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This would improve the free agency for sure! I will add this to the future backlog. It's coming real soon. The new scouting feature is actually finished and I'm making some additional bug fixes and improvements. Couldn't make the release as promised in January but expect this in the beginning of February.

Happy new year and thanks to everyone who played this game and made 2019 to such a great and eventful year! Let’s do our best to make 2020 another great year. We’re currently planning a new release in January including a cool new scouting feature. So thanks again and stay tuned for more info next year!

New features Premium and free plan We're now introducing a forever free plan to Game Plan Hockey Manager! This free plan will have some limitations to it that can be lifted by signing up for a Premium plan. This means that there are two different plans playing this game; Free and Premium. Limited trials are removed. All current subscriptions will automatically be changed to a Premium plan and same terms of payment and subscription will apply. Any special offer subscription $1.99 will still be honored. See our pricing page for complete plan coverage and what limitations that apply. Bug fixes and improvements Reworked computer trading AI. Reworked player trade values (less excellent trade values). Reworked player reputation. Relative within league (less superstars in leagues). Improved assistant's advice when receiving a trade offer. Board veto. A trade can now be rejected by the board if ruled bad enough. Players on their first year of contract can no longer be put on waivers. Team player records are now available from team page's history tab Affiliate team may once again be customised (premium only) Jersey preview when changing player number An opponent's player contracted role is now available by scouting Update of start new career guide. One click start. Adjustment on endurance loss during games. Injuries will now heal extra between seasons. Any pending trade offer made by a human manager is automatically canceled if the manager resigns Goalie performance is now available from dropdown goalie cards. Now possible to load archived chat messages Fixed bug where affiliate team did not move up or down when team promoted or relegated Fixed bug where regular season performance was shown on playoff stats Fixed bug where an offered extension did not cancel/reject when the player was released. Various performance updates Various layout fixes

New features Scouting Browse previous seasons Friendly games during playoffs Coupon code support (Pre-released in December) Start career wizard (Pre-released in December) Scouting By scouting a player you can reveal hints of the players' talent, future development, get tactical insights and other information that's normally hidden. You can use this function to learn more about your own players, finding the best tactic for your roster, finding the best transfer target or scouting the prospect list for the upcoming youth draft. More information and how this works can be found in the help files. Browse previous seasons It's now possible to browse stats, standings and more from previous seasons. A season dropdown is available in selected views in the following pages/views: League page: Standings, Team stats, Playoff, Schedule and Player stats. Team page: Schedule and Player stats. Transfer page: Transactions, Youth draft and Prospect rankings. Friendly games during playoffs For teams not participating in the playoffs it's now possible to arrange friendly games. Bug fixes and improvements Computer teams will not always accept friendly game invites Improved AI on computer trading Fixed bug where waived players could be included in trade offers Fixed bug where pending contracts was not transfered in trade

Eastern Conference 1. Slaughterville Red Tide (Alexander Rasputin) OFF: 88,5 DEF: 88,7 SG: 93 OVR: 88,9 2. Sheshegwaning Dragons (Ives Pa) OFF: 88,0 DEF: 88,8 SG: 91 OVR: 88,6 3. Big Delta Stealheads (Paul T) OFF: 88,2 DEF: 88,3 SG: 88 OVR: 88,2 4. St.Thomas Stray Cats (Erzac Ray) OFF: 86,1 DEF: 88,8 SG: 96 OVR: 88,1 5. Sault Ste Marie Battlin Bears (Joe Leconte) OFF: 87,3 DEF: 88,0 SG: 88 OVR: 87,7 6. Lake Viking Bulldogs (Max Mol) OFF: 86,1 DEF: 88 SG: 94 OVR: 87,6 7. Rome Trojans (Yann Rock) OFF: 85,4 DEF: 88,5 SG: 92 OVR: 87,3 8. Maxville Vortex (Tyrod Gibson) OFF: 86,7 DEF: 86,0 SG: 91 OVR: 86,7 9. Kingston Kamikaze (Antti Hänninen) OFF: 85,0 DEF: 87,0 SG: 93 OVR: 86,5 10. Mango Duhawks (Dr. Jones) OFF: 85,8 DEF: 85,3 SG: 91 OVR: 86,0 Tied 11. Bodmin Bangers (Sakari Lindholm) OFF: 85,3 DEF: 86,2 SG: 87 OVR: 85,8 Tied 11. Cedar Rapids Minutemen (Richard Armour) OFF: 85,5 DEF: 86,2 SG: 86 OVR: 85,8 13. Mount Airy Savage Storm (Jason New) OFF: 84,3 DEF: 85,3 SG: 86 OVR: 84,9 14. Frains Golden Bears (Computer) OFF: 79,8 DEF: 84,2 SG: 82 OVR: 82,0 Western Conference 1. Kegashka Prairie Stars (Ferris Mason) OFF: 87,8 DEF: 91,3 SG: 94 OVR: 89,9 2. West Chicago Hawks (Richard Feynman) OFF: 87,0 DEF: 88,2 SG: 95 OVR: 88,2 3. Scandinavia Steelers (J Jono) OFF: 87,3 DEF: 88,0 SG: 92 OVR: 88,0 4. Vauban Tomahawks (Ben \) OFF: 87,5 DEF: 87,7 SG: 92 OVR: 87,9 5. Eastern Outlaws (The Champ) OFF: 86,3 DEF: 88,2 SG: 92 OVR: 87,6 6. Eldred Elite (Steven Bennett) OFF: 87 DEF: 87,8 SG: 87 OVR: 87,4 7. Ithaca Ricochet (Marc S) OFF: 84,6 DEF: 89,2 SG: 93 OVR: 87,3 8. Enigma Rage (Wendel Clark) OFF: 87,4* DEF: 86,7* SG: 88 OVR: 87,1 (*Used two D as F) 9. Yonker Wolverines (Jiri Heikkala) OFF: 85,7 DEF: 87,8 SG: 88 OVR: 86,8 10. Rycroft Red Thunder (Torbjörn Johansson) OFF: 86,8 DEF: 85,2* SG: 87 OVR: 86,1 (*Used 13th C/F as 6th D, since there is only 5 D) 11. Richibucto Masons (Dr. Wendt) OFF: 84,3 DEF: 85,8 SG: 90 OVR: 85,5 12. Pittsboro Plastic Attack (Makate Naekfor) OFF: 83,8 DEF: 86,8 SG: 86 OVR: 85,4 13. Blenheim Pirates (Martin J) OFF: 82,1 DEF: 84,7 SG: 88 OVR: 83,7 14. Thetford Mines Pegasus (Jeff Hamm) OFF: 82,3 DEF: 82,0 SG: 83 OVR: 82,2 Calculated on day 8 of S4, using: Team OVR = (OFF + (DEF*2) + (SG*2))/26 where OFF: ovr sum of best 12 centers/forwards DEF: ovr sum of best 6 defenders SG: ovr of starting goalie

