EHM The Blue Line

I'm in the middle of season #1 trade deadline bedlam and I have to say it hurts like hell to watch it while not being able to take apart. There was some incomprehensible trades in which I would have liked to get involved. Especially Tampa's proposal to give Stamkos for Sergei Zubov (DAL) was nearly too much. Or actually it was way too much, depends on how one thinks it.

There were also some other trades like Richard Bachman (DAL) for Chris Clark (WSH) or rights to Brandon McMillan (ANA) for Patrick Sharp (CHI) in which I would have liked to interfere.

Team has improved its playing as the season goes on, but special teams and especially power play has been very difficult to us. In the third quarter we were able to get above the playoff line, we were 7th for a while and right now we are on 8th place.

I think Dan Ellis is a decent goalie, he has played 50 games this far and he has AvR 8.44, he is 24-15-10 and has SV% of 0.908. I'm pretty happy with Martin Erat too, he was our best scorer for the first two quarters and he is still third in +/- with +18. But Arnott, Sullivan and Dumont are by far the best players in the team.

There has been some minor injuries during the season (Legwand was out for 2 games, Arnott has been out for 4 games, Dumont for 7 games, Hamhuis was out for 8 games, to mention some) but in January there came two bigger blows. First Jordin Tootoo got injured for three months (partially torn ACL). He was playing in our 2nd line and 2nd power play line, so it was a loss. Pretty soon after that Ville Koistinen got injured too, he went out for some two months for hip pointer. He played in most of our games until his injury so his absence weakened us a little too.

Finally, there are four players who have played in all 57 games in this season. They are Erat, Sullivan, Weber and - Wade Belak! He is THE MAN

Second trade made. Wanted to get some muscle into my 2nd line. Had some alternatives to replace Erat (who was sent as a part of the package to get Nabokov). Finally I decided between Chris Clark and Dustin Penner. Clark had better stats, but is also a couple of years older. Penner has a higher salary. Finally went with Penner, let's see how he does. Maybe I'll give him a few games in the first line too.

I think for the next challenge we should select an NHL team with a HIGH payroll and poor results and force competitors to trade 6 players for young players.

They also must waive 2 starters, defense or forward.

LOL.

Like a forced financial purge.

See how people can do with youngsters.

I haven't had much time to play over the weekend but I finally finished the regular season for my first season. I ended up in 5th place in the conference. I'll be facing #4 seed, Vancouver in the first round. I'm not holding my breath over making it past the first round!

Peterman5000 wrote:I think for the next challenge we should select an NHL team with a HIGH payroll and poor results and force competitors to trade 6 players for young players.

They also must waive 2 starters, defense or forward.

LOL.

Like a forced financial purge.

See how people can do with youngsters.

I see that turning out bad. The required trading could be abused fairly bad. If you wanted to create problems have a team start above the cap and with no trading in the first year, that means people will have to waive players.

Yeah, I agree. But if we want to discuss ideas for future challenges, we should take the discussion to the Challenge Feedback thread.

Well I've finished the playoffs for season 1. I won two games but in the end, Vancouver was just too much for my Predators. The Stanley Cup Finals ended up being Detroit versus Pittsburgh with the Red Wings winning The Cup in game 7.

We really struggled without Legwand. He went out in early March and didn't return until June 1st. Platonov also missed some time in the playoffs. Arnott was injured for the last few games of the season but was back in action for the playoffs.

So now I've just got to finish simming to the end of June/beginning of July so I can take my screenshots and post my stats for the end of season 1. I've got a lot of work to do. I know I need to get some goaltending. That's priority #1. I'd like to pick up at least 1 defenseman so I can replace Zanon. Koistinen wasn't so bad. I'd really like to replace Scott Nichol. His attributes make him look like he'd be a really good checking forward but he's been a major disappointment for me.

So I'm nearing the draft and the NHL's No Trade period ends... for everyone else. Of course, under the challenge rules, I can't start working trades until July 1st. Before I even get a chance at him, the Islanders land Letang for a song! They only gave up the rights to Niemi! Grrrrr!

I finally got to July 1st so that I could post my stats for season 1 and include my screenshots! It took me long enough.

