Challenge #31 - Future Boston Bruins - Discussion Thread

[batdad]

NIce job. Looks like you will be kicking my arse.

I have got back to 500 after 26 games. Two big wins vs Detoilt 7-2 and 7-5. 4 game win streak. Wow.

Lines have changed a bit, d pairs the same. Playing the goalie as long as he wins. Bernier won 3 straight, needed a break put in Haas and he stunk, so Bernier played period 3 of the last Detroit game and let in none.

Jacobson-Schenn-Vandersteen(Owens)
Aberg-Owens(Vsteen)-Brouwer
Eriksson-Skudra-Groleau
Khomutov-Farhas-Petterson
Zhakarov Stoughton

that is my latest set up...switch the two young C back and forth each game. Groleau moves up and gets PP time if he does something in 1st period. If not...down to 4th line.

[bruins72]

I opened my big mouth too soon. 11 games in and I'm in 8th place. We're 6-5-0 but I got my board confidence update and they're very unhappy with me and might have to listen to the fans and fire me if I don't turn things around. What the Dickens? I thought I was doing very well with what I had!

[thunderbug]

Ok so I'm currently at the end of my 6th game. We are 4-1-1. Don't think that I'm finding any magic formula here, because I'm not. The goalies are still trash on most nights. I'm rotating Bernier and Haas. The defense is not playing all that well in front of them either. We are, however, averaging just under 5 goals a game and that is keeping us afloat. If the offensive production dries up like I think it will at some point, then we are sunk.

[umwoz]

Don't think I'll be having the same success as you guys.... Leaving the preseason rather pessimistic about how this team can perform. So much so that I sent back Dicks... Don't wanna ruin the poor guy.

[bruins72]

Is anyone else having a lot of unhappy guys when you string together a few losses? I had 4 or 5 unhappy at one point.

[Peter_Doherty]

Is anyone else having a lot of unhappy guys when you string together a few losses? I had 4 or 5 unhappy at one point.

I have the same problem, i have even more unhappy players then you and i'm not doing that bad either, hovering around .500.

[batdad]

Not so far. Just a guy I mistakenly disciplined. Meant to hit the guy under him on the roster, and missed. First time I have ever done that. Owens had a 9 and I think it was Eriksson with a 5 I was going to warn. Hit the warning, and it was on Owens. OOPS

[bruins72]

Wow... my season is quickly going down the toilet!

[batdad]

At least you have a toilet. Mine is in the outhouse at best. Possibly just $^#**@& in the woods. And no TP....and it is not solid.

[batdad]

Haas turn to get a few starts. Shootout loss to 2nd place Philly, then shuts out the Blues. Goalies on this team go really hot and cold.

[joehelmer]

Game 41-60 went horrible for my team, we went from looking as a surprise playoff team to be in the bottom four of the conference.
Haas seems to be playing better than Bernier so he will most likely end up playing most of finishing games.

[jesterx7769]

Anyone considering drafting Gubin instead of Dicks? I'm looking at prospects for the draft and thought about grabbing him to be different.

[bruins72]

I don't think I really even looked at him because this team has so many goalie prospects. Maybe I should have though. He looks pretty good.

[batdad]

Yeah, I saw him and thought about it...for two seconds. Stupid goalie glut on the B's. You would think they were collecting them. I may not draft one in the entire challenge.

[jesterx7769]

Yeah I will prob end up with Dicks since the team needs them so bad. Gubins stats just really jumped out at me. However I have had such ups and downs with goalies that makes them good, sometimes its all about CA, sometimes technical stats, sometimes anticipation, etc. You expect a goalie who looks good on paper to do great then all of a sudden he's got an 80 save % and you're like What the Dickens

[batdad]

Wow. Game 40. Down 3-1 to the Laffs with 8 minutes left in the game

Vandersteen
Vandersteen pp
Vandersteen
Vandersteen En

Win 5-3. I was not expecting that.

[batdad]

QUestion...head coach contract (kealty) is due to run out at the end of the season. When he goes, I assume i have to promote an assistant, but can hire a new assistant no problem?


Same for other staff...if their contract expires...I can just replace them? IE scouts, assistants.....and these hirings do not count against the 2 I am allowed to bring in new? Plus I can fire two scouts if I wish and bring in two more?


So example..

I have 4 scouts (just saying) whose contract is expiring. If I let them expire, that does not count against my firings? And I Can hire 4 more guys to replace them? And then I can fire two more scouts, and replace them? that would give me 6 new scouts?


Or...do I need to retain 2 of the 4 scouts whose deals are expiring, and only let 2 go that count against my firings. Just in January now so not sure.

[bruins72]

QUestion...head coach contract (kealty) is due to run out at the end of the season. When he goes, I assume i have to promote an assistant, but can hire a new assistant no problem?


Same for other staff...if their contract expires...I can just replace them? IE scouts, assistants.....and these hirings do not count against the 2 I am allowed to bring in new? Plus I can fire two scouts if I wish and bring in two more?


So example..

I have 4 scouts (just saying) whose contract is expiring. If I let them expire, that does not count against my firings? And I Can hire 4 more guys to replace them? And then I can fire two more scouts, and replace them? that would give me 6 new scouts?


Or...do I need to retain 2 of the 4 scouts whose deals are expiring, and only let 2 go that count against my firings. Just in January now so not sure.

The challenge rules only limit the number of firings you can make, not hirings. The only other restriction is that you must have had your staff member under contract for 6 months before being promoted to head coach. Let as many staff contracts run out as you can for staff you don't wish to keep. That way you can use your firings to your best advantage.

[batdad]

Great thanks that is what I Thought. Just wanted to be sure.

