[Game Story] [Freeware] COLUMBUS: The Random Years

[Primis]

One of the great things about FHockey.com and its forums in its heyday was a whole slew of great freeware game stories by users. People did a number of great stories, and some even engaged their readers to vote on ideas and contribute mid-story. Game stories evolved from simple data chronicling someone's game progress, to things getting more fleshed out, to the stories themselves getting very colorful and personal (and then of course users like Pommpie and especially grindyoursoul introduced the idea of profanity in a game story and from then on absolutely anything was fair game... from crazy, insane storylines to repeatedly screaming in the story abut how the game was cheating).

I had several almost-game-stories at times, but I never really committed to an actual one because I found it difficult to get into.

And then, I had an idea. And so I launched the first EHM freeware game story ever that used the randomized rosters feature that Riz put into the kinda-buggy EHM Editor.

Some backstory on that is necessary: the randomly created rosters were TERRIBLE, and this was widely known. Guys *constantly* had unrealistic height and weights, and almost everyone in the roster files had terrible, random attributes. It was TRULY random. Think of every complaint you've ever had about EHM 2007 or EHM 1's ability to generate players, and magnify the issues by about 10x each, and you'll get a good idea of how bad random rosters were. It also was a truly terrible idea to start a game story with it.

So naturally I did so.

I did not "cheat" by looking into the PLAYERS.EHM file, or use PlayerScout, for this story. Everything was done on the up-and-up.

In honor of the passing of FHockey.com, I'm going to be re-posting this story here, as it was posted there, one post at a time. I actually have posts for the story I never got around to posting, so they would truly be "new", and I still have the gamefile. I outright encourage comments and feedback from people in the comments. And I hope someone, somewhere, gets enjoyment out of this.

[Primis]

(originally posted 1:53 PM 11/23/2004)


Nobody ever does these, so I will. This might be a first.

These are totally randomized rosters. Yes, I've done this before and I'm well aware of how completely wacky and insane Random Rosters are. That's why I decided to do this. I haven't played EHM single player in forever because the normal rosters got boring, and I needed a gimmick. I also didn't exactly start this intending to do a story on it, but here it is.

The last Randomized Rosters game I had done was one of the more-memorable ones because some punk kid named Patrice Savard wouldn't re-sign with me for anything less than $12 mill after one season, so I sat him for the first 1/3 of the next and got him at $8 mill -- at which point next season he promptly flopped and put up like 70 points or something lame. And it all went downhill from there, as I managed to turn into the GM from Hades for my players... and the name Patrice Savard still haunts me.

But anyhow, that was then, this is now. Newly-randomized rosters. Here are the settings.


SCORING - 150
PENALTY - 130
FIGHTING - 130
INJURY - 120
TRADE - 200
CPU TRADES - ON

* Did the LEAGUE.EHM fix to start in 2004.
* Generated first draft class with 1.15b like a good boy.



I chose to take the helm of Columbus. Why? Because I asked "What team should I be?" in #ehm and DaveG answered "Columbus! Columbus!!" and nobody else was paying attention, so Columbus it was. Pretty scientific huh?

I'm actually in December of the first season right now. I'll skip over most of it because, well... they're random rosters and it took me that long to figure out what the devil was going on. I'll hit some highlights here though:


HIGHLIGHTS:

Columbus is OLD.

When I took over, I found I had some decent guys, but they're all between 36 - 40 years old, and a good chunk of them retiring after the season. Most of the guys suck though. This is to be expected though with random rosters. Part of the whole reason they're fun in the first place. My defense is good, my goaltending miserable, and my forwards were quite thin.

Here's the teams notables to start with:


D - Jim Morissette - 37yo. CAPTAIN.
5'1", 176lbs.
67OF - 78DF - 81OA.
2 years, $398,950.

Morisstte is a stud. He actually led my team in scoring for a while. 78 Playmaking. 76 in Checking and Positioning. 85 in Skating. 83 in Hitting. 88 Leadership. 91 Strength. Arguably the best Random Roster Generated defenseman I'd seen. He's not retiring after the season either, so I get him for at least one more year. Whooo!!


D - Viktor Garipov - 39yo.
6'4". 261 lbs.
38OF - 79DF - 68OA
1 year, $1 million - RETIRING AFTER SEASON

A monster on the blueline. Losing Garipov is going to hurt me quite a bit after the season. 86 Positioning. 80 Hitting. 81 Strength. 78 Endurance. He's solid, but unspectacular. Losing him will be a hole and a half to fill though.


G - Julio Goldstein - 37yo.
67OF - 69DF - 69OA.
4 years, $2.2 million

VIVA JULIO!! He's not very good, but in comparison to most other goalies around the league he's not so bad (the EHM Roster Editor generates AWFUL goalies as a rule practically). I could do a lot worse than 69 OA though, as my two other goalies right now are 54 OA and 58 OA respectively. Julio is Agile though (79), has good Endurance (77), and great Leadership (79). He also has an OK glove (73).


C - Dave Gong - 31yo.
6'2", 203 lbs.
70OF - 67DF - 74OA.
3 year, $429,200

The poster boy for Misleading OF rating. He's actually a pretty darn-good Center with a Playmaking of 76 and Stickhandling of 77. Also a 71 in Checking and 72 in Positioning. 95 in Faceoffs (!!!!). 84 Leadership. Dave Gong will be a key part of my team for some years I think, I could see him surviving the slow purge of terrible generated players with weird attributes.


C - Renaud Darveau - 39yo.
75OF - 36DF - 62OA.
3 years, $850,000.

Another good Center. 75 Shooting, 77 Playmaking, 73 Stickhandling. 95 Faceoffs. And he's soft with 27 Hitting so you just know Pommpie would LOVE to have him on his team!! He isn't retiring this year (?!) and will undoubtedly retire after NEXT year or something.


UFA SIGNINGS

When UFA season arrived I jumped in. I needed offense from anywhere. ANYWHERE. And also a goalie.

Unfortunately nobody wants to consider signing with me because I'm CBS and they think my team sucks. Looking over my roster as a whole, they're probably right. But I searched onward. And I found 3 gems.


