by **Lidas** » Mon May 25, 2009 4:22 pm

bruins72 wrote:
Manimal wrote:Has anyone managed to sign Radulov? My board won't let me give him what he wants. I'm now in my first off-season and signed prospects Kulyash and Josi and some other Russian forward. I drafted Tavares first overall and got a few other good one, I hope. I signed Tavares but will probably put him in junior for another year
I traded Hörnqvist,Pickard and Klein to Pit for Fleury hoping he'll steady my goaltending issues. I'm saving my other trade for later. I went tier 2 with the FA's, signing Dan Hinote(very good) and Craig Adams (good). I wanted more offensive players but the better ones went to otherclubs.
As I finished last the season before there is only one way to go. Up!
I think Radulov might be setup in the database in a way to somehow keep him in Russia and out of the NHL. I think his rep in North America/NHL is so low that the board limits what you can offer him. Lidas? Is this true?

Hinote was a "very good" player in your game? He was only "good" in mine. I honestly haven't been that impressed with him so far either.

No, I haven't given Radulov any lower rep than other players. I usually give them 20 lower home rep than world rep. Maybe it has something to do with his 3 year contract.

Post by **Lidas** » Mon May 25, 2009 4:25 pm

Ouch! What just happened?

I've been lucky with injuries so far, but it just exploded the last few days. I have Koistinen, de Vries, Bonk, Carter, and Wilson all placed on the IR. They are all there between 10 days and 3 weeks. This will be interesting, lets see how well the minors can do.

Post by **Manimal** » Mon May 25, 2009 4:45 pm

bruins72 wrote: Hinote was a "very good" player in your game? He was only "good" in mine. I honestly haven't been that impressed with him so far either.

He had a good season with the Blues and I'm hoping that the fact that he's able to play all forward positions will work fine with my team. I'll start him on the third line with Bonk and Craig Adams. Could be a great checking line

Captcrunch · Post by **Captcrunch** » Mon May 25, 2009 4:59 pm

Second quarter of the first season is up and I am doing slightly better.

I had 4 less losses on twenty games (20% better!), translating in 3 additional wins and 1 additional overtime loss. My power play rose from 14.8% to 19.3% and my PK got a little better, from 72.9% to 76.7%. I had a bit more goals but I really cut down on my goals against (77 goals against in the second quarter compared to 108 goals against in the first).

The most improved position must be the goalie. Ellis is still carrying the team with 8-10-8-9-9 rating in his last 5 games and has succeeded to cut down a lot on his bad numbers although it is still really ugly at 3.74 GAA and 0.885 SV%. Dekanish is a yo-yo, having one bad game followed with one good one, but I believe he is getting slowly better...

Two of my players are really playing tremendously in the U20, american center Colin Wilson and the swiss captain Roman Josi, rookie defenseman. Wilson, in particular, is really starting to look good. Lets hope he proves to be less difficult next summer!

Post by **archibalduk** » Mon May 25, 2009 6:35 pm

My season is going from bad to worse. No matter what I do, I can't get the Preds to perform consistently. In fact, we've gone from just missing out on winning (i.e. throwing away leads) to getting absolutely thrashed by several goals. I've tried playing defensively and even offensively but it just doesn't change anything.

And Ellis has gotten a two week injury every single month (Oct, Nov and Dec so far).

thecupismine · Post by **thecupismine** » Tue May 26, 2009 12:29 am

Quick question: I'm not yet in my first off-season, but I'd like to know whether or not trading for injured players is allowed in this challenge. Personally, I find trading for injured players makes the game a lot easier than it should be (acquiring guys like Ovechkin all of a sudden only requires a good top four d-man or top 6 forward along with spare parts) but want to know so that I'm on an even playnig field with my opponents.

In regards to the actual challenge, my season has been somewhat of a comedy. I have the worst special teams in the league (bottom 5 powerplay and penalty kill), yet I'm still in the playoffs, closing in on 4th place. I'm hoping to fix the special teams with a better goalie (pk) and better tactics that suit my team (which I can hopefully change as well, to an extent).

Peterman5000 · Post by **Peterman5000** » Tue May 26, 2009 1:05 am

Signing Radulov

For everyone that cannot get the guy signed here is the reason.

The Owners still slot Radulov as a "prospect" although Radulov is demanding veteran type money.

I have not been able to get around this. Perhaps in season 4 or 5 when Radulov is over the prospect age this will change.

Post by **Lidas** » Tue May 26, 2009 2:37 am

... and there goes Arnott for three weeks.

I now have 6 players on IR, including my first (Carter), second (Arnott), third (Wilson), and fourth line center (Bonk). This will be interesting, I also don't have that many interesting centers to call up. O'Reilly?

bruins72 · Post by **bruins72** » Tue May 26, 2009 2:44 am

Lidas wrote:
bruins72 wrote: I think Radulov might be setup in the database in a way to somehow keep him in Russia and out of the NHL. I think his rep in North America/NHL is so low that the board limits what you can offer him. Lidas? Is this true?

Hinote was a "very good" player in your game? He was only "good" in mine. I honestly haven't been that impressed with him so far either.
No, I haven't given Radulov any lower rep than other players. I usually give them 20 lower home rep than world rep. Maybe it has something to do with his 3 year contract.

Hmmm? Oh well. It was a guess. It's somewhat realistic though. I kind of like that we can't get Radulov to come back over. By the time his contract is up, most people will probably already have found their top 2 RWs that they want to run with.