EHM The Blue Line

I have been playing around with EHM 2007 for several months (very addictive), and based on my experience, these are what I have found to be the best teams to start a franchise with, at least based on the 3.0.4 patch, default database.

1. Flyers: By far the strongest team in my experience. You get Pitkanen who develops into the best D in the game within 1-2 years, Niitymakki who is a top 5 G right away and becomes Brodeur calibre within a year or two with proper coaching/training. Esche is also cheap and is a solid starter that you can keep as a backup or trade to a desperate team. Gagne has a big contract for 5 years I believe, but he is a franchise level forward and is worth the 5.25 mill. Forsberg's contract expires after 1 year, so you have the option of resigning him or moving on. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards both develop into dominant franchise forwards within 1-2 years too, so train one of them to RW, so you can stick both of them on the top line with Gagne, and you will have an insane top line, top goalie and dominant D within 2 years.

2. Kings: Kopitar, Frolov, Cammalieri and O'Sullivan all develop into top line forwards quickly giving you a great offensive nucleus. You probably will need to get rid of Blake's contract, but whenever I have played as the Kings there are teams coming at me for him anyway. Visnovski makes a great PP QB and doesn't demand elite level money. Also, Tukonen and Derek Nelson (Jack Johnson fake I believe) both are prospects who developed very well for me. The only problem is obviously that you will need to pay for goaltending before you can go anywhere.

3. Penguins: Crosby and Malkin both become top 5 players within the first year and having both of them gives you an insane top line. Fleury is 21 at the start and already a quality #1 G, and becomes a franchise guy within 1-2 years. The supporting cast is weak, and you will need to figure out a way to get better complimentary forwards and defense from the start, but because Crosby and Malkin start like 3-4 years away from getting to the 5-6 million contract range, you start with loads of salary cap room. The biggest problem I had with the Pens is apparently they are rated very low for prestige so free agents only tend to sign with you as a last resort. It does help keep your FA spending under control and forces you to build from within.

4. Capitals: Basically this is because I think Ovechkin is the single best player in EHM. The supporting cast from the beginning is pretty weak, although Semin is a decent second line LW and Clark tends to be a very solid clutch player that never wants outrageous cash. I also like the Caps because they have two of my favorite role type players in Sutherby and Shaone Morrison, guys that I try to trade for when playing with most other teams. You also start with a crazy amount of cap room, even more so when Kolzig's contract expires after year one. That easily lets you sign a top C to pair with Ovechkin (Drury is almost always available after the first year and seems to work great), a #1 D and a goalie to replace Kolzig. Oveckin alone will carry you a long way.

Any comments or anyone have other teams they prefer to start with?

jdh79 wrote:Niitymakki

4. Capitals: Basically this is because I think Ovechkin is the single best player in EHM. The supporting cast from the beginning is pretty weak, although Semin is a decent second line LW and Clark tends to be a very solid clutch player that never wants outrageous cash. I also like the Caps because they have two of my favorite role type players in Sutherby and Shaone Morrison, guys that I try to trade for when playing with most other teams. You also start with a crazy amount of cap room, even more so when Kolzig's contract expires after year one. That easily lets you sign a top C to pair with Ovechkin (Drury is almost always available after the first year and seems to work great), a #1 D and a goalie to replace Kolzig. Oveckin alone will carry you a long way.

Yes, Ovechkin really is an amazing player, and Morrisonn will quickly develope into a core / key defenceman. Eminger is also very talented defender. Caps line up is full of holes though, but atleast you get to build your own team then.

Eminger didn't really develop into more than a useful #4 type offensive D for me, but Morrison every time I have had him has been a dominant shut down D man and the best part about him is I have never seen him ask for more than like 1.3 million.

The best way to build the Caps lineup I find is go with 2 full checking lines and fill up your 3rd and 4th lines with guys like Pahlsson, Ortmeyer, Betts, Eager, Nilson, Dingman Yelle, Madden, Chubarov, etc, to add to Sutherby most of which can be signed or acquired really cheap normally. Then you can use the line matching that puts your 3rd and 4th lines against the opposing top 2 lines, which really helps out your defense and goalie. You will have Ovechkin, Semin and Clark, and basically then have to find 3 more scoring forwards, but with all the cap room you have, it isn't that hard. You can have the Caps as a Stanley Cup calibre team by year 2-3 easily.