LW - Denis Cadrin - 37yo.
80OF - 43DF - 66OA.
1 year, $1 million. RETIRING AFTER SEASON.

A quick fix. Cadrin is instant offense. 89 Shooting, 76 Playmaking, 77 Stickhandling. 77 Endurance. 73 Leadership. He'll be my top-line Left Winger. As a bonus he appears to have Brian Gionta's career stats.


RW - Kurt Nolan - 25yo.
78OF - 43DF - 66OA.
2 years, $650,000.

Kurt is More Instant Offense to place alongside Cadrin on the top line. 80 Shooting, 72 Playmaking, 82 Stickhandling. Also 71 Leadership at only 25 years old. He, like Gong, might survive the eventual culling and purging.


D - Sean Scanlon - 37yo.
31OF - 72DF - 63OA
1 year, $700,000 RETIRING AFTER SEASON.

Deceptive DF ratings. 77 Positioning, 76 Hitting. Also 80 Endurance and 76 Skating. Depth to an already-decent blueline. Scanlon is a rental just like Cadrin. I want to see what some of these guys can do under nutty league conditions.



TRADES

The goalie situation is getting desperate. Julio ain't a #1 and is old. And the game just started, so I have NOBODY scouted, not even most of my own team. So I panic, and roll the dice.

]6-10-2004 -
Columbus Blue Jackets traded C Danni Dahlberg and G J.C. Hurst to Buffalo Sabres for G Yuri Sokjolovsky.

Yuri Sokjolovsky is a goalie who's only 23. He's only a 48OF - 45DF - 54OA but Rick Dudley (my main scout, best I could find in a pinch) thinks he's going to be awesome (like, Marc-Andre Fleury Awesome). Right now I'd settle for Ty Conklin Awesome or even Johan Hedberg Awesome. So what the heck, why not roll the dice? I have no idea how good Hurst or Dahlberg might be though -- they weren't scouted yet. Watch, I probably just traded 2 stud prospects for a career minor-leaguer. That's what makes the story interesting though, doesn't it?...



SEASON


BUDGET - $24,380,150.
PAYROLL - $21,913,150.
FUNDS - $8,648,367.

It's currently December 10th, 2004.

My Bluejackets have come out to a 17-9-1-3 record and 4th in the West. I'm selling out most games so I'm gouging fans for ticket prices, knowing that next year the Nightmare happens and salaries begin correcting themselves. I need that budget increase...

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STANDINGS - WEST

Team                    GP   W    L    OTL  T    PTS  Pct   GF    GA    
----------------------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----- ----- ----- 
*Dallas Stars           32   21   10   0    1    43   .672  106   85    
*Detroit Red Wings      30   18   10   1    1    38   .633  99    86    
*Edmonton Oilers        29   15   9    1    4    35   .603  96    88    
*Anaheim Mighty Ducks   28   19   8    1    0    39   .696  118   92    
*Columbus Blue Jackets  30   17   9    1    3    38   .633  118   98    
*San Jose Sharks        26   18   8    0    0    36   .692  94    73    
*St. Louis Blues        27   17   8    1    1    36   .667  114   91    
*Colorado Avalanche     31   15   14   0    2    32   .516  123   121   
Calgary Flames          31   13   16   0    2    28   .452  107   122   
Vancouver Canucks       31   12   15   0    4    28   .452  102   117   
Phoenix Coyotes         29   13   15   0    1    27   .466  92    85    
Nashville Predators     30   13   16   1    0    27   .450  113   138   
Chicago Blackhawks      31   12   19   0    0    24   .387  120   140   
Minnesota Wild          30   9    16   3    2    23   .383  89    116   
Los Angeles Kings       30   9    17   1    3    22   .367  83    99

I can't believe I'm 17-9-1-3 and the best I can manage is 5th. This could be tough. At least maybe I'll make the playoffs and can bring in some good bling to increase my payroll.

EDM is also my newest arch-rival. A center of theirs dropped a hat trick on me last game. A center by the name of... Patrice Savard.

You have GOT to be freaking kidding me... you sonofa'...

And so the hatred lives on. Not only is EDM up there in the standings with me, but now I have to stomp them because they have Patrice Savard. I hate the {redatced} and I hope he gives them contract nightmares like my Patrice Savard did last time... it's even better because I still have the picture for him in the folder, so whenever I pull up his profile I see that evil smile and those evil eyes. And I want to put my fist through my CRT monitor... this will be worth following. He thankfully only has 35 points in 29 games so far though. HAH! SUCK IT, SAVARD!!!

*ahem* anyways...

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LEAGUE LEADERS

   Name                    Tea GP  G   A   PTS +/- PIM
-- ----------------------- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
L  Andrei Baich            NAS 30  18  32  50  3   20  
C  Chris Glin              NAS 30  20  28  48  5   6   
L  Denis Cadrin            CBS 30  14  27  41  14  64  
L  Kirk Valk               NJ  28  17  24  41  22  10  
R  Howard White            CHI 31  19  22  41  5   6
R  Kurt Nolan              CBS 29  18  22  40  13  32  
C  Renaud Darveau          CBS 30  18  21  39  15  53 
L  Lars Arnesen            CHI 31  13  26  39  1   20  
L  Martin Isacksson        BUF 27  16  22  38  13  38  
C  Tim Hoang-tran          BUF 27  19  19  38  17  4

Tim Hoang-tran is my new favorite player. How can you not like a guy with that name? He and Julio Goldstein simply need to find a way to play together before they retire...

3 Bluejackets in the Top 10 in scoring. Not bad at all. Too bad they're my only offense, but man are they deadly (kinda' like CBS in SHL actually). Andrei Baich wouldn't sign with me and signed with NAS instead. The punk. He's doing well for himself obviously. Too bad it can't keep NAS out of the conference cellar...