If there's one thing that is a complete mystery in GPHM it is how to raise your team's Winner Instinct (WI). Although I thoroughly enjoy the fact that the Admins have only shared a fraction of the information, leaving managers to figure it out for themselves... I also enjoy the conversations it creates - so why not try to crack the code together... or use the information contained here to crack the code on your own and keep it to yourself I feel like getting this value perfect is like piecing together a puzzle. There are many factors and you need the perfect balance of those factors, including: Big Games trait, Ego Trait, Team Captains, Reputation of Players & Certain attributes of players. Below are the "official" notes from the Help Files. http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/10834-team-spirit-done/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/10844-roster-captains-and-lineup-done/ Here's what I gather from the two links above: - WI is mostly impacted by the Big Games trait. You need quite a bit of Heroic/Determined players, but not too many as it will create disputes within your team. You will also need some Anxious/Nervous, but not too many. - In line with the above, you also need some Arrogant/Cocky players to boost your WI, but too many will negatively impact your Teamwork. - Team Captains have a large influence on WI. From other help files, it is known that Player Reputation and the Spirit Attribute factor into the Captains influence on a team, so if your Captains have a larger influence on your WI, then those values may also have an impact on your team's WI. Other personal observations, related to the above: - I always struggled with WI (couldn't get it above a blue rating) as I mostly focused on Teamwork being Harmony (Friendly/Compassionate players). It wasn't until I acquired some Arrogant & Cocky players that my WI rose to a green rating. (Others have shared this opinion - see links below). - When I have more Stars (players with higher reputation) on my team, my WI is higher. Below are some other links to various conversations around WI that have been created over time. As you can see... if you are confused about this rating, you are not alone! There are some interesting opinions in these threads, so if you are truly interesting in this topic, be prepared to do some reading. http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/7564-q-about-winner-instinct/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/7400-teamwork-winner-instinct/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/9702-improve-winning-instinct/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/7242-winners-instinct/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/10669-trait-preference/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/7461-winner-insticnt/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/8247-traits/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/7957-team-spirit/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/9702-improve-winning-instinct/ http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/8759-so-nervous-i-peed-a-little/ Below are a few opinions from the link above that stood out to me. I can't confirm whether they are true or not. They could be 100% correct or way off. - Captains with Heroic or Determined Big Games trait increase WI. - Only players in the immediate lineup impact WI, not affiliate or scratched players. In another thread, the exact opposite was also stated. - Big Games of Goalies factor more than Skaters. - Don't worry about WI at all. It is not required to be successful. - WI is established over time as players get to know each other. - Big games is overrated. An Anxious/Nervous player can be just as clutch as a Heroic/Determined player. - Line placement matters (i.e. 1st line players impact more than 2nd line and so on). Personally, the questions I keep asking are "when does WI come into play?" and "how much does it even impact gameplay?". I have seen nervous goalies play lights out in the playoffs and win it all. I have also seen team's with Heroic WI get relegated. But I am sure the opposite happens much more, so it is yet to be known exactly how much this rating matters overall. As with most things in this game, it is chance based, so I'm sure it does have an impact. Managers just need to figure out for themselves how much emphasis to put on getting the perfect team chemistry. Enjoy.