Interesting idea... might have to put it to test someday...

And, by the way, welcome to TBL

I would be willing to argue that Chicago is a much better team to start with than the Caps. If you don't believe me look at what we have done with them in the challenge. The prospect pool is very deep and there are some good pieces there.

A bit biased, but the sharks are a decent team to start with, 2 number 1 centres, decent wingers, not much LW depth though.

I remember I used the penguins, and I couldn't seem to get them playing well at all, diffent people use different styles, guess they didnt suit me.

I have never tried playing as the Sharks, but I always got the impression that they run into cap/resigning issues pretty soon and have to dismantle. The AI Sharks always seem to jettison Hannan (one of my favorite D especially since I prefer defense to offense), and Marleau after year 2. If I was playing the Sharks, I would train either Marleau or Thornton to one of the wings and keep them both because they always seem to average 9.00 ratings or better every year.

Seriously, you have to wonder if the developers who created the default database are Flyers fans because they have so many players that are way better in the game than real life. Niitymakki, Esche, Pitkanen, Carter, Richards (although he does seem to be breaking out this year), and even Gagne to an extent are way overpowered versus reality. In one game I was playing as the Caps, I searched for Jeff Carter because I hadn't seen him tearing up the league as he always does and found that he was playing in Russia because he didn't take the Flyer's qualifying offer after year 1 and had stayed in Russia since then. His attributes were all 18-19+. I was able to trade for his rights for a throw away prospect and sign him at 27 yrs old for 1.3 mil/year for 3 years.

Seriously, you have to wonder if the developers who created the default database are Flyers fans

They aren't. Riz, the head honcho, is actually a Rangers fan, while Graeme is a Ducks fan(and I don't know about the rest). Though, they don't do the databases... that's all up to the individual researchers. In which case, each researcher is usually a fan of the team(s) he rates.

In the Flyers case this year, it looks to me like they were all rated based on their potential, rather than their current skill... which is why I think players like Carter, Richards, and Pitkänen are far too good at such an early point. And then Esche is just plain overrated, in my opinion, and is the main source of the Flyers' unrealistic domination.

I find that Buffalo is the most complete team to start with. They are easily a stanley cup contender without even making any trades.

[quote="jdh79"]I have never tried playing as the Sharks, but I always got the impression that they run into cap/resigning issues pretty soon and have to dismantle. The AI Sharks always seem to jettison Hannan (one of my favorite D especially since I prefer defense to offense), and Marleau after year 2. If I was playing the Sharks, I would train either Marleau or Thornton to one of the wings and keep them both because they always seem to average 9.00 ratings or better every year.quote]

I tryed training Marleau to RW, and had Michalek Thornton Marleau...it was dynamite, each scoring over 100 points, yes while the sharks do run into some cap problems, I tend to trade up at the start, replacing the higher payed players with players equal to there ability, and cheaper.

I have been playing around with the TBL 1.2 database instead of the default database and I like it a lot better but it definitely changes the dynamic up.

Here are the teams I would take first given that database:

1. Flames: They get way better because you get Regehr at 2.1 million for 6 years and he is a top 10 guy and pairing him with Phaneuf is just insane. You may run into some real issues after year 1 when you have to make cap room to resign Kiprusoff.
2. Capitals: The AI Capitals seem to always make a long Cup run right from year 1 with this database. They get a lot better over the default version with the additions of Nylander and Poti. You also start with like 12 million in cap space (most of any teams), so you can go after guys like Forsberg, Allison, Scatchard, etc to help you right away. Clark is also locked at 1 million for 4 years, so you get a very cheap decent 1st/2nd line RW that lets you dump money in beefing up the D.
3. Oilers: Adding Pitkanen really beefs them up and you also get Hemsky who is way better in the game than real life as a franchise forward locked up at 4.1 mill for 5 years. The Penner contract is a killer.
4. Flyers: Flyers are much less dominant in this version now that they lose Pitkanen, Esche, Forsberg. Briere is a decent 1st line center, but he is overpaid and you have that big contract hanging over you for years. You still get Richards and Carter who both develop into top notch 1st liners and Gagne who in the game is the 2nd best LW to Ovechkin.