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TEAM LEADERS

   Name                    Tea GP  G   A   PTS +/- PIM 
-- ----------------------- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 
L  Denis Cadrin            CBS 30  14  27  41  14  64  
R  Kurt Nolan              CBS 29  18  22  40  13  32  
C  Renaud Darveau          CBS 30  18  21  39  15  53  
L  Ratislav Zetah          CBS 30  11  19  30  13  55  
D  Jim Morissette          CBS 30  5   23  28  6   12

   Name                    Tea GP  G   A   PTS W   L   OtL T   PCT   SO    GAA   
-- ----------------------- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ----- ----- ----- 
   Julio Goldstein         CBS 16  0   0   0   9   4   1   2   88.6  0     3.04  
   *Yuri Sokjolovsky       CBS 14  0   0   0   8   5   0   1   86.5  0     3.34

Cadrin, Nolan, and Darveau all do exactly what they're supposed to -- put the puck in the net. Morissette actually led me in scoring for a time, and is DEADLY on the PP. That top line of Cadrin - Darveau - Nolan is just on a tear though.

The goalie situation continues to be... interesting.

Sokjolovsky greened up in EVERYTHING and then has proceeded to not actually go up in much of anything. He went from 54OA to 55OA, but hasn't gone up in OF or DF yet. And yet he's 8-5-0-1. Am I ruining him? Maybe, we'll find out I guess. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Louis Roy (my other best hope) is in Syracuse, is 56 OA right now, and is actually greening up some but likely won't see over 60 I'm betting. To quote Megatron: "This does not inspire confidence, nooooo..."


I'm quite scared. My NHL team is older than the US Supreme Court, my AHL team seems thin, my prospects not that great, and I have NO CLUE how any of these guys actually perform under pressure, what their POT's or CON's are, or what I'm doing...

This is actually fun. I knew there was a reason I was doing this again...


-- Primis

[Primis]

(originally posted 1:44 AM 11/24/2004)

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."
-- Philip K. Dick (1928 - 1982), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Stupid reality.

I've been struck solidly with the Crowbar of Stark Reality and I don't like it.

My Bluejackets are sliding out of control...


* * *


It's March 10th, 2005.

I've gone 4-5-1-0 in my last 10 and am in 9th in the West with a 32-28-3-5 record. That smarmy Patrice Savard {redacted} and his Oilers are 3rd in the West still but only with a 35-24-2-7 record.

Age is catching up. My guys are conning Red all over the place except for a few youngsters. Can they hold on through the playoffs? Shoot... will I even MAKE the playoffs?!

How did I end up here? I started off so strong... I'll tell you how. Wildly-inconsistent goaltending kills. Julio Goldstein is falling rapidly, and Yuri Sokjolovsky is doing fairly well for a now-57OA goalie playing in the NHL level. But that just isn't enough. Not when the average age of your defense is well over 30 years.


I haven't made any trades yet. Things are so wacky it seemed pointless. It's all gone mad.

I look at 3rd in the West and see Edmonton, 4-6-0-0 in their last 10. In 12th is Minnesota, 5-4-0-1 in their last 10. In the East 3 of the top 4 teams have all gone 4-and-something in the last 10. Age is taking its toll, the season is wearing on guys, and some other teams are stepping up.

So what is a nervous GM to do at the trade deadline? My team will lose a bunch of key guys to retirement after this season. This might be our last hurrah for a while... and now we're chasing Phoenix and Colorado for 7th and 8th in the West.


* * *

"Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it."
-- Jane Wagner.

March 10th still, and a 3-0 shutout loss to Tampa Bay. Goldstein stopped what he could, but the defense is breaking down. It's time for a dramatic move. But I won't be able to pawn off these Vopatizing oldies on a GM in return for youth. I can't possibly afford giving up enough to trade for a Knut Grisihin (92 DF, DAL, 28 years old). No, I'll have to find some other way.

What better way than to try to pry someone out of Edmonton?

Well, hmmm, this won't be easy... but I can probably get D Dominic Jacob (28OF - 88DF - 66OA, 25 years old). It's gonna' cost me though...

10-3-2005 Columbus Blue Jackets trade

Columbus Blue Jackets traded D Sean Scanlon, LW Adam D'Amato and CBS's round 3 pick in 2005 to Edmonton Oilers for D Dominic Jacob.

Another deal that scares me. D'Amato is actually a decent LW prospect, and I might miss that 3rd. Desperate times call for desperate measures though, even though I might have overpaid (well, I *DID* overpay, trust me). Especially considering EDM still has 4 d-men better than him.

There. That makes me a bit younger and still roughly as good, maybe a little better defensively. Not sure if it can stop the bleeding though... if it can though... SUCK IT, SAVARD!!

Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
-- William Jennings Bryan (1860 - 1925)

Then again he's dead, what does he REALLY know?...


-- Primis.

[A9L3E]

One of the best career stories ever. Please give us more.

[Primis]

"Performance is your reality. Forget everything else."
-- Harold Geneen

Last 8 Games following the Trade for Dominic Jacob.

CBS 5 - CGY 2. W
ATL 1 - CBS 2. W
CBS 3 - NYI 3. T
CBS 5 - NAS 0. W
CBS 5 - VAN 2. W
CBS 5 - CGY 3. W
COL 1 - CBS 4. W
CGY 2 - CBS 4. W


NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL HOCKEY, VOLUME 27!!!!!


I'm now 7th in the West -- 6 pts behind 6th place Anaheim and 3 points ahead of 8th-place Phoenix who just doesn't seem to lose either still.

Both Goldsetin and Sokjolovsky are playing better for me in net, and my defense suddenly isn't falling apart faster than the Ukranian elections anymore. Maybe I can do this still and that trade wasn't such a bad move after all. If I can ever get Eric Guillemette (out 2 weeks with strained PCL) back my forward depth will be a little more-solid again also (although still not great).

Also, Morissette finally busted some heads as captain. He called out the newly-acquired D Dominic Jacob as well as C Dave Gong and they responded well -- Jacob's EHM ratings have gone up from the past several games and Gong has picked up the point production again on the third line (which is a huge boost).

"I myself desired to be included in this number: and consequently I now find myself in the utmost peril."
-- Andocides, Against Alcibiades.