East: #1 Cedar Rapids Minutemen vs #8 Netherhill Nightmares. 45-7-2-26 151pts / 32-10-10-28 126pts Regular season stats: Minutemen / Nightmare Goals for: 255 (4th) / 237 (13th) Goals against: 191 (3rd) / 220 (12th) PP: 21.8% (8th) / 21% (11th) PK: 86.1% (3rd) / 78.5% (18th) Shooting %: 9.8% (1st) / 7.8% (18th) Save %: 92.7% (4th) / 92.3% (12th) PDO: 1.025 (1st) / 1.002 (12th) CF: 1245 (24th) / 1342 (14th) CA: 1151 (3rd) / 1321 (13th) Corsi %: 52% (8th) / 50.4% (14th) Season match up: 3 wins Minutemen, 1 OT win Nightmare. Statistically this was a close match up during the regular season with only one game being decided by more than one goal. As a result, I expect this match up to be a lot closer than the statistics may otherwise say. The Nightmare are a solid overall team that aren't to be discounted due to their 8th seed. Combine that with the fact that the Minutemen played well above expectations for the season (especially with a shooting% and PDO so abnormally high when CF is taken into account) and I would give this match up a serious consideration for upset alert. #2 Slaughterville Red Tide vs #7 Lake Valley Bulldogs 46-4-3-27 149pts / 35-10-4-31 129pts Regular season stats: Red Tide / Bulldogs Goals for: 266 (2nd) / 255 (5th) Goals against: 200 (6th) / 245 (21st) PP: 19.8% (16th) / 22.8% (5th) PK: 79.1% (16th) / 81.1% (12th) Shooting %: 9.2% (4th) / 9.7% (2nd) Save %: 93.2% (1st) / 91.2% (24th) PDO: 1.024 (2nd) / 1.008 (10th) CF: 1535 (1st) / 1302 (19th) CA: 1202 (7th) / 1420 (21st) Corsi %: 56.1% (2nd) / 47.8% (21st) Season match up: 3 wins Red Tide, 1 win Bulldogs. The season series was notably in favor of the Red Tide as one game was on the verge of a blowout while another was an out right blowout. The Bulldogs are going to have to find a way to improve their 5 on 5 play defensively or this could be a short series. The middle of the pack special teams for the Red Tide could potentially keep the Bulldogs in the series and appears to be the most likely reason for the series to drag on. #3 Sheshegwaning Dragons vs #6 Big Delta Stealheads 44-3-11-22 149pts / 36-7-7-30 129pts Regular season stats: Dragons / Stealheads Goals for: 263 (3rd) / 239 (12th) Goals against: 205 (8th) / 199 (5th) PP: 24.9% (2nd) / 16.6% (22nd) PK: 86.3% (2nd) / 83.9% (6th) Shooting %: 8.9% (7th) / 8.8% (8th) Save %: 92.4% (9th) / 92.3% (10th) PDO: 1.013 (4th) / 1.012 (5th) CF: 1466 (3rd) / 1313 (18th) CA: 1261 (9th) / 1098 (2nd) Corsi %: 53.8% (4th) / 54.5% (3rd) Season match up: 1 win Dragons, 3 wins Stealheads. This matchup is my official upset alert for the East. Outside of the poor powerplay of the Stealheads these two teams are statistically near mirror images. The question is if the current goaltending for the Dragons can hold up to the quite potent offense of the Stealheads? The Dragons shipped out the goalie they had as their starter for most of the season. This is going to be either a lopsided series due to poor goaltending or one heck of a close series. #4 Sault Ste Marie Battlin Bears vs #5 Mango Duhawks 43-4-3-30 140pts / 37-7-6-30 131pts Regular season stats: Battlin Bears / Duhawks Goals for: 232 (14th) / 226 (16th) Goals against: 209 (9th) / 216 (11th) PP: 19.1% (18th) / 19.8% (17th) PK: 85.9% (4th) / 77.1% (23rd) Shooting %: 7.9% (16th) / 8.1% (13th) Save %: 91.8% (16th) / 92.1% (15th) PDO: .997 (17th) / 1.002 (13th) CF: 1388 (9th) / 1382 (10th) CA: 1293 (10th) / 1323 (14th) Corsi %: 51.8% (9th) / 51.1% (10th) Season match up: 2 wins Battlin Bears, 2 wins Duhawks. This is very likely to be a close series. The regular season games were. Based upon the regular season stats I think it is most likely to be decided by the PK of each team. The Battlin Bears had one of the best. The Duhawks had one of the worst. In every other way these teams are very close statistically. It could be a short series due to the PK difference but the Battlin Bears PP is too iffy for me to fully buy into the poor PK of the Duhawks as being as significant a drawback as it likely should be. West #1 Kegashka Prairie Stars vs #8 Eastern Outlaws. 47-11-2-20 165pts / 34-7-7-32 123pts Regular season stats: Prairie Stars / Outlaws Goals for: 246 (10th) / 214 (18th) Goals against: 164 (1st) / 204 (7th) PP: 22.3% (7th) / 18.5% (19th) PK: 82.6% (8th) / 77.8% (20th) Shooting %: 8% (15th) / 7.7% (19th) Save %: 93% (3rd) / 93.1% (2nd) PDO: 1.010 (7th) / 1.009 (9th) CF: 1403 (6th) / 1344 (13th) CA: 1223 (8th) / 1181 (5th) Corsi %: 53.4% (5th) / 53.2% (6th) Season match up: 2 wins and 1 SO win Prairie Stars, 1 wins Outlaws. The Outlaws are a solid team with very good goaltending and team play. Everything else about them is below average. On the other side is the Prairie Stars with the best record in the league but rather underwhelming stats for a team that more or less ran away with the best record by 14 points. Almost everything about them is good but only the 5 on 5 goals against is truly great. I would have expected more statistically with such a record. In terms of the match up the big question is can the Outlaws score and can their special teams be better than it was in the regular season? Against the Prairie Stars it is going to be tough as their two wins were big ones over the Outlaws. #2 West Chicago Hawks vs #7 Scandinavia Steelers 42-7-8-23 148pts / 35-9-5-31 128pts Regular season stats: Hawks / Steelers Goals for: 249 (8th) / 200 (25th) Goals against: 183 (2nd) / 194 (4th) PP: 24.1% (3rd) / 20.2% (15th) PK: 82.5% (9th) / 87.2% (1st) Shooting %: 7.6% (20th) / 7.4% (22nd) Save %: 92.5% (6th) / 92.5% (7th) PDO: 1.001 (14th) / .999 (16th) CF: 1448 (5th) / 1184 (25th) CA: 1389 (16th) / 1160 (4th) Corsi %: 51% (11th) / 50.5% (13th) Season match up: 4 wins Hawks. The Steelers are a bit of a mystery to me. They have a very good group of forwards but the team struggles mightily offensively. They didn't do well against the Hawks in the regular season because of it losing all four games. On the same token the Hawks offense under performed as well 5 on 5 with a very poor shooting percentage themselves. This could be a series dragged on by the stingy defense of the Steelers facing off against the lackluster 5 on 5 offense of the Hawks but the Steelers have to find a way to score to do it. This series is going to come down to if the Steelers can find some offense or not. #3 Enigma Rage vs #6 Vauban Tomahawks 42-5-5-28 141pts / 36-9-6-29 132pts Regular season stats: Rage / Tomahawks Goals for: 248 (9th) / 253 (6th) Goals against: 230 (15th) / 222 (13th) PP: 22.9% (4th) / 17.7% (21st) PK: 83.3% (7th) / 81.8% (11th) Shooting %: 8.8% (9th) / 9.5% (3rd) Save %: 92.1% (14th) / 92.3% (11th) PDO: 1.009 (8th) / 1.018 (3rd) CF: 1354 (12th) / 1319 (16th) CA: 1198 (5th) / 1313 (11th) Corsi %: 53.1% (7th) / 50.1% (15th) Season match up: 1 win Rage, 2 wins and 1 SO win Tomahawks This series is my upset alert for the West. The Rage are a very good statistical team overall. Its one statistical blemish is its 5 on 5 goals against. The Tomahawks are a good team themsleves with one very good strength. 5 on 5 goals for. It is the biggest weakness of one team against the biggest strength of the other team. This has the potential to be a very close series that could also go heavily one way or the other. If the Tomahawks can continue their 5 on 5 excellence it will be trouble for Rage. The Rage have the special teams to otherwise win the series if not keep the games close. #4 Ithaca Ricochet vs #5 Yonker Wolverines 40-7-4-29 138pts / 41-4-3-32 134pts Regular season stats: Ricochet / Wolverines Goals for: 253 (7th) / 269 (1st) Goals against: 213 (10th) / 241 (20th) PP: 21% (12th) / 22.8% (6th) PK: 80% (14th) / 75.2% (27th) Shooting %: 8.4% (11th) / 9.1% (5th) Save %: 91.6% (18th) / 90.6% (27th) PDO: 1.000 (15th) / .997 (19th) CF: 1452 (4th) / 1474 (2nd) CA: 1503 (25th) / 1541 (27th) Corsi %: 49.1% (17th) / 48.9% (18th) Season match up: 3 wins Ricochet, 1 win Wolverines This is the series that I am most looking forward to. It has the greatest potential for some wild games. Each of the four games in the regular season was. For one team you can forget about defense. It doesn't exist. Its not a thing. The other team is a team that plays a high tempo style of play given the lot of shots for and against 5 on 5. I'm excited for this series simply because it is very likely going to be a lot of speed, shots and general back and forth, high tempo action. Who is going to win? Who cares? It is going to very likely be one heck of a show.