Overall, I find the new database really changes the dynamic. In the original database, there definitely are a lot of players who are overvalued or over develop compared to real life. However, in the original database, it also seems that they did a pretty good job matching ability to contract, so you don't see a lot of totally wasted cap space. With the update, there are a huge amount of over and undervalued players. When you start a new game, the first thing that both you and the AI teams usually do is make a bee line to the FA pool to try and win the race for Allison, Esche, Chistov, Vannennen, Scatchard, etc. I also find that I can't play with a fantasy draft in the updated database because there are too many undervalued long term contracts to target (Regehr, Hannan, Marleau, Jokinen, etc) that its too easy to dominate.

Hmm..that is very interesting jdh79. Especially since there are no attribute changes. Glad to see it changes things up and makes the game pop to life for you as well.

And as always I have to say: LEAFS, OILERS, FLEMMES SUCK! (well not always, but now.):-D I should really get around to trying it, but having to much fun with the Hawks, and actually have no time at all right now. I have not touched my challenge game in 4 weeks.

Yeah, there's no attribute changes but it adds a new dimension because there are so many changes in overall player value. For example, Briere is almost a negative value to have at 6.5 million for 8 years because it's such a crippling contract for a guy that is not an elite level player.

Dallas Stars are a nice team to start with too. You start with solid veterans defencemen, a nice arsenal of two-ways and defensive forwards and a very good goalie.
Also, many key players got mid and long terms contracts with you, the best deal is Brenden Morrow, has something like 7 years, 2M deal. With Halpern, Hagman and Lehtinen, you can surely set the best PK in the league. If you like robust and defensive play, this is your team, IMHO.

But that a team set to win NOW so if you like to develop players, it's a bit harsh with them, except Hagos, Neal and Crombeen, your farm is quite empty.

I've learnt to play (and win) EHM 2007 with them.

Not using the TBL roster update, just the original DB and the TBL:DB, I'm really finding the Chicago Blackhawks to be a good team to start with if you want a lot of prospects to build a dynasty with. They've been a blast in the challenge and I've kept a nicely stocked farm team throughout.

Some other teams that I have looked at that look really nice to play as. The Avalanche you get a great mix of young talent that becomes franchise players (Wolski, Stastny), veteran franchise forwards (Sakic, Smyth), and quality d-men signed long term for reasonable deals (Hannan, Clark). Budaj is also one of my favorite goalies to have and Theodore's 6 M is off the books after year one so you can do something like make a play on Esche, platoon him with Budaj and have loads of cap room left.

Another team that looks even better is the Kings. Now that the update adds Nagy and Handzus, you are totally set in your forward corps, with Cammaleri, Kopitar, O'Sullivan, Frolov (long term and underpriced), Nagy, and Handzus and you also have a deep D-corps with Blake, Stuart, Visnovsky. Again, this is a team that can make a play on Esche, kick Clouthier to the curb and be a force.

Playing as the Caps is starting to irritate me because their fan support is terrible even when you are in first place. That results in the team losing money, the owners refusing to up the budget which makes signing any marquee free agents (ie the franchise D-man that you need to make a real playoff run) impossible.

Looking through the teams, here are some of the ones I think are the worst:

1. Predators: Absolutely the worst, especially with the roster update. No franchise level forwards, weak defense, no goaltending, poor prospects
2. Blues: They sometimes make the playoffs year one, but all they have is a group of 32+ non-elite forwards. Erik Johnson and Hannu Toivonen are their saving graces
3. Coyotes: They are actually slightly better since the roster update gives them Aebischer and extends Doan's contract, but they still have very little to build off of. Hanzal is their only decent prospect that seems to develop
4. Blackhawks: They seem to always make the playoffs, but in the same conference as the Blues, Coyotes, Predators, etc, someone has to. I don't see what other people see in this team; other than Toews they lack elite prospects and other than Havlat, their forwards are sub-par.

jdh79 wrote: 1. Predators: Absolutely the worst, especially with the roster update. No franchise level forwards, weak defense, no goaltending, poor prospects

Before the roster update it was extremely easy to build a Stanley Cup team with the Predators. You had Vokoun to keep you solid in net. You had Kariya, Sullivan, and Hartnell (the dirty SOB) on the wings. You also had Arnott. I can't remember who they had on D but I was able to acquire some easily enough. I forget who else was on there but I had no problems whatsoever when I played with this team.

