Challenge 21 news...

[bruins72]

We had originally planned to use a WHL team for challenge 21 but the roster changes for the WHL aren't complete yet. So we're going to do something a little different. Some of you were probably around for our Winnipeg Jets challenge way back before the Jets came back in real life. At the time, we thought that the Coyotes would move up there but it ended up being the Thrashers. In that challenge we let you choose the starting roster for the team. We're going to do that again.

We're going to move the New York Islanders to Quebec and bring back the Nordiques! The Islanders have been having troubles so they seemed like a good choice. Manimal is going to take version 3.1 of the Lidas DB and make a modified version for this challenge. What we'll do is have several polls, one for each player under contract with the Islanders, and give you 4 comparable players to choose between to find a replacement for the Islander. For example, Rick DiPietro. You get to vote for either Bryzgalov, Huet, Theodore, or Niemi to replace him on the new team. You get one pick in each poll. Feel free to post in that thread to try to encourage others to vote you way. One player that isn't getting a poll is Dought Weight. We are replacing him with Owen Nolan, a former Nordique. We're also giving you a free player, Adam Foote. And just for fun, Manimal has made a team staff comprised of former Nordiques!

Start voting here... http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=44

The polls close early on Saturday (Eastern US timezone) and then Manimal will take the winners of the polls and start getting the DB together. Once the DB is ready, we'll kick off the new challenge!

[batdad]

Dude-This sounds like fun. Will it be harder than the Jets one? What I recall is that it was pretty easy for many who played. I am hoping for more expansion like.

[bruins72]

Yes, this should be harder than the Jets one. I was a little more free and loose with the choices on the Jets challenge. I think I might have given people options that were just too good. On this one here, I made sure the player choices really were comparable to the Islanders players they were replacing. In fact, I think several of them aren't as good. From what I could see, the Islanders are a pretty weak team and the Nordiques team should be just as weak, if not weaker.

I know for me, my vote is going to go to Canadian players with French names first and foremost.

[batdad]

My vote is going to the worst player-contract combined. Example Jeff Finger. Example Yann Danis. Example anyone but Taylor Hall. And of course...Carbomb Carcillo

[Manimal]

Philou is gonna cream his pants when he sees this challenge !

[batdad]

Heh. No doubt he will. But he is young...so it won't be a problem. Did you hear David Feherty's one liner about Rory McIlory and his right wrist this weekend? Hilarious.

Peter Costas asks David how he thinks Rory will be after hurting his wrist the day before (hit the ball off a tree root-duh!)

Feherty--read in your best Northern Ireland brogue "Oh...he will be just fine. He is young, I mean come on...that is the strongest muscle in his body"

BWAH!! (and thinking way...way...back...so TRUE!


Done with my voting...and if this team is what it looks to be. Wow...Philou may not be happy for long.

[Manimal]

Haha, good one.

And, yeah. This team will be challenging to play.
BTW, The Nordiques have gotten the un-signed prospects from the Islanders. And an AHL-affiliation from back when. Plus, I've made some other changes, like adding the Jets

[outdooral]

Looks interesting. I should be able to get more game time in with this one. Summer is bad for me. only got 1 1/2 seasons completed with Dallas.

[McQwak]

This looks great. I really enjoyed the Jets challenge. I won 3 Cups in 3 seasons and earned my only Trophy under my avatar Players like Selanne, Toews, Tkachuk were really strong. I remember finishing game with Pahlsson recording 38 minutes of ice time
This one should be fun again.

btw, Philou doesn't play our challenges.

[bruins72]

It won't be a part of the rules but it could be a personal challenge for any hardcore EHMers who really want to torture themselves...

Once we start this challenge and people get into the off-season and season two, try limiting yourself to only acquiring only players born in the province of Quebec. Or maybe only players with French names? Maybe relax this rule just a bit to allow for Slovakians too, in honor of the Stastny brothers? So your trades and UFA signings... only players from Quebec or Slovakia. Then your draft picks... also only players from Quebec or Slovakia. Imagine having to pass on a great player because he was born in British Columbia or Sweden and instead you've got to take a guy ranked much lower because he's the next best option that fits the criteria. That would be tough!

[batdad]

Hi there, Don Cherry here. No way no how. I vow that I will not select one Slovak or one Quebecois in the draft. Nor will I trade for one. I will only draft English speakers. By the time I am done, no one in Quebec City will like me!!!! And Ripper is going to play 41 games for me, and in the playoffs 2 every series.

[eric1985]

Ripper will be a regular on my team as well... prolly woulda been anyway, always was my fav fighter

[nino33]

I have almost no challenge experience, I was aware of the QMJHL challenge, and I played one season of the Dallas Stars challenge (before returning to editing).......so I don't really understand how this challenge works - what happens to all the NY Islander players/staff?

And are the team rosters current minus the players "taken" from them?.....like the Flyers have Jagr on their roster? and (assuming the voting holds) the Oilers roster would be current minus Taylor Hall?

Thanks

[Manimal]

The Islander-players will go to the teams that their replacement is coming from. So, the Oilers will get Okposo for Hall (we win that one big) and so on.
This challenge is based on the 3.1rosters so none of the Free agency from this summer will have happened. Jagr will still be in Russia

[nino33]

Thanks very much for the reply Manimal!

[Círyatan]

Great news!

I think B's idea of limiting ourselves to using only Franco-Canadians is a really interesting one. Should make things more interesting.

[Manimal]

With the addition of the Nordiques and Jets, I took the liberty to move around a few teams as I see fit for the divisions.
Quebec will be in the Northeast, Buffalo in the Atlantic, Winnipeg in the Northwest, Minnesota in the Central and Nashville in the Southeast

[McQwak]

Makes perfect sense I'm glad Avalanche stays with the canadian squad.

[Círyatan]

Glad you've implemented the division changes, Manimal. The last time I edited the database to put in the Nordiques I moved Boston to the Atlantic, but that's just cosmetics. Good job!

[Manimal]

Glad you've implemented the division changes, Manimal. The last time I edited the database to put in the Nordiques I moved Boston to the Atlantic, but that's just cosmetics. Good job!

Sure, Boston is more atlantic than Buffalo but their rivalry with MTL, TOR and even Quebec was something I couldn't overlook.

[visualdarkness]

I haven't played for sometime and I can't at the moment as my brother nicked my hdd without asking before he traveled . But I hope that I will be ready when the challenge is up.

[bruins72]

The challenge should start next week and it should run 2-3 months like normal. Unless your brother is away for a long stretch, you should have time to join in.

[visualdarkness]

The challenge should start next week and it should run 2-3 months like normal. Unless your brother is away for a long stretch, you should have time to join in.

But I need at least two months of time when playing a challenge.

[outdooral]

Ok So Ive gone back and voted for all the replacements for players I voted to keep on the team. My mistake, I didnt quite understand the setup you intended for this challenge.There were some players on the team I really wanted to use.
Game on
Lets see whos on this team.

[visualdarkness]

Seguin and Hall sounds a bit easy but at the same time interesting.