The desire of the playoffs and success therein is a dangerous intoxicant. My goalies are really no better than before, though Yuri "Soko" Sokjolovsky continues his tough, arduous march to 60 OA. And my forwards are also still conning Red all over. The average age of this team is 31 years, and I boast no less than EIGHT players 35 or older. And yet I do think I can pull this off, I think I can possibly win a Cup in the first year. Somewhere the Colorado Avalanche are screaming "COLUMBO DELEDNA EST!!" because my rise has knocked them out of the playoffs right now.

Make no mistake about this: This is a Cup run. My picks are still mostly intact for this coming draft, but my team is going to be gutted and those picks won't be able to step in and help right away. Next year is going to be a very, very painful one most likely.

There are also other concerns lingering.

Louis Roy, the starting goalie in Syracuse is Vopatizing out of nowhere (at only 29 still). I'm not sure I've ever seen this happen before. Once Roy started Vopatizing, Joe Sanderson, Ryan Lyndon, and Jamie Cox also began rapidly Vopatizing. I had been relying heabily on Louis Roy in case one of Goldstein or Soko faltered, and now Roy's becoming largely useless

My entire organization could be falling apart. Not only will Columbus likely be gutted by retirements when all is said and done, Syracuse is also going to suffer greatly in the aftermath as well.

I'm beginning to wonder what I've gotten myself into with this. A rebuild is looking painful, but I want it now... because the rebuild is inevitable.



* * *




April 8th, 2005


The season has ended.

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WESTERN CONFERENCE, FINAL STANDINGS

Team                    GP   W    L    OTL  T    PTS  Pct   GF    GA    
----------------------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----- ----- ----- 
*Detroit Red Wings      82   56   19   4    3    119  .726  301   211   
*Dallas Stars           82   54   21   1    6    115  .701  283   211   
*Edmonton Oilers        82   44   29   2    7    97   .591  275   237   
*St. Louis Blues        82   56   19   3    4    119  .726  306   244   
*San Jose Sharks        82   52   23   3    4    111  .677  302   246   
*Anaheim Mighty Ducks   82   48   28   3    3    102  .622  335   296   
*Columbus Blue Jackets  82   43   29   3    7    96   .585  291   250   
*Phoenix Coyotes        82   41   34   2    5    89   .543  281   261   
Colorado Avalanche      82   39   37   1    5    84   .512  311   302   
Minnesota Wild          82   31   43   3    5    70   .427  274   292   
Vancouver Canucks       82   28   40   4    10   70   .427  252   307   
Calgary Flames          82   32   45   1    4    69   .421  262   316   
Los Angeles Kings       82   29   47   1    5    64   .390  253   295   
Nashville Predators     82   27   50   3    2    59   .360  276   358   
Chicago Blackhawks      82   25   54   2    1    53   .323  277   350

We did it.

We somehow bounced back from that miserable January and February to make that great run at the end and even went 8-1-0-1 in our final 10 games. Thus we are the 7th seed and will play the Dallas Stars in the opening round.

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LEAGUE SCORING LEADERS

   Name                    Tea GP  G   A   PTS +/- PIM 
-- ----------------------- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 
L  Andrei Baich            NAS 82  50  74  124 10  57  
C  Chris Glin              NAS 82  45  70  115 9   30  
R  Howard White            CHI 82  47  56  103 21  40  
L  Kirk Valk               NJ  82  39  61  100 42  46  
L  Lars Arnesen            CHI 82  37  61  98  4   58  
L  Jared Jiminez           PIT 81  32  65  97  30  64  
C  Tim Hoang-tran          BUF 82  43  52  95  22  6   
L  Cameron Burr            STL 81  47  47  94  31  43  
C  Patrice Savard          EDM 82  45  49  94  42  6   
L  Denis Cadrin            CBS 82  33  60  93  27  146 
C  Fred Machado            CAR 82  36  56  92  30  8   
C  Raphael Daniel          MTL 82  41  50  91  9   27  
C  Lars Eliassen           SJ  82  40  50  90  26  14  
L  Mike Bieber             STL 80  49  40  89  42  38  
C  Renaud Darveau          CBS 82  40  49  89  27  149

Cadrin and Darveau, in their last hurrahs, make the list. Good, this is why they became Blue Jackets. I expected a bit more from Cadrin to be honest, but I'll settle for 93 points given the miserable slump we were in for about 2 months there.

Andrei Baich is insane. 124 pts in 82 games for the Preds. And he's only 33 years old -- he isn't retiring soon.

However, I'm sure you all picked up on the truly-disturbing element of that list. Patrice Savard, 94 pts in 82 Games. He's going to be the bane of my existence, I can already tell.

Also, Tim Hoang-tran (the official Favorite Non-Blue Jacket of This Story) gets 95 points. And he's only 32, so rest assured the "Tim Hoang Train" is going to be around for a few more stops on this story's route.

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LEAGUE GOALIE LEADERS

   Name                    Tea GP  G   A   PTS W   L   OtL T   SA    PCT   SO    GAA   
-- ----------------------- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ----- ----- ----- ----- 
   Robert Boulianne        DET 81  0   2   2   55  18  4   1   2036  91.0  6     2.51  
   Pavel Rudakov           STL 60  0   2   2   43  13  0   3   1536  90.7  2     2.69  
   Albert Gereben          NJ  70  0   4   4   42  20  2   4   1862  90.5  6     2.80  
   Art Davis               TOR 72  0   1   1   41  24  0   5   1534  88.1  3     2.89  
   Konstantin Shirocky     EDM 67  0   1   1   39  21  2   5   1848  91.1  5     2.72  
   Peter Nyman             SJ  57  0   3   3   36  13  1   3   1179  89.3  3     2.67  
   Larry Villachez         CAR 80  0   2   2   35  28  1   14  2177  90.5  4     2.85  
   Dmitri Larin            PHO 68  0   2   2   33  26  2   5   1719  89.6  6     2.95  
   Jean-François Morin     DAL 53  0   2   2   33  13  1   5   1336  90.9  2     2.49  
   Nicolas Leblanc         MTL 57  0   2   2   32  22  0   3   1413  89.7  2     2.86

I really don't know what to make of Robert Boulianne. On one hand, 55 wins is 55 wins. On the other hand, his 74OF - 79DF - 76OA rating would barely make him a starter in most other leagues, and not a good one probably. Now Pavel Rudakov... 43 Wins in 60 Games. Now THAT'S impressive. And that's also why St. Louis is one of the best teams in the league...