So I was actually kind of pleased with my first draft. We sure had a lot of picks for the 2007 draft! Here is what I was able to do...

Round - Overall - Player Name - Position

1 - 21 - Landon Ferraro - RW/C

Honestly, Ferraro wasn't a guy I had on my shortlist because I thought he was overvalued for where the ISS had him ranked (16th overall). Well, my pick came around and he was still available at 21st overall, so I took him. My scouts say he's a flashy forward like a bigger, better, but slower Peter Sykora. I was hoping to draft Anton Lander, who was ranked 21st overall, but the Flyers drafted him at 19.

2 - 36 - Brayden McNabb - LD

Again, I went best available instead of drafting for need. I figure most of these guys are going to need some time to develop and you never know what you'll need 3 years down the road. McNabb looks like a good, solid, defenseman. Nothing flashy. My scouts say he'll be like a more talented version of Sheldon Brookbank but his scouting report looks better than that. They're figuring on him being a 50 point and 180 PIM guy.

2 - 51 - Peter Holland - LW

This guy's scouting report is full of contradictions. My scouts say he's like a poor man's Simon Gagne but with a bigger frame and slower stride. But then they project him as a 3rd liner good for around 35 points. Huh? Looking at the rest of his scouting report, I figure he'll probably be a 2nd line guy at some point, maybe 3rd line with some PP time?

3 - 61 - Tristan King - C

King was ranked 50th but I was able to grab him at 61st. He's another guy with some contradictions in his scouting report. My scouts say he's like Shawn Horcoff with a slower stride, good for about 60 points and 120 PIM. He's considered a quick offensive forward with 4th line potential though. If he can put in 60 points, he's better than a 4th liner. His report card is all B's and B+'s and one A (skating). I like his defensive abilities and think he'd be a good 3rd line center. My only concern is his faceoff ability. It's really poor.

3 - 81 - Dmitri Kulikov - RD/LD

Kulikov is a defensive defenseman. Once again my scouts confuse me. He potential role doesn't match the player comparison and points projections. They say this guy is like Aaron Johnson. This young Russian is already playing in the QMJHL.

4 - 98 Steve Chaffin - LD

Chaffin is another guy that fell from where he was ranked. The ISS had him at 84 overall. I actually like him better than Kulikov. He's big (6'4"), he's a decent skater, and he's very aggressive. My scouts call him a skilled defenseman and compare him to Joe Corvo with a bigger frame. I don't really see the comparison though. They project Chaffin to be able to put up 50 points and 300 PIMs! His report card marks range from B- to A+. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he develops.

4 - 111 - Thomas Frazee - C

Frazee is a guy I actually took ahead of his ranking (153). He's 19 years old and playing in the WHL. He's a big (6'4") center who looks like he'll be a defensive specialist. He'll be my checking line and PK guy. My scouts say he's a checking forward with 2nd line potential. They compare him to Adam Mair. He's a heck of a skater and he's already got descent defensive abilities.

4 - 113 - Marcus Foligno - LW

Another one with a contradictory report. Skilled offensive forward but projected for the 4th line. They say he's a poor man's Ryan Smith with a slower stride. They say he could be good for 70 points and 100 PIM.

5 - 130 - Phillip Samuelsson - RD

IIRC, this is Ulf's kid. Being a Bruins fan it pains me to draft him but I had him in another game (using Lidas an earlier version of Lidas rosters) and I drafted him and he turned out decent. He's very aggressive (20) and becomes a bit of a beast. My scouts call him an enforcer but say he's like a more talented version of Stephane Robidas with a 3-4 defenseman role. They say he's good for about 60 points and 380 PIM. He could be a beast!

5 - 141- Daniil Alistratov - G

I figured I should try to grab at least 1 goalie. The pickings were a bit slim in this draft though. This guy was ranked 106, so I figured he was worth a shot at 141. Scouts figure him as a backup like Yann Danis and can't make any guesses at what his stats would be like.

6 - 171 - Sebastian Svendsen - C/LW/RW

This guy might have flown under some teams' radar because he's from Denmark (but playing in Sweden). We figured he looked pretty good in the 6th round. He was ranked 143 overall. My scouts say he's a skilled offensive forward with third line potential but they compare him to Patrick Marleau with a smaller frame and slower stride. They say he's good for about 55 points. He's worth a shot.

7 - 199 - Vitaly Karamnov - C/RW

I've drafted this guy before. If anything, he does a decent job in the AHL and can fill in at the NHL level in a pinch. Of course, my experience with him only went as far as when he was maybe 23 years old. So maybe he makes it as an NHLer later on? Anyhow, he's 19 years old and projected as a 2-way forward. My head scout says he could be a 2nd line guy while two other scouts say he's a 4th liner. All of them compare him to Vaclav Prospal. They say he's good for about 80 points and 80 PIM. He's already a fantastic skater with a nice shot and decent faceoff ability.

7 - 201 - David Kolomatis - RD/LD

I figured I'd take a longshot with my last pick of the draft. I took a 20 year old American playing in the OHL. He's projected as a skilled offensive defenseman with number 7 potential. They compare him to a poor man's Nolan Baumgartner with a smaller frame. They say he could be good for 80 points and 340 PIM in the OHL this year but I might just sign him for my AHL team.

So that's my draft! I'll post again when I've made my UFA signing(s) and any trades if they happen.

I have finally restored power to my laptop and anxiously await starting the new challenge!

Unfortunately, I'm off for work

Well I made my UFA signings and I made one trade. First... my UFA signings. I went Tier 3, so I was able to sign 3 players with up to "Good" rep and I was able to pay them up to $1.5M per season. So here they are...

Dan Hinote - RW/C/LW - Age 32 - "Good" - $600K py

Hinote is a good checking forward that can play all 3 forward positions. That makes him a good utility player for me. I'll start him out on the 4th line but he could see some 3rd line minutes and maybe some PK duty.

Ossi Vaananen - LD - Age 28 - "Good" - $1.5M py

Vaananen is a good solid stay at home defensive defenseman. He's going to strengthen up my left side on the PK and add more physical grit to my blueline.

Steve Begin - LW/C - Age 31 - "Good" - $1.5M py

Begin is a really good 2-way forward, stronger on the defensive side of things, and an excellent skater. He can play the LW and C. He'll start out at my 3rd line LW (with Bonk and Ortmeyer rounding out the line) and he'll get lots of PK time.

I offered all of these guys more than they were asking to make sure they I got them. I felt that they added a veteran presence to the team and also address some of my needs.

Now for my trade. I knew I needed a goalie because the Ellis/Rinne combo just wasn't cutting it. So I did some scouting during that first season and shortlisted a bunch of young goalies. As soon as July 1st hit, I made an offer for the one at the top of my list. The team was interested. I got them to accept an offer and then the deal fell through. They vetoed the deal after it was already agreed upon. They must have made another deal or signing because my deal would've put them over the cap. I looked at tweaking the deal and each one was going to put them over. So this is what I did...

Jonathon Blum to the Detroit Red Wings for Jimmy Howard.

Blum was already under contract when we started the game but he was loaned back to his junior team. So he isn't going to cost the Red Wings anything yet. It didn't mess with their cap figure! In return, I get a 25 year old goalie that is already better than either one of my existing goalies. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he does. My scouts compare him to Tim Thomas or Chris Osgood.

I've still got a little less than a week left before the No Trade Period takes effect. I might try to make one more deal. Otherwise, I'll wait until sometime during the season and see what I might need.

bruins72 wrote: Again, I went best available instead of drafting for need.

I've noticed I often do the same, especially with my higher draft picks. In some two or three first rounds I tend to pick up the players that are ranked high, no matter the needs my team has. But when it comes in the latter rounds I don't care about the rankings any more but pick up the most appropriate players.

bruins72 wrote: This guy's scouting report is full of contradictions.

For some reason the scout reports often look like the scout would try to sell the player to me instead of evaluating him. I don't give a darn to all those projections except maybe player projection and projected status with my team.

kuulapaa wrote:

bruins72 wrote: Again, I went best available instead of drafting for need.

I've noticed I often do the same, especially with my higher draft picks. In some two or three first rounds I tend to pick up the players that are ranked high, no matter the needs my team has. But when it comes in the latter rounds I don't care about the rankings any more but pick up the most appropriate players.

I usually pick based entirely on ability and I pass up higher ranked players that I don't think are deserving of their ranking. In this case, there wasn't anyone that stood out ahead of them based on ability. So even though I wasn't particularly high on these players going into the draft, I still took them.

kuulapaa wrote:

bruins72 wrote: This guy's scouting report is full of contradictions.

For some reason the scout reports often look like the scout would try to sell the player to me instead of evaluating him. I don't give a darn to all those projections except maybe player projection and projected status with my team.

I agree. They do seem to be trying to "sell" the player. I usually look at a combination of their current attributes, their points in their current league, their "report card" grades, and also the player comparison and role info. Basically, you've got to take all of that into account and go with what you think is best.

I'm looking forward to my draft. I could still have 1st overall and the lowest i can have is 4th overall. I'm the opposite of Kuulapaa. In my higher rounds i draft players that the team needs, and later on i just take the best player available... I don't know who to draft this year. Tavares, Schenn, Eliss, Glennie and Hedman are my top 5 ranked players. I really want Hedman though! Hope he falls to my position.

Things are slowly turning around for me. I've won four of the last six games. The top line of Erat-Arnott-Dumont is playing really well. Now, if only Weber could stop getting injured (2x 3 weeks).

Also. I noticed that in the "Stats Recording Thread", the screenshot of my trades isn't from the 1st July. So when i get to that day. I'll re-post it...

Re-post with that July 1st screen for Trades and I'll edit your original post so that it includes it. Then I'll get rid of the re-post. We'll try and keep things nice and clean for Calv when he goes to enter in the challenge points and stuff.

Ugggh! I just had a bunch of really good scouts retire. Two were 20/20 (JPA/JPP), one was 19/20, and I also had one that was 18/19 (or something like that) retire less than a week after I hired him. Looks like I'm going to have to see what's available for scouts now. Too bad its almost August and most of the best staffers have been hired already. One good thing for me is that I got the uber-assistant coach, Bruce Cassidy. He was an assistant for Providence of the AHL and I would've hired him to be my head coach but the rules state that your new head coach must have already been with the team for a season. So I got him in as a head coach. I also let Trotz go as my head coach. I promoted Bobby Carpenter the Head Coach position.

These are the lines I'm looking at going with for season 2, at least to start...

LINES

I think I'm going to let Colin Wilson go down to Kelowna for one more season. I don't see a dire need for him on my roster yet, so I'd rather let him develop slowly rather than rush him. I've also got Kulyash , Shafigulin, and Sjodin coming over next season. I would've liked to have had the option of using them this season but they won't transfer for a year. Kulyash is going to be a monster on the PP.

I let Colin Wilson stay with BU. Jack Parker is a good coach and I think he'll develop him into something great for me

In real life I'd probably do that but in EHM it seems that playing in the NCAA stunts a player's growth.

B72, this is the URL for my new trades picture... http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/rr31 ... ades-1.jpg - Is that any help or do i need to make the post again and you delete the old one?

Draft Day! I got my man. I was nervous that Chicago would steal Hedman from me at number 2, but they went for Brayden Schenn instead and i didn't hesitate in drafting the big Swedish D-man!

I'll go ahead and plug that one into your stats.

Good job in getting Hedman!

Instead of signing any free agents i decided to save up (either bravely or stupidly) for a waiver claim (of hopefully a decent goalie) and make 2 trades to complete my roster for the start of season 2...

Trade #1

Trade #2

Interesting deals. Regehr is a huge upgrade on D. I really haven't been happy with Hamhuis and I've been looking to possibly trade him. I used Blum to get my goaltending though. Pickard really brought in some depth for you.

Good luck with the waiver claim. I didn't the best of luck with it in testing.

Yeah, the waiver claim could make or break my season. Last year a couple of big goalies were on waivers. Most notably Khabibulin. I'd love for someone like that to be on again. But if not, I could be stuck with the team i have at the moment.