Congratulations to everyone on another great regular season! Good luck to the teams still in the playoffs, and productive off-season to everyone else. You know the drill. ART ROSS TROPHY (Most League Points) DAG ARNESEN (Dragons) - 82 points Theodore De-Nobile (Stealheads) Elouan Scott (Red Tide) OVECHKIN TROPHY (Top Goalscorer) DAG ARNESEN (Dragons) - 47 goals Zakary Stilly (Patriots) Ismael Sneed (Rage) GRETZKY TROPHY (Best Playmaker) RENE LUCIAK (Battlin Bears) - 48 assists Aleksandar Schaller (Prairie Stars) Theodore De-Nobile (Stealheads) VEZINA TROPHY (Best Goaltender) KWESI CUTTER (Prairie Stars) - RETAINED TITLE Osvald Lang (Minutemen) Renaud Pettigrew (Hawks) ORR TROPHY (Best Offensive Defenceman) NOAH-CHARLES MERIZZI (Masons) NORRIS TROPHY (Best Defensive Defenceman) MARTIN HARANT (Prairie Stars) ORR - Points leader among defencemen NORRIS - Calculated with the following formula among [+/- + BKS - GVA + TKA], PER also taken into consideration SELKE TROPHY (Best Defensive Forward) WARREN LAMOUREUX (Dragons) Elouan Scott (Red Tide) Jeremie Cline (Stray Cats/Stealheads) Calculated with the following formula among F: [PTS + BKS - GVA + TKA] LADY BYNG TROPHY (Most Gentlemanly Player) CHAD MCGRAW (Dragons) Tintin Petterson (Minutemen) Elouan Scott (Red Tide) Calculated with the following formula [PTS - PIM] HART TROPHY (League MVP) KWESI CUTTER (Prairie Stars) - RETAINED TITLE Dag Arnesen (Dragons) Noah-Charles Merizzi (Masons) CALDER TROPHY (Best Rookie) HERMANNI PENTTI (Prairie Stars) GOOD SAMARITAN AWARD (Most Giveaways) ANTHONY-JAMES SUNSHINE (Red Dragons/Masons) ROID RAGE TROPHY (Most Hits + PIM + MP) RADOVAN GIERTL (Steelers) *Notes: Calculations may not be entirely accurate due to limited visibility and inability to sort by position and outside Top 20 in GPHM stats format - if anyone sees mistakes, let me know and I will fix.

Round two: No regular season stats anymore because it is the second round of the playoffs. #2 Red Tide vs #3 Dragons Regular season series: 1W and 1OTW Red Tide, 2W Dragons. The two best teams in the East face off. It was a close series in the regular season and it will likely be close in the playoffs so long as the goaltending for the Dragons holds up. If it doesn't this is very likely to be a short series. #4 Battlin Bears vs #8 Nightmares Regular season series: 2SOW Battlin Bears, 2W Nightmares. The two wins by the Nightmare were the last two meetings between these two teams and the games weren't close. I still think this is going to be a close series though however the Battlin Bears are the underdogs in my mind as I think the Nightmares have the better team. #1 Prairie Stars vs #5 Wolverines Regular season series: 2W Prairie Stars, 2W Wolverines The regular season series between the two was a split and the entire series was actually close. The Wolverines has the offense to keep pace if it becomes a scoring race. The real question is if the Prairie Stars can take control of the games with their more complete team. #2 Hawks vs #6 Tomahawks Regular season series: 2W Hawks, 2W Tomahawks Another series that was split however the series was rather lopsided with a win for each team that wasn't close at all. The Tomahawks were a great 5 on 5 scoring team while the Hawks struggled to score 5 on 5. I think this is going to be another close series determined by whatever team happens to play better 5 on 5.