Two other teams that get really bad with the update:

Wild: They weren't great before, but they really get killed by losing Fernandez and Backstrom not having attributes that match his real life performance. Harding isn't ready for a few years to really start, so you have no goaltending. Also, the defensive system that they use that makes them a good team in real life doesn't translate to the game. The other problem they have is their AHL affiliate for some reason only lets them send a max of 4 skaters, 1 goalie to them, which makes it very hard to develop prospects

Leafs: They are probably as bad as ever; Toskala and Raycroft are about equals in the game and Blake doesn't add that much. You still have that massive load of cap space tied up in questionable blueliners, and you also don't have a 2007 1st rd pick as a result of that Toskala trade so you will probably finish with a top 5 pick that you won't get to use.

jdh79 wrote:The other problem they have is their AHL affiliate for some reason only lets them send a max of 4 skaters, 1 goalie to them, which makes it very hard to develop prospects

This is propably a mistake in the database on our part. I'll fix it for 1.3, which should be out anytime soon.

Can you give a bit of a rundown of what type of updates are expected with 1.3; in particular in regards to NHL teams. I don't want to start a new game with the 1.2 database if big changes are coming.

Not that many changes coming for the NHL for any of the upcoming releases. NHL was our first project, and now we're just making fixes on it, if any are found, while updating other leagues on top of it. Next database will update WHL, OHL and QMJHL teams and the one after that will update the British leagues.

We have a couple of player transfers from Europe to the NHL and the error with Houston Aeroes which you just pointed out on your earlier post coming up on the next release. You can see all upcoming and already applied changes to the database in the Knowledge Base. I have yet to post roster changes to the QMJHL there, but everything else is already there to be reviewed.

I keep having the issue of wanting to start new games because I keep seeing teams that I want to play with. I think probably the best team if you want to go for the future development route may be the Panthers. Jokinen and Bouwmeester are great rocks to build from and they have a great young nucleus of Horton, Weiss, and Anthony Stewart. Horton and Weiss are signed for 6 year deals that look overpriced now but will be bargains by year 2. The crown jewel IMO of the Panthers is Frolik, who has the top potential rating in the game (will have a potential of 170-200, shares this rating with only Tavares and Erik Johnson).

The only glitch is going to be they probably will suck for the first year until Horton, Weiss, Stewart, etc develop their attributes. I also don't like Vokoun or his contract and the Panthers have a stingy board and a team that FAs seem to avoid going to (even coaches: I had Bobby Carpenter decline my offer to be head coach to sign as an assistant for the Oilers!). However, developed right, this team looks like it could be a dynasty within 3 years, especially once Frolik is up and running.

jdh79 wrote:Two other teams that get really bad with the update:

Leafs: They are probably as bad as ever; Toskala and Raycroft are about equals in the game and Blake doesn't add that much. You still have that massive load of cap space tied up in questionable blueliners, and you also don't have a 2007 1st rd pick as a result of that Toskala trade so you will probably finish with a top 5 pick that you won't get to use.

I totally won the cup first year with tbl...1.1 possibly 1.0...though I think it's 1.1. And I even kept most of my questionable blue-liners, only ones I dumped were Gill and Woz.

dybbuk wrote:

jdh79 wrote:Two other teams that get really bad with the update:

Leafs: They are probably as bad as ever; Toskala and Raycroft are about equals in the game and Blake doesn't add that much. You still have that massive load of cap space tied up in questionable blueliners, and you also don't have a 2007 1st rd pick as a result of that Toskala trade so you will probably finish with a top 5 pick that you won't get to use.

I totally won the cup first year with tbl...1.1 possibly 1.0...though I think it's 1.1. And I even kept most of my questionable blue-liners, only ones I dumped were Gill and Woz.

Yeah, the Leafs are probably winnable, but I think you need to add a 2nd line center (Jason Allison probably) to get to that point. Kaberle and McCabe aren't terrible in game attributes; they actually are quality defensemen; they just are paid way too much for way too long. You can always do an offer to all and dump off the contracts on a sucker AI team, but I have stopped playing that way because it makes it too easy and feels like abusing the system.

I guess my comments about the Leafs were more directed to the fact that they lost high draft picks to get another mediocre goalie. The one thing I like about playing them though is that every FA, coach, scout, etc is always falling all over themselves to come to Toronto so it makes it a lot easier to get who you want.