[rancer890]

I'm attempting this challenge (my first ever challenge here) and it's definitely been a struggle...I'm about to post my 20 game mark stats but it's very ugly. I'm used to just playing as GM so organizing the tactics and what not is very new to me. I'm still learning but I'm getting better and the scorelines aren't as lopsided as early on in the season.

Here's my draft picks:

Rd 1 (6th overall) - Herman Dicks (Kootenay) - RW/LW - 6'1", 169 lbs
Rd 2 (36th) - Zech MacKinnon (Cornell) - RD - 6'4", 207 lbs
Rd 3 (66th) - Milos Prikryl (HC Sparta Praha) - RD - 6'2", 185 lbs
Rd 4 (96th) - Gaetan Caillard (Gatineau) - LW - 6', 200 lbs
Rd 4 (109th) - Daun Ayotte (Saginaw) - LW - 5'9", 178 lbs
Rd 5 (126th) - Woody Kaufman (Dartmouth) - RD/LD - 5'11", 196 lbs
Rd 7 (186th) - Ville-Matti Lohtander (Barrie) - LW/RW - 5'11", 169 lbs

I signed Dicks during training camp and he even managed to play 7 games with the Bruins, but he didn't score any points and had a rating below 6 so I just sent him back to juniors. I also signed Prikryl and even though I can send him to Val d'Or who have his junior rights, I plan on keeping him in the pros. He's currently with South Carolina with 7 points in 17 games and getting lots of icetime.

The notables gone on or before July 1 include Parise, Haas (I might be starting to regret that one), Brouwer, and Rychel hoping to get some of our younger forwards an opportunity to make the team and contribute. Arnesson was also lost on waivers to San Jose. I signed one of my prospects, 28 y/o Nikita Serebryakov to a one year contract. Unfortunately he was horrible in 5 games before trying to sneak him through waivers and losing him to Phoenix.

Off-ice, I fired Whitesides along with everyone else, replacing him with Paul Coffey in mid-July (who I will probably will promote to HC after the season), fired Jim Benning and hiring Peter Forsberg as AGM, and sacking scouts Bill Bentley and Mike McGraw, and hiring Nicklas Lidstrom.

The plan was to roll with Bernier and Serebryakov, but then Bernier partially tore his ACL in our last pre-season game and he hasn't started this season (hopefully back in mid-late December), so we're using Reijasalo and Woodcroft, who have combined to go 3-13, but unlike October, we've managed to at least keep the games competitive in November.

Injures have really played a major role this season, with Bernier, Carrier, Owens, Skudra, Jacobson, and Vandersteen all spending time on IR. But there's a bright side as well, like Aberg 22 points (10-12), Khomutov's 13 (3-10), Jacobson's 10 points (4-6) in only 12 games, Vandersteen's 18 (8-10) in 18, and the vet Loui Eriksson with 17 points (1-16) in all 20 games so far.

Latest lines right now:

L. Eriksson - Khomutov - Aberg
Jacobson - Schenn - Fahas
Calvert - Owens - Zakharov
J. Eriksson - Douglas - Pettersson

Carrier - Riekkinen
Severson - Gormley
Liebsch - Beausoleil

Reijasolo/Woodcroft

Vandersteen is usually on first line center and Skudra usually is on the 3rd or 4th line up the middle. Both are currently injured.

This has been a weird save. I'm trying my hardest but I'm last in the conference, last in the league. Everything that's gone wrong has gone wrong. The board, the fans, and my own players aren't happy. We have no depth everywhere and I'm playing guys who played junior last season. But this is strangely a lot of fun.

Just one question:

1. Reading the rules, if I get sacked I will have to provide a screenshot showing that I'm under budget. Since I probably won't have advance notice of my firing, do I make sure to save just before the approximate timing of my firing and take a screenshot, or do I recreate myself and use that screenshot, or something else? Looking at the finances of other teams, I wouldn't be able to see the budget unless I'm controlling the team. Thanks.

[batdad]

I am having a hard time with the Khomutov love. He has been out of the lineup almost every game for me. Just starting to try him as have Vandersteen injured. SO far in the games...not horrible, on 4th line.

[bruins72]

Just one question:

1. Reading the rules, if I get sacked I will have to provide a screenshot showing that I'm under budget. Since I probably won't have advance notice of my firing, do I make sure to save just before the approximate timing of my firing and take a screenshot, or do I recreate myself and use that screenshot, or something else? Looking at the finances of other teams, I wouldn't be able to see the budget unless I'm controlling the team. Thanks.

Don't worry about that part. That was kind of a leftover from old challenges.

[jesterx7769]

Regarding the Blues financial mess, you guys realize it is the Espoo Blues and not the St. Louis Blues right? You get the email due to Torey Krug.

[batdad]

My game it is St Louis as well

[bruins72]

Here's my draft picks:

Rd 1 (6th overall) - Herman Dicks (Kootenay) - RW/LW - 6'1", 169 lbs
Rd 2 (36th) - Zech MacKinnon (Cornell) - RD - 6'4", 207 lbs
Rd 3 (66th) - Milos Prikryl (HC Sparta Praha) - RD - 6'2", 185 lbs
Rd 4 (96th) - Gaetan Caillard (Gatineau) - LW - 6', 200 lbs
Rd 4 (109th) - Daun Ayotte (Saginaw) - LW - 5'9", 178 lbs
Rd 5 (126th) - Woody Kaufman (Dartmouth) - RD/LD - 5'11", 196 lbs
Rd 7 (186th) - Ville-Matti Lohtander (Barrie) - LW/RW - 5'11", 169 lbs

I see some similarities between your draft and mine. Most of us took Dicks. I remember looking at MacKinnon but taking Chamerlain instead. I took Prikryl in the 3rd too. I also drafted Kaufman and Lohtander but I took Kaufan in the 7th round and Lohtander in the 4th.