And then we have Larry Villachez, who somehow managed to rack up 14 Ties in a year were the next-nearest (Hugo Caron of VAN) only had 7. I guess that means Villachez has enough to just hang on for dear life, but not enough to win games on his own.

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COLUMBUS SCORING

   Name                    Tea GP  G   A   PTS +/- PIM 
-- ----------------------- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 
L  Denis Cadrin            CBS 82  33  60  93  27  146 
C  Renaud Darveau          CBS 82  40  49  89  27  149 
R  Kurt Nolan              CBS 81  43  44  87  24  118 
C  Jean-Philippe St-Amour  CBS 82  27  41  68  10  71  
D  Jim Morissette          CBS 82  14  53  67  21  20  
L  Ratislav Zetah          CBS 82  24  43  67  28  135 
D  Sebastien Lévesque      CBS 82  14  40  54  13  44  
C  Dave Gong               CBS 82  17  33  50  -24 80  
R  Christian Beauséjour    CBS 82  21  20  41  21  58  
C  Adolf Zellmer           CBS 82  19  21  40  -13 46  
R  Alois Jerabek           CBS 64  10  24  34  -12 59  
D  Viktor Garipov          CBS 82  2   29  31  16  136 
D  Dominic Jacob           CBS 82  4   27  31  26  151 
R  Éric Guillemette        CBS 59  9   12  21  -10 42  
L  Benoît Chevalier        CBS 82  9   11  20  -8  244 
R  Keith Dinh              CBS 41  4   8   12  -1  14  
L  Xavier St-Jean          CBS 82  4   5   9   -18 318 
D  Jason McLennan          CBS 70  0   7   7   -17 34  
D  Doug Bergman            CBS 82  0   4   4   -18 140 
D  *Larry Mulder           CBS 12  0   1   1   0   7   
R  Halvar Manderbacka      CBS 1   0   0   0   0   0 

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COLUMBUS GOALIES

   Name                    Tea GP  G   A   PTS W   L   OtL T   SA    PCT   SO    GAA   
-- ----------------------- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ----- ----- ----- ----- 
   Julio Goldstein         CBS 40  0   0   0   19  16  1   4   931   88.7  1     2.99  
   *Yuri Sokjolovsky       CBS 43  0   0   0   24  13  2   3   960   88.5  2     2.93

Not bad for a first year with a bunch of has-beens, won't-ever-be's, and shouldn't-ever-be's. It's at this point I feel the overwhelming need to point out that Benoit Chevalier managed to get into 40 Fights this season and only win 6 of them. 40!!! And 6!!! How exactly do you take that kind of beating and keep deciding it's a good idea to try again?



So now I match up against the Dallas Stars in the first round. A preview tells me Dallas has 5 Pucks in Offense, Defense, and Goaltending. Great. I have 2 Pucks for Offense, 5 for Defense, and 3 for Goaltending.

I'm gonna' get wasted...


-------------------------------------------------------------------




APRIL 10th, GAME #1 WESTERN QUARTERFINALS.

Columbus @ Dallas.


A nasty game. Tons of Roughing penalties, some Slashings, and a few fights. Some would call it "chippy".

All of my Right Wings play miserably and all get 5 ratings for the game. I also started Soko and maybe that was a mistake. He stops 27 shots, but lets 5 by.

Jim Morissette's 1G and 1A isn't enough.


DAL 5 - CBS 2. (DAL 1-0).




APRIL 12th, GAME #2 WESTERN QUARTERFINALS.

Columbus @ Dallas.


Julio Goldstein gets the start over Soko. I also made the boys run some Extra Practices on their offday. They didn't appreciate it much. Again the game is very "chippy". Not only Roughing and Slashing, but also now multiple High-Sticking penalties mar the game.

It makes little difference though. Goldstein plays well but has to face 43 Shots. My forwards disappear, including the normally-steady Adolf Zellmer who nabs a 4 Rating for this game. Dallas gets 12 PP opportunities, I only get 4. Those #$*(#&$* HOMER REFS!!! There's no excuse for that! Minor-league call-up André Simard has a decent game though and gets into a fight with Star Per-Axel Nasbom, pummeling him. It's a small consolation.


DAL 5 - CBS 1. (DAL 2-0).



APRIL 14th, GAME #3 WESTERN QUARTERFINALS.

Dallas @ Columbus.


Much buzz around the arena before the game along the lines of "returning the favor" now that we're back home. Julio gets the start in net because even though he lost, he played a LOT better than Soko in his game. And I'm desperate.

Another penalty-filled game. I get 9 PP's, Dallas gets 6. We each score only once on the PP.

Dallas holds a 4-2 lead late in the 3rd period when 40 year-old Renaud Davreau scores from Denis Cadrin and Kurt Nolan on the PP to bring it back within one. A flurry of shots is sent towards Dallas' net despite their unreal blueline play, but none get through and time expires.


DAL 4 - CBS 3. (DAL 3-0).



APRIL 16th, GAME #4 WESTERN QUARTERFINALS.

Dallas @ Columbus.


Something weird happened in the dressing room before this game. Jim Morissette was casually pacing back and forth looking his teammates in the eye until he finally broke the silenced and asked "Why did we even bother showing up if we're gonna' hold back this game like we did the other 3?".

So they didn't. And out on the ice, all Hades broke loose.

Jean-Philippe St. Amour scored the first of 2 goals 2:27 into the 1st, Renaud Darveau added two later in the game, and the rest never looked back. When Denis Cadrin scored the second goal of the game Nationwide Center erupted like we haven't heard here before, and the noise never really let up.

Julio Goldstein with the shutout. All-Universe Stars' goalie Jean-Francois Morin puts up a 4 Rating for the game. The Stars left Ohio with a hollow, shell-shocked look in their eyes from the 4th game. Dare we believe again?


CBS 6 - DAL 0. (DAL 3-1)



* * * * * *






APRIL 18th, GAME #5 WESTERN QUARTERFINALS.

Columbus @ Dallas.