As of Day 7. EASTERN CONFERENCE WESTERN CONFERENCE

When a convoy of toned black BMWs rolls into the quiet Alberta town of Vermilion on an early spring morning in 2019, the locals have every right to be surprised. No one recalls an official visit to the town since it was formally inaugurated in 1906, a century ago, let alone a convoy flying the Russian imperial eagle. As the door of the lead BMW opens and an enigmatic figure in a leather jacket, jeans, and aviators strolls out and walks straight for the town hall, flanked by two prototypical burly ex-prison ZEKs, the locals’ confusion turns to a sense of palpable danger. The town mechanic, who had seen Eastern Promises many times, swears that the Russians have KGB tattoos and someone needs to call Trudeau right away lest the country become overrun by Putin, starting from this sleepy mining town. Of course, no one does anything. But when 15 minutes later the Russian walks out, now flanked by only one of his bodyguards, gets into the driver’s seat of the 7-Series, and drives away without a word or ceremony, the convoy sending rising clouds of red clay dust well into the morning sun - the fear turns to curiosity. This curiosity turns to bewilderment, when the mayor calls a town hall meeting that very afternoon. Beside her stands 190 cm, 100 kg of Fedor - “just Fedor”, as he says firmly - in a leather jacket, the prototypical Russian mafia thug, and as he stares ahead, stone-faced, the mayor explains that a young Russian by the name of Rasputin, with authorization from the government of Canada, has just bought a $20 million stake in the town. Before the crowd has a chance to process this figure, she adds that Vermilion is now the home of a professional hockey team, the Black Devils, with a new 13,000 seat arena and associated businesses to begin construction imminently. Autumn 2019, in the hero-city of Volgograd, Russia. It’s cold, unglamorous, and foreboding. Alexander Rasputin stands before a throng of international journalists, his customary aviators down. ITAR-TASS is here, as well as TSN. His goal is simple. “I want to conquer North American hockey. We start from the bottom. We take no prisoners. We give no room for “BUT”. We start from the lowest league, LIHL, we win every year. We move to the top. And then we win there. A war, to prove our strength. A true challenge, like the Summit series. My challenge to North American hockey”, he grins. To get to the GHL is one Five-Year Plan. To win in the GHL is the other. There are laughs that slowly die down, then shocked silence among the media. No team has ever accomplished the trek from the LIHL to the GHL in 5 seasons. The logistics behind such a feat are...improbable at best, a vodka-fueled daydream. No team in the billion-dollar NA professional sports has ever done this. The skill gap between the levels is massive. The roster turnover will be crippling. The financial weight, more so. The competition from established teams and the brutal 80-game season with a minimum time to build chemistry and team identity, thrice that. But Alexander comes from Volgograd, where the siege held in 1942, and carries with him the shadowy weight of the Rasputin name. Rumours fly that Alexander has a connection to the same wild sorcery that powered Grigory, the same sorcery that set in motion events that toppled an empire. Certainly, his reputation in the elite circles is not good. He is volatile, uncouth. He listens to Scandinavian metal. He wears jeans, leather jackets, and long hair like he is some kind of Peter Steele wannabe. He drinks too much, even for a Russian, and isn’t respectful of Orthodox beliefs. There are whispers of cults, women, and pagan rituals. Most write him off as one of a thousand spoiled degenerates living out opium dreams on the money of previous generations. But this opinion will change. A month later, Alexander again stands in front of nearly all of the 4,000 strong population of the town of Vermilion. “We are here to win at all costs” is his clear and slightly ominous message. Like most small Canadian towns, Vermilion is also a hockey town with a solid junior program, but this is on an entirely different level. There are misgivings. Alexander’s involvement is not trusted. Someone demands to know why he chose their community, of all places. “During the war, my great-grandfather stood shoulder to shoulder with a Canadian soldier,” begins Rasputin. “This man had come to the Eastern Front to deliver supplies, and stayed to deliver the invaders from our land. Him and my great-grandfather survived Stalingrad together.” He pauses for emphasis, looks over the crowd. “And for that I owe him - and your town, his birthplace, much gratitude.” There is silence, then scattered applause which eventually overtakes the entire crowd. For the time being, at least, Alexander is one of them. On the financial front, the new Russian owner delivers. Vermilion Black Devils are officially inaugurated as a professional hockey club in late 2019. A modern arena is built, the design strangely gothic, what some might claim as occult symbols decorating its hallways and a massive 10-metre basalt and crimson steel statue of a grinning, winged demon decorating its front gates. Colloquially known as “The Chasm”, Vermilion Park quickly fills with the sounds of skates hitting the ice and pucks hitting the net. Gold and black jerseys are paraded on hundreds of citizens, and despite the town’s name, these two colours are dominant on every storefront. Rallies take place on the streets, and a brand-new hockey academy is receiving hundreds of talented young prospects from around the province. The city, at least for now, has bought into Alexander’s vision. But there is much work to be done. Alexander assumes the GM role, and Fedor the meaningful title of “Personnel Manager”. As a foundation for the team, the Black Devils franchise co-opts a struggling amateur regional hockey club. At practices, they are barely able to elevate the puck, and their skating is abysmal. Alexander spits, slams doors and spends a lot of his time growling at his iPhone, occasionally taking the ice himself. Fedor menacingly points at the underperforming players and cracks his knuckles. The season is a few short weeks away, and the team cannot decide if they are hockey players or sunflower seed farmers. The lone bright spot is the first Vermilion team captain, a Swedish teenager named Fritiof Bergland. His linemate, German prospect Nico Habib, also shows potential. After the first week of practices yield few results, Alexander flies to Russia, returning in 3 days with a familiar figure at his side, whose presence only seems to reinforce his backdoor connections. NHL legend Pavel Bure steps out of the black 7-Series, his mouth a hard line as he sees the backwater Canadian town with a shiny new arena and so far, nothing to show for it. But he looks at Alexander, who waits expectantly, and nods. That evening, Bure is announced as the club’s head coach and ambassador of its direct, Soviet-school offensive playstyle. Responding to the local reporters’ questions of whether the team’s goals can be achieved, he says laconically - “We will see.”

Buzzed by Paul's idea in Cage, I started to put together some small nations' national team squads. I did in 14 F, 8 D, 3 G format, tried to split the 14 into 5 C + 9 F, but where centers were clearly better than the last few forwards there I went with them. Just to be clear, I only looked at overall (what I try to avoid when building my team tho), so it's rather the best team than the right one Any questions, requests, advice and comments are welcome as well I also used a bit more colors in the player traits, according to the order of traits in the help files Let's start with the Gli Azzurri roster here too: Interesting to see they have a lot of free agents, almost no depth in wingers, and their best goalie is down in the Czech league. Ones to watch: Pablo Zambrotta, the 87 ovr center and Samuele Perico, the 84 ovr defender, both with plenty of GHL experience, and Cristian Diego Alves, the recent BHL draftee who can grow into an important player for this team. As you can see, their D-line is getting old, but they try to compensate it with size and toughness

Since we already track all player stats and records season by season, it is even clear post-reset that a historical league leaderboard is needed to make league seem more “living”. Many of us would see huge value and added motivation if the League History page displayed player categories like Most Career League Goals/Assists/Points in a Top 20 format. This could be extended to a team format as well, with categories like Team Wins in [League Level], clearer records like Most Wins in a Season, etc. With elements like Team Stories and the blog becoming more active, these categories will let us keep better track on the league history and create more storylines to follow for our teams. Anders, I hope this is something you consider adding, as this was mentioned multiple times by a fair number of managers.

Not sure if mentioned, so i will apologize if it has and I am just being redundant. The Process of having to go to a players page, let it load, click on assign/recall, let it load, then authorize that choice, then let it load, is rather annoying. Could it be possible to set it up so that when you are on your roster page, and you click on a player, and the pop up comes up with his ratings and traits, at the bottom, like how you can simply click on "add to shortlist" or "remove from shortlist" have another bottom that we can assign/recall that player? That way we can just quickly go down our roster list and do it all from one page in a much faster process.

First off, a big Congratulations to Bouncer and the West Chicago Hawks on the ever so coveted GHL championship this season in Cage! - My plan following the conclusion of the GHL finals this season is for a complete relocation/rebranding of the Netherhill Nightmares, (its DEFERIETly an original idea which has never been tried before, EVER. (Dont @ me)) - With the conclusion of the GHL finals, i am pleased to anounce that the Netherhill Nightmares have Officially Been relocated and rebranded to become: The Maxville Vortex Effective Immediately.

I'm starting this thread so managers can post about game performances that should be acknowledged. Whether it be a high performance rating you've never seen before, a hat trick, a multi-point game, a high-save shutout, whatever. Not every manager sorts through every box score for their league every day. Consider this the NHL Network for game world Cage where the analysts discuss the top plays and performances. Anyways, I'll start. There was a specific performance today that sparked this and the player is not even on my team. --------- Season 3 - Day 51 - Enigma Rage vs. Eldred Elite. Rage center, Brendan Rowlett, notched a Gordie Howe Hat Trick... and then some. He registered 3 goals, 2 assists, a fight (which he WON), was also a +5 with a hit and a blocked shot. And he did it with only 15 min TOI. --------- I'm not sure if this will be topped any time soon, but the purpose of this thread is not a competition. Just post what you feel deserves to be recognized.

So I may have had a rather busy Friday and forgot to put up a match up preview for the finals. Oops. Well your getting one late anyways. #3 Sheshegwaning Dragons vs #2 West Chicago Hawks Regular season series: 2 wins Dragons I think this is likely to be a close series even though one game has already been played. The Dragons have the better offensive team talent wise while the Hawks play a more complete team game that emphasizes strong defensive play. If the Dragons had a goalie I felt like I could trust I would say that this is the match up of the two best teams in the league. Outside of the net it certainly is in my mind. I am really looking forward to seeing how this series plays out. Honest confession: I'm pulling for the Hawks in this one for the simple fact that he has his entire team playing in a way I wish I could get my team to play. Either way, best of luck to both teams.

Truly epic. In fact, my team was so impressed they kept stopping and watching him skate right on past!

Utilizing FBPro98 with the VPNFL files, rating system and renamed stock gameplans, I am currently playing a 12 team, USFL league. I GM all 12 teams in regards to roster management, drafting, free agency, etc. The renamed stock gameplans take care of the gameplans and profiles) that started in the year 2000. I am currently in week 9 of the 2001 season. I am digging this league so much, I decided to share on this forum. The first couple of posts will show the history of the inaugural season (season stats, standings, playoffs, etc.). Then I will provide week by week results with interesting notes from that week. Hope you will follow along!

As of Day 6 EASTERN CONFERENCE WESTERN CONFERENCE Top 5 Offensive teams: 1. Red Tide 2. Dragons 3. Natives 4. Rage 5. Battlin Bears Top 5 Defensive teams: 1. Natives 2. Dragons 3. Yale Men 4. Red Tide 5. Trojans Top 5 Goalie tandems: 1. Pegasus 2. Bulldogs 3. Doom 4. Plastic Attack 5. Outlaws

Next up are the Eagles. If you look at them, their core team looks like a good, stable average one, with no real stars but reliable guys all around. The D has plenty of talent with the already grown youngsters. They have even younger forwards who are not elite level, but could be good depth players in the future (didn't look at ratings..:D ). Key players will be Sandro Koch from the Black Devils who looks very good at the age of 23, the same could be said about Foresters' D-man Angelo Braun, and Razorbacks experienced goalie Yannik Meyer. They look like a good mix in every aspects of personality traits also. (By the way, if anyone knows how to represent Belarus flag in excel, heeelp. that white-red stripe on the left is killing me, l tried, but looks lame.. )

Season 5 Power Rankings - updated as of Day 10. Hopefully the excel/screenshot method is readable for everyone. EASTERN CONFERENCE WESTERN CONFERENCE Top 5 Offenses: 1) Slaughterville Red Tide 2) Sheshegwaning Dragons 3) Enigma Rage 4) Sault Ste Marie Battlin Bears 5) Big Delta Stealheads Top 5 Defenses: 1) Victoria Regals 2) Sheshegwaning Dragons 3) Ithaca Ricochet 4) Rome Trojans 5) Slaughterville Red Tide _______________________________________________________ The formula: Team OVR = (OFF + (DEF * 2) + (SG * 2)) / 26 Where: OFF = sum of 12 highest rated centers & forwards* DEF = sum of 6 highest rated defenders* SG = overall of starting goalie * unless managers provided their unique roster set-up Originally created by: Erzac

The New Haven Ramblers are a storied team, however this team returned under Don Werner, bringing along his old Pal Walter Donaldson as coach. The Town of New Haven has had teams since 1926. The team moved From Dalmeny where they were known as the Bad Apples to New Haven where they started out as the Whalers at the end of Season 3. Season 4 was an extremely successful year the Signings of New Captain Veteran Defenseman Assem Stanger, strong play from new defenseman Karel Rognon Fine work from veteran Center-turned-Right Winger Mackenzie Wagers, and the strong push by veteran goalie Dylan Deraspe, led to a second place finish and a promotion to the GHL. The Ramblers had a rough year in the GHL though they put up a good fight for twelfth but fell short, though it brought new regular faces, Defensemen Christian "Chris" Jorgenson and Yanick "Johnny" Guerrier, and Center Jayden-Dubois Quentin known to his teammate's as Jay. They finished 3rd the next year in the SHL, and won the playoffs on Deraspe's excellent goaltending, earning a second chance at the GHL. That second year started out well, with the Ramblers at 7th then top Scorer Houston "Howie" Mazurek went down with a severe injury knocking him off for 35 games, the team's offense sagged and they dropped to thirteenth place, they fought hard to get to twelfth, but they were a few points out. They had many Salary Problems, the Old reliables had aged, particularly Captain Assem Stanger, Jay Quentin, John Guerrier, and Chris Jorgenson. Though the team is aging in some parts, a new addition of Youth came into the Roster, namely Alpo "Al" Laitenen, Howie Mazurek, Urmas "Jim" Nurminen, Danick "Dan" McNally, Marcus "Marc" Godbois, and Aukusti "Artie" Lipponen seemed to be coming into their own. The future is uncertain for the Ramblers, they are an old team, with the Cracks starting to show but the Youngsters show great promise, and there are new Veterans starting to take shape in Roscoe Hartshorn, Matteo "Matt" Bellini, and Nathenial "Nate" Grieco. GM Werner Feel that the team needs to grow and let their youth take flight, with a promising future, The Era of Season 4-8 will be well remembered in Ramblers' fans memories.

It doesn't get much more even than that, so that is not the issue. I've seen teams play 40% line 1 and 50% first pair D with no problems. My splits are very similar to yours. When players get tired I'll usually adjust special teams as needed.

SEASON 1: LIHL The First Circle (60-6-3-11, 1st place) Rasputin brings in two Russians to fill key roles on the team - angry powerforward Viktor Sabitov and goaltender Dennis Sabantsev. Sabitov will play on the 1st line with Bergland and German veteran C Akram Janjic, who joins the squad through a Twitter job posting. Sabantsev will start in net. Bure runs the first weeks of practices behind closed doors, with players sleeping and eating at the arena. Occasionally, the players run out of the building in a line carrying what looks like bodybags over their shoulders, and head into the old clay mine where they are seen swinging pickaxes and chopping wood on the surrounding countryside. Rock music blares out of the arena, and bonfires and strange chants cover the perimeter as a vaguely Orthodox-looking priest does laps around the building with an incense burner. When the public is finally allowed in, they see a different team. The Black Devils are fast and aggressive, and hit hard. Inter-squad scrimmages devolve into adrenaline-fueled shoving matches. The players are focused. Where they lack natural skill, they are physically prepared to play a fast, aggressive game. Bure routinely steps onto the ice to show them mere grains of his talent, still exponentially better than anything they can offer, but for now, it is enough. The drastic change in cohesiveness causes the unbelievers in the local media to put out a hit story on the team. “Local team’s miraculous transformation powered by ‘Russian gas’” whines the headline. In a calculated PR move, Rasputin invites WADA experts in to test his players. They follow them into bathrooms and crawl up to their beds to take blood samples during sleep. At one point, the WADA team bursts on the ice in the middle of a practice and demands urine tests on the spot. The players call the WADA rep “Gollum” for the way he always creeps behind them, muttering to himself, just out of sight. But the results are negative. Opening night has an audience of 750. Someone throws a sack of potatoes on the ice and boos. The players pick them up - no sense to waste good food. The first season goes by quickly, powered by excitement, adrenaline, and the novelty of professional hockey. The still mostly-empty stadium is slowly attracting fans, but the team is a financial black hole. Rasputin streams games on social media, inviting YouTubers and amateur sportscasters to call the games and build up a younger fanbase. He holds NHL tournaments in the arena, giving out cash prizes and season tickets left and right. #BlackDevilHockey and #RussianSpies is trending on Twitter. True to their namesake, the Black Devils rip through the competition, finishing with a 60-6-3-11 record and a +195 goal differential. Bergland and Sabitov finish with 81 and 72 points, Sabitov with over 200 hits, and the team’s 2nd D-pair of Jesse Betiol and Aadam Richer-Louveteau, local boys, are +94 and +93 respectively. Calgarian Cedric Lepage is the team’s top goal-scorer with 39. A championship banner is lifted at The Chasm, and one flame is lit under the demon statue in front of the stadium. The Five-Year Plan is underway.

I thought I 'd owe you all a quick update on what's been going on lately. The last month has been crazy and I've been falling behind with almost everything, this game included. I have in the last couple of weeks started both a new job and a small renovation of the house. And with everything else that's going on in the world right now I have not been able to put in that many hours on the game lately. So please accept my apologies for the lack of updates and not responding to questions and emails lately. I will do my best to catch up as soon as possible. But today I finally managed to make an update fixing the current bugs with scouting reports and draft preferences. I have started working on the v2.3.0 update. I will share some more thoughts regarding this update soon. Thanks again for your patience!

I'd love a targeting option. For instance, we already have Left Wing Lock, why not have a target for certain player, etc. I also wish we could differentiate between lines the tactic they use. Some I want to be assholes, others I want to only take a punch and walk away. Having everyone on the team with the same tactic takes away the point of having different lines. But realize I am nitpicking at this point! But there are teams where all I really care about is hurting them as much as possible no matter the final score, haha. Just give us THAT option and I'll be happy!

Wow, so the regular season series between all the current match-ups was 2-2. These quarterfinals should be very close. I agree that the Dragons and Red Tide are the two best teams in the East - and will be for quite some time. They are starting to get a little rivalry going, which is great. The Prairie Stars and Hawks have been the two best teams out West and I don't see that changing any time soon either. But we all know that anything can happen in the playoffs, which is what keeps it exciting. And rainsilent - great season for you despite the early playoff exit. I was impressed with what you were able to accomplish with a team without much super star power. Taking nothing away from the Nightmares as Tyrod always puts together a solid team (think they are much better than 8th place btw), but the OT and double SO losses were a rough way to end it - and I still think the fact that we can't edit our SO lineup makes it frustrating at times. On paper this was more like a 3/6 or 4/5 match-up. Good luck to all remaining.

Just going to leave this here.... The Elite are the first GHL team to win TWO Relegation Playoff matchups! HA!

I haven't followed the West that much this season, but agree that Ricochet vs. Wolverines is probably the most exciting first round match-up. Also, Rage is always my sleeper pick to turn it on in the playoffs. Their coach is a lunatic and the players are downright scared to fail. In the East, the Nightmares and Bulldogs are solid teams, but the Minutemen and Red Tide are firing on all cylinders. Bears vs. Duhawks should be the most even series. For some reason I have always confused these two teams, as far back as season 1, so it's funny they are matched up against each other. And my series with Peek's Dragons seems like a very even match-up on paper. I like my team, but have come to realize we have some major holes to fix. For starters, my goalie is already tired. Jesus. People talk about goalies blowing games for their respective teams this season, but I'd be willing to bet Amick has blow more games than every other goalie this season... games that the performance ratings and game stats suggest we otherwise would have won. So my options are a tired/exhausted goalie... an anxious goalie... or a 79-rated affiliate goalie. Again, I really like my team, but the past two seasons we've had the #2 seed and have won a combined 2 games, getting bounced by lower seeds. This is also the 3rd straight season where we have been on a cold streak heading into the playoffs. Would I be surprised if I win... maybe not. But until the Stealheads prove they can win a playoff series, I don't have much confidence in them. My only shot is if the Dragons goalies under-perform. Either way, thanks for pulling this together, Rain. Good luck to everyone!

My GHL Cage team was ranked 20th talent wise in the league out of 28 teams at the start of the current season. Now that we have reached the halfway point my team is 4th in the conference and 7th overall in the standings. My team is currently on a run of 13-3-1-4, which certainly helps in that regard. My team started 7-1-1-10 but I did change my offensive tactics so that likely had a hand in the slow start. How much of an outlier is my team? Well, lets look at the rest of the teams stats to see how much of an outlier my team really is. First is the team rankings on the team page. Goals for; 4th with 3.2. Goals against; 3rd with 2.3. Powerplay; 4th with 23.3% Penalty kill; 3rd with 87.2% Well that is just ridiculous. However it doesn't end there as now there are advanced team stats. Granted I don't recall exactly how many games in the advanced stats started to count however here they are none the less. Team shooting percentage; 1st with 10.4%. Team save percentage; 6th with 92.9%. Even strength PDO; 3rd with 103.3%. Shots for; 22nd with 478. Shots against; 3rd with 434. Corsi%; 8th with 52.4%. So outside of shots for my team looks like a statistical monster yet talent wise it is one of the worst. The first question likely is is my team talent really that bad? The honest answer is yes. I only have 2 players with an overall greater than 89. My starting goalie and a winger. I then have 13 players 85-89, including my #2 goalie. The remaining 5 players on my roster are 84, 83, 83, 83, 81. The next likely question is how? Well, the right players used in the right way mean everything. One of those 83 overall players is a winger on my 2nd line. Ok, they only have 12 points in 40 games but they have a fairly good performance rating of 74. That means in the role that I am using them in they are having some success against much better players. However they are clearly still struggling which is clearly indicated by a lack of points and a corsi of 49.6%. They are a great example of a specialized role player. A player with a very specific set of skills that makes them good in a very specific way. Use them in that specific way and you can find some success with them higher in the lineup than their overall skills would indicate that they might be able to do. However do not expect them to be able to dominate because they can't. Typically they will do just enough to provide some sort of positive impact in whatever their specialization is however against better teams it is too easy for them to be shut down. That said with most of my players I emphasize defense to some degree because I realize that my team talent wise is behind in the GHL talent curve. Just looking at the stats indicates, to some degree, how much I am leaning on that team defense and my starting goalie. The next question likely is is this sustainable? Short term for the rest of the season I don't see why not but I don't expect it to stay this good. My team has been incredibly hot in the very short term in a way I don't think will be sustained. So I expect my team to cool off and regress at least somewhat. My team had to fight to get a playoff spot last season and I expect the same this season. Beyond that? Absolutely not. That same player I mentioned above on my 2nd line might be able to provide 2 more years of top 6 play. That is a might. Add on to that the fact that a good chunk of my team is mid 20s to 30 in age and this team might be able to remain competitive for 2-4 more years as it is before it just falls behind too much to stay competitive as my team largely isn't growing talent wise while the teams (meaning most every other team) with younger players are growing. It needs new players to be ready to take over within that time frame and I largely don't have that yet. Clearly my team is a major statistical outlier however it is also one that isn't sustainable. Sure I might be able to do this for another season or two but that is likely it. My team is similar to the Arizona Coyotes from 2011-12. Ok, I grant my team is a bigger statistical outlier than they were however my team is very much like the current Coyotes in that the only truly elite offensive presence I have is a Phil Kessel esque winger. Everyone else is pretty much a role specific player. My 2nd line C is pretty much Michael Grabner reincarnate and my 3rd line C is Derek Stepan with an agitator attitude to him and those are, by far, the best forwards I have outside of my top line. I don't even have an Oliver Ekman-Larsson type in my D core. Instead it is filled with Hjalmarsson types with a Goligoski type thrown in. The most important thing is realizing what you got and how to best work with it.

At lest tell us why Tom Brady sucks. It might be prudent that admin not count this posting for ryanstan when counting the 2 posts needed to leach a game. His posting is garbage... (There it was said. When making a statement such as that evidence needs to be included.) With that said, along with what the above guys wrote. Tom Brady is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game and his induction in to the pro football hall of fame will prove just that when he retires, whenever that maybe nobody knows. Love him or hate him it can not be disputed that he is one of the greatest if not the greatest there ever was!

END OF SEASON UPDATE: 1) