If you get to them before their reputation gets too high, you can sign them long term. Once they become established, you get 1-3 year deals unless you overpay.
And to add, something I think you originally taught me, is that sometimes if I know a guy will be good I sign him the day I draft him, that way he will only have 2 years until next contract and then after that I will try sign him to like a 10 year contract @ ~$2.5 mil/year.
For instance I still have my #1 goalie entering his prime for another 5 years at I think it's $2.6 mil/year and I have Carey Price still at $4 mil/year so once Price comes off the books I can afford to pay him the starter salary. Now I've got my 3rd line C (little steep of a price) and my future #1/#2 RW locked up for cheap too.
Jesus Christ it's not fair how good your team is !
The goalie surprised even me. I did not think he would go for it but he did so who am I to complain. My top 4 of defense is all creeping up higher in salary though so I might have to either let them go or start cheating more with the 56k salary bug.
Once Fedor retires and I'm ready for the NHL again, I'm gonna play it by the rules and I'm gonna try do it without making a ton of trades. Because it really is only a few years of playing that you need to build at least a playoff contender.
I wanna run a defensive system with a good goalie, good top 2 d-men, then everything else can be fairly good.
Playing in my 9th season with the Devils, I'm at that point in the game where many real players are starting to retire and the next generation of stars are taking over. While it kind of sucks that in a few more years the entire league is gonna be a bunch of created players, I've grown attached to some of the guys I've drafted and I don't know if I can end this save just because all the real players are done soon.
Anyone else play into a game really far and still enjoy it?
Playing in my 9th season with the Devils, I'm at that point in the game where many real players are starting to retire and the next generation of stars are taking over. While it kind of sucks that in a few more years the entire league is gonna be a bunch of created players, I've grown attached to some of the guys I've drafted and I don't know if I can end this save just because all the real players are done soon.
Anyone else play into a game really far and still enjoy it?
IMO it is more fun with from game generated players. I have a game, where i played 200 seasons.
Playing in my 9th season with the Devils, I'm at that point in the game where many real players are starting to retire and the next generation of stars are taking over. While it kind of sucks that in a few more years the entire league is gonna be a bunch of created players, I've grown attached to some of the guys I've drafted and I don't know if I can end this save just because all the real players are done soon.
Anyone else play into a game really far and still enjoy it?
I feel like I will miss a few of the real players, especially if they're playing hockey in real life (although no NHLers are right now ) but they're all there in spirit. Just gotta keep track of who they regen into haha.
It took New Jersey eight years to win the Stanley Cup, and now they are poised to possibly repeat as Champions. The Devils are heading into an Eastern Conference Finals match-up versus Washington. An aging Alex Ovelchkin looks to defeat bitter Russian rival Ilya Kovalchuk in what is going to be an amazing series between the two teams.
Is it even possible to have a good defensive system in the game lol ?
Yes. Very difficult. I haven't played with an "offensive" system for probably 2 or so calendar years. All time spent towards defensive systems (not that I play every day or even every week...it comes in waves) in different leagues.
In real life, I'm a very defensive coach and generally like defensive hockey. I'm also not much of a "gamer" in general...anything that's easy, I just won't play because it doesn't hold my attention. I know how to win in EHM. I'm the human, I can "outsmart" the computer whenever and build a super team and score 8 goals a game...but I don't find that fun at all (to each his own, no disrespect to others at all - what you guys are doing is impressive also).
Just started a new game recently actually. I'm with a cash-strapped Allsvenskan team (Swe-2) trying to defense my way to promotion. Under-estimated how difficult it would be to do it without money (including transfer money, I've had $0 for 2.5 seasons now), so I have to build via free agency and prospects that I find and just roll with it (I also make other limitations for myself in all games, to stay realistic - for starters, in this one, I won't sign any player or staff that can't speak Swedish - so even if Sidney Crosby would sign with me for $20 and a pack of gum, I wouldn't do it) ...can't make in-season changes. Gotta make it work tactically. Top-4 make the playoffs with the thin hopes of being promoted. Very tough. Also realized that some of the teams at the top can spend half of my entire payroll on one player! Some teams spend three and four times what I do...
Not a big screen shot guy, but here's one from a junior season that I had...
I enjoyed this one. You know I wasn't an unfairly stacked team (a. I don't play that way; b. look at the regular season goalie stats, pedestrian). But tactically (with some luck, no doubt), I was able to sweep a series without giving a single goal (vs. Oshawa) - a keen eye will note that this was a second round series. Thanks to line matchup advantages, I didn't give up a home goal in that playoffs until the second or third period of game 2 of the Conference Finals!
Also, notice that a shutout doesn't always warrant a 10. I think I've seen a few games where my goalie got a shutout and only got an "8" - meaning that he's not necessarily playing brilliantly, which means he's facing limited shots and/or limited shot quality. A check to make sure it's not just you having a good goalie that's keeping scores down. Though that doesn't hurt...
No secret tactic to success though. Proper team building to fit your tactics, proper tactics to fit your team's build.
Wasn't home much this weekend but I've taken another break from my mainfile to play these new 12/13 rosters. I picked Richie's favourite team
My NYI lineup looks something like:
Grabner - Tavares - Okposo
P. Dupuis - Nielsen - Moulson or Martin (I traded the older of the two)
T. Holmstrom - D. Desharnais - ?
Boulton - Bailey - ?
Can't remember my RWs ... then I have
Streit - Vishnovsky
P. Mara - ?
Macdonald - M. A. Bergeron
J. Theodore
E. Nabokov
Traded Dipietro to Florida for Theo. Hoping to find a young goalie in the draft (if I play this file that long) and then try build around him or trade for a young goalie. Somehow Ondrej Pavelec was a UFA and I almost had him but stupid Columbus signed him. I didn't wanna change most of the core but wanted to clear a few overpaid guys in the game, now I can lock up some guys or sign a top UFA if one comes around.
If you get to them before their reputation gets too high, you can sign them long term. Once they become established, you get 1-3 year deals unless you overpay.
The game is already to easy so I don't offer contracts over 4 years unless they demanded it. Even then I feel bad for doing it, plus they can become upset if they aren't paid enough.
Playing in my 9th season with the Devils, I'm at that point in the game where many real players are starting to retire and the next generation of stars are taking over. While it kind of sucks that in a few more years the entire league is gonna be a bunch of created players, I've grown attached to some of the guys I've drafted and I don't know if I can end this save just because all the real players are done soon.
Anyone else play into a game really far and still enjoy it?
I agree with alko it is much more fun with regens. If you can identify which ones they are it can be really entertaining to have your 2 superstars, say Nash and Kovalchuk, join your teams and dominate on your team for their careers together. Plus in the cases of those 2 you can have them with blank slates not Nash with a bunch of horrible years in CBJ on his record.
The game is already to easy so I don't offer contracts over 4 years unless they demanded it. Even then I feel bad for doing it, plus they can become upset if they aren't paid enough.
Yup, same. And if I do offer a longer-term deal (5 or 6 years), it's at fair market value.
Too many nice guys playing this game, there's no EHMPA I pay them what I want
Nah, I'm starting to get that feeling where I'm gonna play a more challenging game. Once my current career in the Canadiens ends, I'm gonna switch to another team and play more realistically.
In the Islanders file with the 12/13 rosters I'm in like 13th place, but the team is starting to click a bit. Theodore keeps putting up 9 ratings, at first he really sucked but now the team is gelling. I traded some of the Islanders prospects and now I have Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Strome, and I'm in the process of getting Sven Baertschi (who is only a 3 star for Calgary) to go along with Nino. Then there's Reinhart doing his thing. Gonna try and mostly build from the inside from this point on, maybe I'll acquire one UFA since I'm around or below the cap floor.
My question is if I get "doesn't believe he is ready for a major role with the team just yet", does that mean he should stay in a lower league, or does that just mean limited minutes with the big club? I have Dougie Hamilton on my team, he spent the last two years in the minors, cannot crack the top 4, and this is what the coaches say. Should I keep him up for 5-6 d man minutes or keep him in the AHL?
My question is if I get "doesn't believe he is ready for a major role with the team just yet", does that mean he should stay in a lower league, or does that just mean limited minutes with the big club? I have Dougie Hamilton on my team, he spent the last two years in the minors, cannot crack the top 4, and this is what the coaches say. Should I keep him up for 5-6 d man minutes or keep him in the AHL?
Thanks!
I'd put him in the AHL. What you should do is monitor your players... if they're putting up 5s or lower in their current league, send them down a league. So NHL -> AHL, AHL -> ECHL, or if they're junior eligible send them back there. Once they're putting up constant 8.5-9.0 ratings I'd say they're ready to move up. Make sure you keep all of them on your roster during the summer though so you can make them train hard in the off season (full intensive summer practice schedule).
I'd put him in the AHL. What you should do is monitor your players... if they're putting up 5s or lower in their current league, send them down a league. So NHL -> AHL, AHL -> ECHL, or if they're junior eligible send them back there. Once they're putting up constant 8.5-9.0 ratings I'd say they're ready to move up. Make sure you keep all of them on your roster during the summer though so you can make them train hard in the off season (full intensive summer practice schedule).
The game is already to easy so I don't offer contracts over 4 years unless they demanded it. Even then I feel bad for doing it, plus they can become upset if they aren't paid enough.
Well, he asked how to do it, so I told him. I'm not here to cast judgement!
It's not 100% accurate but it's a good guideline to follow. Sometimes I have guys only putting up low 8s or even 7s in the AHL because the team is crap, but then I bring them up to the NHL and it's high 8s or 9s. Even on higher roles.
Slow day at work for me today, been reading through the old threads from this topic. Funny to see myself ask tons of questions being a noob, and seeing some of the others that now regularly post when they're still more beginners. Haven't gotten to the point where Richie seems new yet , wish some of the screenshots from back then still existed though. I'm in 2008, where the first Lidas rosters come out... crazy.
For when I restart my file, I've changed it so Gretzky is all 20s and I'm taking some of Fedor's stats down. He will still be an unbelievably good 15 year old talent but not quite as spectacular. I'm hoping the Gretzky regen will become the next hockey god haha. I took him down far from the all 20s guy. He's got mostly yellow and orange stats, with a few high greens, especially in mental attributes. Plus I made him actually from Russia now like the real Fedor Emelianenko. Tried to balance the database a bit more so there aren't quite so many guys with extremely high potential. There's about 8 guys that are in the 190+ range now.
I'm caught in this state of insanity in that I don't want to get too hooked to my 12/13 database file and I want to continue on in my mainfile but I'm starting to get bored in it but don't want to let myself leave the Habs yet before Fedor retires, even though he's got 3,000+ points already. Maybe I'll wait til the end of a season when Ovechkin retires then let a bunch of the guys go to FA so the team goes into a rebuild mode then leave.
I'd love to join a league for EHM 07. Everyone always runs 05 because in 07 you can't play with 30 teams....but 07 is such a superior game that I don't even care about the limitation.
so who am I to complain. My top 4 of defense is all creeping up higher in salary though so I might have to either let them go or start cheating more with the 56k salary bug.
I pay them what I want 
, wish some of the screenshots from back then still existed though. I'm in 2008, where the first Lidas rosters come out... crazy.