"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
-- Harold Wilson (1916 - 1995).

{REDACTED} those Dallas-loving refs.

Dallas gets 11 PP's in this game, every chance in the world. The game is "chippy", as they all have been. Whatever "chippy" is. If "chippy" is 5 guys trying to literally kill 5 other guys then sure, "chippy" it is.

Before the game my Blue Jackets seemed ornery. They felt disrespected, wronged, and as though every trip to Reunion Arena has seen them get screwed over by the refs. And furthermore, now after the 6-0 pasting we gave them in Game #4 they also think they can hang with the Stars and beat them. They're mortal, these Stars. They don't just have an Achilles' Heel, they have a Leg, Arm, and Side too.

Dallas' superstar defenseman Knut Grishin opens scoring early in the first, and Columbus responds to tie. And so it goes on, one side scoring and the other responding to tie it back up. By the third period CBS leads 3-2, until DAL gets a late goal from Samuel Drouin to tie.

And so we go to OT.

6 seconds into the OT the officials call an Elbowing penalty on Kurt Nolan, a cheap payback penalty since they had to call Elbowing twice on Dallas' Ruslan Orlov earlier in the game. My team scrambles on the PK, blocking shots, throwing bodies around, not letting anything through. Julio Goldstein only has to stop one shot in the first 1:50 and then something happens.

*clank*

*red light*

Goal.

A Knut Grishin pass to Rob Callan redirects off Callan's stick, off center Glen Lee's skate, and nicks the post to go into the net.




DAL 4 - CBS 3 OT. (DAL Wins 4-1)

"Haste in every business brings failures."
-- Herodotus (484 BC - 430 BC), The Histories of Herodotus

If Herodotus weren't already dead I'd go find him and kill him myself...



-- Primis.

[Primis]

Frank Huddy: I don't mind losing, I would just like to lose fair.
Gordon Bombay: Losing fair is still losing, Frank!

Viktor Garipov, Denis Cadrin, Eric Milestone, and Joe Sanderson's careers are now officially over. They have played their final games.

Renaud Darveau, who put up 89 points this past season and 6 points in 5 playoff games, hasn't officially retired yet, but at 40 I doubt I'll bring him back.

Jim Morissette is 38 and has one year left, and I'm keeping him on.

Beyond that things get fuzzy. I really have no clue what I need to do or will do this offseason. I just know some real changes will have to happen, and I think I probably screwed-up.

I have my 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th in this draft. I can maybe try to gain an extra 1st or 2nd between now and then but I remain doubtful that I have enough value ot give back at this point. Likely I'll need to really scavenge the draft, the free agent market, and then the Waiverdraft next season, and hope for the best.


REST OF THE PLAYOFFS


I'm not a completely self-centered ingrate, so I'll recap the remainder of the playoffs for everyone as well as the WC's.


ROUND 1 RESULTS

DET over PHX 4-2.
DAL over CBS 3-1.
ANA over EDM 4-3.
SJ over STL 4-3.

GOOD, that punk Savard can go play golf now too. BYE-BYE OILERS...


PIT over WAS 4-3.
OTT over BUF 4-1.
TOR over CAR 4-2.
NJ over MTL 4-2.


2ND ROUND

DET over ANA 4-1.
DAL over SJ 4-3.

TOR over PIT 4-0.
OTT over NJ 4-0.

DAL actually managed to come back from being down 3-1 in their series with SJ to win it. Impressive.


CONFERENCE FINALS

DAL over DET 4-2.
TOR over OTT 4-1. (the playoff 0wnage continues).


STANLEY CUP FINALS

DAL 3 - TOR 2 (DAL 1-0)
DAL 4 - TOR 1 (DAL 2-0)
TOR 3 - DAL 2 (DAL 2-1)
DAL 4 - TOR 3 (DAL 3-1)
DAL 3 - TOR 1 (DAL Wins 4-0).

Dallas Stars win the Stanley Cup. I lost to them. It's absolutely no consolation whatsoever and gnaws at my insides.



WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

No real surprises here in Round #1 save for Poland's 6-3 drubbing of Switzerland to help them finish 2nd in Group C. Oh, and Latvia swiping Slovakia's normal spot in Group A by finishing 2nd.


For quarterfinals, the pairings are:

USA-Sweden
Russia-Latvia
Czech-Poland
Canada-Finland


Poland somehow won 2 games with no "real" players. Scary.

Russia has Andrei Baich. 'nuff said.

USA and Russia both win their games 6-3 to advance. The Czechs and Canada do the same winning their games 6-3. And soooo...

World Championships have reached semifinal stage. In the first semifinal on April 29th, Team USA will meet Team Canada. In the second clash, Team Czech will challenge Team Russia. Winners from both games will meet on April 31st in the final game to decide the 2005 World Champion of ice hockey.

USA dumps Canada in a shocker in Canada 6-2, and Russia downs the Czechs 6-3.

1-5-2005 Team USA wins World Championship
Team USA has beaten Team Russia in the final of the 2005 World Championships.

In the game for bronze medal, Team Canada has beaten Team Czech.

Leading scorers in the tournament:

1. Philippe Laperrière (CAN) 8+6=14
2. Chris Glin (USA) 4+10=14
3. Andrei Baich (RUS) 6+6=12
4. Kirill Kasheyev (RUS) 5+6=11
5. Kelvin Dong (USA) 5+5=10
6. Patrik Tomanek (CZE) 4+6=10
7. Jonathan Tremblay (CAN) 3+7=10
8. Kevin Cooney (USA) 3+7=10
9. Tom Block (USA) 6+3=9
10. Vladimir Lepekhin (RUS) 1+8=9

I'm horrified at the prospect that someone outscored Chris Glin and Andrei Baich. Laperriére is a 39-year-old winger for Colorado basically on his last hurrah. He went out with a bang at least. Canada can't be happy with just Bronze, but to be fair these WC's are pretty messed-up due to the sheer number of old players involved.

It's just the WC's though, people...





AWARD NOMINATIONS

Here are the candidates for season 2004-05:

Jack Adams Award
1. Dave Tippett, Dallas Stars
2. Ed Olczyk, Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Dave Lewis, Detroit Red Wings

Annual award given to the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success

Calder Memorial Trophy
1. Randy Cafferty, Florida Panthers
2. Adam Simard, Montréal Canadiens
3. Zach Miller, Pittsburgh Penguins

Annual award given to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League

Hart Memorial Trophy
1. Chris Glin, Nashville Predators
2. Andrei Baich, Nashville Predators
3. Howard White, Chicago Blackhawks

Annual award given to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
1. Patrice Savard, Edmonton Oilers
2. Chris Glin, Nashville Predators
3. Tim Hoang-tran, Buffalo Sabres

Annual award given to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability

James Norris Memorial Trophy
1. Carl Leclerc, Montréal Canadiens
2. Adam Haller, Buffalo Sabres
3. Jim Morissette, Columbus Blue Jackets

Annual award given to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position

Frank J. Selke Trophy
1. Reggie Perri, Colorado Avalanche
2. Alpo Tuulola, Florida Panthers
3. Marcus Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs

Annual award given to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game


Here are my best guesses as to who wins each award:

ADAMS - Dave Tippett (PIT)
CALDER - Randy Cafferty (FLA)
HART - Andrei Baich (NAS)
BYNG - Chris Glin (NAS)
NORRIS - Jim Morissette (CBS)
SELKE - Alpo Tuulola (FLA)



Next Update: All Award-Winners, and the Offseason begins.


-- Primis.

[Juddy2288]

Cool story

I just started something similar with boston

[lewis94]

Looks good so far. Good idea with the random rosters.

I guess I should start posting my Geneva Eagles story here...

[Primis]

I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of all mankind!... The answer is twelve?... I think I'm in the wrong building.
-- Charles M. Schulz (1922 - 2000)

This is me right now. I feel like I'm in the wrong building...

June 4th, 2005

2004-05 NHL AWARD-WINNERS


JACK ADAMS - Dave Lewis (DET).
CALDER - Zach Miller (PIT) (28 G, 40 A, 68 PTS, 252 PIM).
CLANCY - Sebastien Lafamboise (EDM) (7 G, 37 A, 44 PTS, 184 PIM).
HART - Andrei Baich (NAS) (50 G, 74 A, 124 PTS, 57 PIM).
JENNINGS - Robert Boulianne (DET) (55 W, 2.51 GAA, 6 SO, 90.97% SAV)
BYNG - Tim Hoang-tran (BUF) (43 G, 52 A, 95 PTS, 6 PIM)
MASTERTON - Alex Cornbill (LA) (2 G, 7 A, 9 PTS, 119 PIM)
NORRIS - Jim Morissette (CBS) (14 G, 53 A, 67 PTS, 20 PIM)
RICHARD - Andrei Baich (NAS) (50 GOALS)
ART ROSS - Andrei Baich (NAS) (124 PTS)
SELKE - Alpo Tuulola (FLA) (63 PTS, 6 PIM, +2)
CONN SMYTHE - Rob Callan (DAL) (10 G, 16 A, 26 PTS, 8 PIM for Playoffs)
VEZINA - Robert Boulianne (DET) (55 W, 2.51 GAA, 6 SO, 90.97% SAV)


Some comments:

* Andrei Baich clearly was The Man™ this season, taking home 3 trophies and dominating the scoring race.
* Was nice to see Morissette get recognized as the top d-man. He deserves it. If he weren't coming back next season I'd be in really bad shape.
* The "Tim Hoang Train" continues to roll for BUF, taking home the Lady Byng. He scores and doesn't take penalties. What a value, what a deal.
* I'm not sure what crack voters were on to name Tuulola the Selke though. I took one look at him and figured he'd get it, but he was only a +2, I mean c'mon.



OFFSEASON

I have an absolute mess.

Here's everyone retiring:

D - Viktor Garipov
L - Denis Cadrin
L - Eric Milestone
L - Joe Sanderson

Here are guys I'm likely to get rid of somehow, via trade, waivers, etc:

C - Renaud Darveau (old, too much salary)
C - Jean-Philippe St. Amour (will not resign)
R - Keith Dinh (good def. forward but old and inconsistent)
R - Christian Beauséjour (61-64-65 and 32y.o. doesn't cut it)

There are also a bevy of farm players I probably won't resign because they're either quite old, or they suck (sometimes both). This team badly needs to be revamped.

Heading up to the draft I do one key signing. I ink 22 year-old defensive prospect Jean-François Daigle to a 2-year, $250,000, Two-Way deal. He's only a 46 OA right now but Rick Dudley thinks he might turn into something. So what the heck, why not? Besides he's a Daigle -- I'm required by law to take a chance on him right?

I also resigned RW Stefan Lindstrand, a 24 year-old 59 OA farmie, to a 2-year extension. I need younger bodies in my organization, period. So keeping him on board is a must.

In other news, Sebastien Lévesque and Jim Morissette make the season All-Star teams. Yuri Sokjolovsky makes 1st team All-Rookie.

My tradeable commodities are few. Some of you probably figured I'd make a bid for an extra 1st but... in your dreams. I can't give up enough for a 1st. Literally. Trying to acquire an extra SECOND Round pick is a struggle. Finally, I get a deal done the day before the draft.

17-6-2005 -

Columbus Blue Jackets traded Adolf Zellmer and Christian Beauséjour and $1,000,000 cash to Tampa Bay Lightning for TB's round 2 pick in 2005 and TB's round 4 pick in 2005

A native of Slovakia, Adolf Zellmer was originally drafted to the NHL by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1st round of the 1991 entry draft. He has appeared in 722 NHL games during his career, notching 198 goals and adding 232 assists along with 159 penalty minutes. The 31 year old center has played 82 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets this season, totalling 19+21=40 with 46 PIM.

A native of Canada, Christian Beauséjour was originally drafted to the NHL by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 1st round of the 1990 entry draft. He has appeared in 794 NHL games during his career, notching 124 goals and adding 156 assists along with 442 penalty minutes. The 32 year old right wing has played 82 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets this season, totalling 21+20=41 with 58 PIM.

