EHM The Blue Line

From the "Games that drive GMs to drink heavilly" files...

Facing the Oilers at Rexall...things are going great for the Yotes as Doan and the Rhino are having a field day against the Oil defense. With about 15 minutes to go, it's 4-1 Coyotes. Things couldn't be going better...

And that's where the roof caved in.

The Oilers ripped 4 unanswered past Auld (he got the start in this one as the next night the Yotes were in Calgary) and added an empty netter later to make it look even worse.

Final horn goes off...final score: Oilers 6 - Coyotes 4

My reaction:

Needless to say, Alex Auld played his last game as a member of the Coyotes as he was placed on waivers a few days later after I claimed Dany Sabourin from the Pens. Minnesota picked up Red Light Auld.

My reaction to that news:

As if coughing up a 3 goal lead in the final 15 minutes wasn't bad enough, I now have to deal with Sjostrom being out for the next month with a hip flexor (that's what I get for saying I hadn't had any injuries yet..figures I'd say something like that and then that came across my screen.)

My next exciting blog entry.


BigArgon's Blog

Just as a little throw-in here...I got a tad creative in regards to my GM names for Phoenix and San Antonio.

Yeah, it kinda fits in an odd way

Your Phoenix and San Antonio GMs

Wonder what movie inspired me

yet another exciting adventure in Challenge 10

Blog..ready it ...enjoy

Well, my Yorkless season 1 is underway. I had to "retire" my AHL GM, because for some reason the game crashed whenever I was clicking through news with him (I also saved as a different file, in case there was some corruption, but we'll see)

Anyawys, we are 2-5-2 so far, had some good performances in goal followed by 5 goal nights. I re-adjusted my tactics after like game 7, and i'm seeing a huge difference, less shots, etc. I picked up Kilger on Waivers to give this team some veteran leadership and some defensive play.

I'm in the preseason of season 3 and even though I made it to the Stanley Cup Finals (and took it all the way to game 7), I'm only ranked #28 in the NHL Season Preview. I wonder if they'd put me in the top 15 if I won the Cup? I think they're all just hating on me.

I'm pretty pleased with my results in the 2008 draft. I got guys I wanted with my picks in the first two rounds. After that, the pickings were a little slimmer, so you've got to take what you can get. Even though I'll post my draft screen in the roster thread, here is what I got...

Rd 1 - 28 Overall Philip McRae C/RW 18yr 6'1" 171 lbs

I was pretty pleased to have McRae available at this point. He was ranked a bit higher (24th) and I expected him to be gone. He's a gritty forward with good two-way skills and nice skating. The only area of concern is his strength (7). I'm hoping that gets better. My scouts say he's a skilled offensive forward with 2nd line potential. They compare his style of game to Rod Brind'Amour. If he turns out anywhere near that, I'll be quite pleased!


Rd 2 - 32 Overall Mike Stone LD 18yr 6'2" 198 lbs

Stone looked like a pretty solid defensive prospect at this spot. He's got decent size and skating ability already and excellent stamina. None of his mental abilities are outstanding but he's only got one below a 10. His technical attributes are mostly floating around 10 as well. He should develop into something more though. My scouts all seems to think he's an offensive defenseman with 3-4 potential. He's not a shooter though. He's got no shot to speak of. Most of my scouts seem to think he could be a Ryan Whitney type of player but one compares him to Spacek (but with a bigger frame) and another sees Mark Popovic (but more offensive minded). I guess he's a bit of a gamble but I think he can turn out pretty good.

Rd 2 - 36 Overall Alexandre Moisan LD 18yr 6'5" 202 lbs

I almost drafted Moisan earlier but I crossed my fingers and hoped he would be there for my next pick. I got lucky and he was. This kid has a huge frame and just needs to fill it out some. His physical attributes are already pretty good and expected to get better. He's aggressive and not afraid to do the dirty work. He also uses his teammates well. Like Stone, he needs to develop his technical attributes. My scouts project him to be a skilled defenseman with 3-4 potential. Also, like Stone, most of them see him as a Ryan Whitney type of player. Two see him being like a bigger and better David Hale. I really like this kid!


Rd 2 - 58 overall Dale Hunt RW/LW 18yr 6' 202 lbs

Here's another guy I really liked and hoped would still be around when it came my time. I ended up taking him early, just in case. He was ranked 112 overall. Actually, I drafted both Stone and Moisan early too. I'm not shy about drafting kids earlier than their rank if I like them. Hunt is a two-way forward with 2nd line potential. He's feisty and gets under his opponents skin. Like the others, he still needs to develop his technical attributes quite a bit. Most of the scouts compare his game to Kyle Calder or Lee Stempniak. One of the earlier scouting reports compared him to Shane Doan. I'm looking for him to be a very good 3rd line player that will also excel on the PK but who can step in on the PP or one of the top 2 lines if called upon.


Rd 3 - 88 overall Patrick Sheehan RD/LD 18yr 5'10" 163 lbs

This kid was a bit of a gamble. During the draft my scouts had a higher opinion of him than the 5-6 defenseman they project him as now. He really needs to bulk up, first and foremost. I'm also a little worried because he's going to be playing at a US College and I don't really have much faith in development at those schools. We'll see what happens. Right now, my scouts are projecting him as a skilled defenseman like Mark Popovic but slower and smaller. Like I said, he was a gamble.


Rd 4 - 118 overall Tyler Sheldrake RD 18yr 6'3" 222 lbs

Sheldrake is a big, solid kid. Even though my scouts project him as a skilled defenseman, I see him as more of a stay at home defensive defenseman. Most have him pegged as a 7th defenseman but one thinks he could be a 5-6. The guys who say he'll be a #7 say he's like a bigger Nolan Baumgartner. The other guy who says he can be better says he's like a more talented David Hale.


Rd 6 - 178 overall Nikolai Kostichkin C/LW 19yr 6'2" 196 lbs

This is a guy my scouts all say could be a 2nd line 2-way forward in the mold of Milan Kraft. I'm not so sure I see that but it's worth a 6th round pick to find out. I got him under contract and assigned him to my AHL affiliate.

Rd 7 - 208 overall Dale Mitchell RW/LW 19yr 5'10" 207 lbs

My scouts all say he's got limited potential but I figured he was worth a shot with a 7th round pick. He's a hardworking 2 line player. Most of my scouts say he's like Matt Keith but a couple compare him to a slower Shean Donovan with more offense.

So that was my draft. I think I've addressed my needs at defense. I didn't see anyone worth taking for goalies. I tried to get some 2-way forward because I seem pretty well set for offensive forwards. I'll be looking for more 2-way guys in the next draft too.

I'm slowly continuing season 2. And right now as we speak my entire 1st line is down to injuries, Doan, Reinprecht and York..all gone...York only for 2 weeks though.

Because of this I lose Joel Perrault to waivers when I re-called him.

I just can't wait for this season to be over.

WOW! Enver Lisin is lighting it up in season 3! 11 games into the season and he has 12 goals 10 assists for 22 points and the league lead. He's also playing out of position. I've got him on the top line left wing! No signs of a sophomore slump there.

I brought up Mueller, Yandle, and Hanzal this season. I went with Mueller as my homegrown. I wanted to make sure I had a homegrown that I wanted to keep around for a bit. Last season I brought in Redenbach as my homegrown and I'm wishing I could get rid of him now. He's useless! Muller will have a place on this team for years to come. I'm not sold on Yandle yet though. I'm also debating on whether Hanzal is doing enough to warrant a roster spot on the big club. Maybe he should get sent back down?

Yeah, i'm planning on bringing in Lisin/Mueller/Hanzal before season 2 so I can choose one as my season 3 HG. I have no clue who I'll use for my season 2 HG, but I may bring in Lisin in season 2 and forgo him as a HG because I'll need his help probably Hanzal is tearing it up right now in CHL in my season, will be interesting to see how he progresses.

But, since I only took Auld as part of my core, I have the option of trading Abescheir and using Auld and Lenevu, problem being that Abs is actually the only player playing really well on my team, 1-0, 2-0 type games. Auld is also doing pretty good for me in goal too

Don't bring Lisin, Mueller, and Hanzal up to your main team all at once. You should try to get at least 2 homegrowns out of the 3. I brought Lisin in early and sacrificed using him as a homegrown. An argument could be made that I should've brought Hanzal in first because I was weaker on the LW but it's hard to argue with Lisin winning the Calder and then starting his sophomore season on fire. As for your season 2 homegrown... maybe Yandle if you haven't used him too much in your first season. He's not great but he can hold down a spot.

I'm still not sure how I'm going to use Mueller at this point. Right now I've got him centering my 3rd line and working the PK. I've got guys on my PP and top 2 lines that are solid point producers and I can't really justify bumping them for him. I just don't want to screw up his development though.

Yeah, i'd like to stagger them if I can, I'm saving Yandle for potential HG purposes (right now I'm using Helmer and 7dman of Roache) but I also might bring Lisin in season 2, as I think he can do a good job on RW of the team. Of course, since i'm not playing NTNB, this all might depend on trades, or potential UFA signings, since I might be able to trade some of my non-core players to shore up the weak spots on the team and give him a year in the AHL to finish development.

Of course, i might also finish last and get a really strong draft pick to bring in as my season 3/4 HG and might not need to stagger these 3 that much

It's been a while since the last time i opened my challenge game... I know i'm about starting season 2, but firstly need to select my core. No FA signings during the summer, as i got pretty much was i want. Season 1 deadline acquisitions of Regehr, Cammalleri, Pettinger, and Bradley, plus Kaigorodov as a HG, should fill the most urgent holes. The other ones will be filled with the upcoming prospects (Hanzal/Mueller/Lisin, obviously, and maybe a few others).

The board wants the playoffs... I think i can do it, but not so sure... It will really depend on how well Cammalleri gels with Reinprecht and Doan, and how well i can improve my tactical sets, as i clearly still have a lot to learn compared to our top challengers.

I just wish that the rosters were more up to date .... then I would have bryzgalov instead of aebisher

eric1985 wrote:I just wish that the rosters were more up to date .... then I would have bryzgalov instead of aebisher

Aebischer in my experience is a much better goalie than Bryzgalov in this game.

In the game, he is. In reality... ahem...

I had Bryzgalov... and my trainer told me that he had 'pervious severe spinal damage' .... so i traded him away for Toskala, who has been great for me.

One person I am really suprised with is Yannick Lehoux. I brought him in as my 2bd line center after kaigorodov got a 3 month injury ( he was leading the rookie race too) and lehoux has averaged 1.5 pts a games with a 7.95 average through his first 24 games

Ron Francis popped up July 1st and looked to be a very good 'staff' prospect..... I offered him a 2 year 250k scouting contract with a 1.1million dollar signing bonus (I would then work him into a longer contract over the next 2 years) ..... and he ignores me to sign with Tampa bay... for 240k.... over 1 year. Why do players/staff hate Phoenix

Two years in a row I've gone after a UFA only to have them sign with another team for occasionally half what I offered them... Ossi Vaananen signed with the stars for 2 x 980k.... i offered him 2 x 1.2mil

sigh

yet another blog entry...a wild season.. this challenge is tougher.. but I have some good young talent.. the future looks bright

Blog, Blog, Blog, Blog

First 20 games of season 2 are done. We had a very brutal start to the season, with 6 consecutive losses. We end with a 9-10-1 record, which means a decent 9-4-1 record after the horrible start.

Doan, Reinprecht, Cammalleri, Regehr and Boynton are still not awake, and it clearly bugs our game plans. So i try different things with tactics that i haven't tested before. Some look interesting, others don't, but it's too early to really judge those new tactical schemes.

Auld and Aebischer weren't in game shape for all this 20 games period, which clearly didn't help. But my main concern is how the team performs on the road so far, especially on the special units. We're about 20% PP and 88% PK at home, but only 6% PP and 80% PK on the road The good news is: there's a lot of room for improvement!

Unless they strongly improve, both Cammalleri and Boynton should be goners at the deadline. They are in the final season of their contract, and are actually not deserving half their salaries. It would leave me once again with a gap on the 2nd line LW.

The really good surprise is Sjöström. Unexpected numbers in season 1, and so far he is doing as well, leading the team in goals, assists, points, and +/-, while spending most of his playing time on the 1st line, even if there's some rotation with Pettinger and Cammalleri. And he costs me only 1.1M$, with one more year to his contract What surprises me is that i have no clue at all about why he performs so well. His attributes are barely those of a 3rd liner, and his individual tactics are pretty simple: join the rush, and shoot! Nothing more. Oh well, as long as he performs, i don't mind why he is performing. I have enough underperforming guys to focus on...

I made some adjustments after the first 10 games, i'm getting more scoring chances and my guys aren't giving up as many shots, but still getting a lot of penalties. Need to look at adjusting hitting/agression/pressure a little bit to lighten those issues up.

Auld and Abby are both playing well, i've been rotating the 2 out (Partly because I need to make sure Auld meets game time requirements, partly because they have both played well when alternating nights) usually if one of the guys has an outstanding night they get the next start, and that usually is Auld who gets to stay in. Might consider trading Abischier and using Tellqvist as a backup so Leneveu can get some AHL time, or just trading Tellqvist if I can resign both of my starters for decent money

Shored up my "checking" line, picked up Walz on waiver, and then added Lappierre to be the RW via a trade, allowing me to get rid of Kapanen who had been doing nothing for me. I'm also playing Carcillo on this line, even though he has horrible poke check, but it's been working out OK for the most part, and the line is also picking up some goal scoring.

Should hit the 40 game mark of season 1 here in a couple of days, but probably won't have climbed out of the basement yet.

Games 21-40 are in the books, and it has been a real disappointment, with a very bad 7-12-1 record over the process. No need to search the reasons for a long time, the teams doesn't score. Only 48 goals scored in 20 games! Clearly not enough. The powerplay has been a catastrophic disaster, with just 9 goals on 123 opportunities, for a pathetic 7,3%. How can you win with such a dirty PP?

Other than that, the guys aren't playing that bad. They just don't score. We sometimes totally dominate the games, but don't score, and find ourselves trailing by one goal, pull the goalie in last minute, and finally loose by a pair once the opposition found the empty net. Very frustrating, as it costs us a lot of points. And unless we finally find the net more often, we'll miss the playoffs... again...

On the good side, Cammalleri seems to finally step up, and took the lead in the team in terms of goals. But he just has 16 goals... in 40 games... Doan is second with 13 goals, and they are the only two guys who reached the 10 goals mark after 40 games. Vrbata, Sjöström and Reinprecht get 9; Kaigorodv and Zigomanis get 8. If all of them had just 2 more goals each, it would have turned many defeats into victories.

Sjöström has been transparent in this second segment. After taking the team lead in goals, assists, points, and +/- during the first 20 games, he has been absolutely transparent. Over his last 12 games, he has zero points and a minus-6 rating. So after a hot Sjöström and a cold Cammalleri, we now have a hot Cammalleri and a cold Sjöström. If they had the good idea to both product at the same time, it could clearly not hurt...

Boynton makes me laugh. He is unhappy with the team's poor league position, but is clearly one of the reasons of that bad position! After 40 games, he has just one point (an assist), a minus-14 rating (dead last in the team), and 50 penalty minutes, mostly stupid penalties. I'm glad i let him out of my core selection for this season, even if it means keeping a naff Tjärnqvist! Boynton doesn't deserve his 2.9M$. I dropped him out of the core with the idea to maybe deal him (as he is in the final year of his contract), and it seems i made the right decision. I just hope i'll be able to get a good return for him.

My only trade so far (made in early November) turns out to be a steal! I shipped Serge Payer to Ottawa in exchange for center prospect Alexander Nikulin, who was a 4th round pick (#122) of the Sens in 2004. In 24 games so far with San Antonio, he has 15 goals, 14 assists, a plus-8 rating, and a 8.50 average rating. He will probably make the big team next year, once Tjärnqvist will be crying for a contract on the FA market.

In San Antonio, Enver Lisin rocks. Nothing surprising there, but i didn't expected that much out of him. 36 games, 27 goals, 29 assists, 56 points, +21, 8.06 AvR. He leads the AHL in goals and points, while the second in points is 10 units behind! There are great chances that he becomes my season 3 HG.

Mueller and Hanzal are looking good too, but need at least one more AHL season, maybe two or three, before being NHL ready. Same for Carcillo, who starts to be pretty impressive in AHL, but needs a few more seasonning.

Had a funny moment with Boyton in one of my recent games, we were on the PK, and he intercepted the puck inside our blueline, dumps it down ice past Nabakov for the score

Not fun! I've been fired

Not a surprise though. I still wonder how i wasn't fired earlier. I don't know what i was doing wrong, but the results were very far from the expectations.

The team totally crashed once Boynton was unhappy of our position in the standings. As he was the only unhappy guy, and many others were willing to work harder to help the team, i thought things should turn around and we would go up in the standings. But it was the contrary, like if Boynton ruined the entire team's mood. It might have ended a different way if i get rid of him early on (i planned to deal him around the deadline anyhow)... maybe not...

Anyhow, game over for me. Real life GMs don't continue with the team they've been fired from, so i won't continue with the Yotes. A bit sad, as i would have loved to see my prospects grow and reach the NHL. Lisin, Mueller, Hanzal, Carcillo, Petrecki, Couture, Summers, Sexsmith, Palmieri, Doyle, Yandle, Pestunov and Krysanov were all on my list for the future. Oh well, i'm gonna try to make a better job next time... Right now, i must find a way to improve my strategies, as i really struggle on this part