Tampa needed a real Center and Adolf Zellmer is that, and CB isn't horrible either and actually an improvement for them. I hate to see Zellmer and his 90+ Faceoff rating go, but he wasn't the style of center I wanted. Plus I still have Dave Gong, who's a better fit. I wasn't going to keep Christian Beauséjour under any circumstances either, even though he's not bad or anything. I'm hoping and praying that 2nd and 4th are useful, somewhere along the line.

That's it kids. That's my big move. I can't affford to make another move -- literally. It's lean times, I tell ya'...


And then June 18th hits, bringing with it the Entry Draft finally.

He who has not first laid his foundations may be able with great ability to lay them afterwards, but they will be laid with trouble to the architect and danger to the building.
-- Niccolo Machiavelli (1469 - 1527), The Prince

2005 ENTRY DRAFT

Time for Rick Dudley to earn his pay. I hope.


1. TB - T.J. McGuyver, C/RW (Oshawa OHL).
2. CHI - Bob Sekino, RW (Notre Dame CCHA).
3. NAS - Jaromir Dalitsch, C/RW (North Bay OHL)
4. FLA - Nikolai Akhatov, C/RW (CSKA Moscos RUS)
5. LA - Rémi Trahan, D (Sault Ste. Marie OHL)
6. ATL - Kari Reini, C (JyP Jyvaskyla FIN)
7. NYR - Ilmari Silven, C/LW (Pelicans Lahti FIN)
8. NYI - Joel Mulder, LW/C (North Bay OHL)
9. CGY - Jon Craven, RW/LW (Union ECAC)
10. VAN - Frédéric Larose, RW/LW (Belleville OHL)


19. CBS - C/LW Mario Hagan (Michigan State CCHA).

Very tough choice, between him and Medicine Hat's Kelly Verbeek. Verbeek has better upside but is very small (5'8", 154lbs) and in the end Mario is bigger and safer (6'1", 188lbs). Rick Dudley thinks Hagan can become a franchise-type Playmaking center eventually, though he's not the most-consistent guy around. I could use a C in my system though, and he seems the right choice.


31. CBS - D Bernard Thériault (Spokane Chiefs WHL)

Thériault is simply the Best Player Available. He's an offensive defenseman who's quite solid defensively and has potential to really develop into a playmaker from the point someday. He should definitely see the NHL eventually (if I'm to believe Dudley), it's just a matter of when.

49. CBS - RW/C Thierry Bouffard (Kitchner Rangers OHL)

Bouffard is a real gamble. He's been slammed by critics for his inconsistent play, but he's shown flashes of absolute brilliance on the ice at times. He's been called "explosive", "instinctive", and "dazzling". Consistency is an issue. However... I need help badly, and his upside is awfully good. I take him knowing the risk that he may never see the NHL, and hoping for the best.

91. CBS - D Simon Lecomte (Oshawa Generals OHL)

Lecomte is another offensive defenseman. He's steady, but unspectacular. Likely to make the NHL eventually but quite unlikely to make any sort of huge impact. After taking Thériault and Bouffard, I needed a more-certain thing in the system.

109. CBS - LW Teijo Ruuttu (SaiPa Lappeenranta FIN)

Fairly well-rounded LW who might ("might" being the key part of that, I'm just going by scouring reports) theoretically be eligible for a POT boost. If he gets it, he's the smart pick. If he doesn't, I'll kick myself for not taking another d-man or even a goalie at this point. In case you hadn't noticed though, I'm really willing to gambling this draft. I have to, I'm hurting...

139. CBS - D Octavio Junker (Colorado College WCHA)

Well... I'd like to say great things about this 17 year-old and his future but... pretty much everyone at this part of the remaining pool is pretty bad. He had by far the best name though so... a Blue Jacket he now is!!! In all seriousness he's also a 6'4", 232lbs physical defenseman. He'll see time in Syracuse if nothing else, just because of his size and the fact he's already got a line of 23OF - 60DF - 51OA.


* * *

Overall we did okay in the draft. However, this was not a draft full of steals and real talent it seems. So it could be a while before I reap any of the benefits from it. I'm still hurting at goalie too and if Soko isn't the solution, I'm a big-time trouble there.



Next time on Columbus: The Random Years... Can Ruuttu get signed in time for a possible POT Boost? Free agency! Will the Blue Jackets lose any key staff members? Will Columbus get a budget increase? And also, who set the team records this season? Find out next time!!




-- Primis

[A9L3E]

What is a POT Boost?

[Primis]

What is a POT Boost?

In the freeware version of EHM, a player that has lower POT (Potential) but high CON (Consistency) can sometimes get a "boost" and have his Potential bumped up a level or two if he's signed young before a June 21st deadline (or at the start of the game -- the game will sometimes POT boost players on their own at game start if their other attributes are good enough and that DOES include goalies). This applies only to skaters and not goalies, for the one on June 21st.

Basically players with a POT of say 5 or 6 can be boosted as high as up to a POT of 7. This can make a big difference with if a player develops well or not. POT's of 5 or 6 basically cant ever develop into NHL-capable guys (very rarely a 6 POT guy could) and are never anything more than minor leaguers. POT's of 7 however regularly do develop into at least lower-rung NHLers.

In my game story here, I'm not using the player file or the PlayerScout utility, so I don't actually know what those numbers are for players. However, when you scout a player in-game, the scouting report will show if the scout thinks their Potential and Consistency are good or bad. The player in question was scouted as having lower POT, and high CON, so I gave it a shot and hoped my scout is right.

[lewis94]

Just realized this story was started in frickin 2004... is it still going? Impressive.

I'm surprised I managed to do a century in seven and a half years... and that's while taking a few breaks for several months at a time.

[Primis]

Just realized this story was started in frickin 2004... is it still going? Impressive.

I'm surprised I managed to do a century in seven and a half years... and that's while taking a few breaks for several months at a time.

I have several times come back to the game file and written up updates, but it's been very sporadic. I still have the game file and have intended on continuing with it, which is part of why I've brought the story over here, so could then keep it going. If nothing else though, I wanted ot put it up here in tribute to fhockey.com and also to maybe encourage more game stories here.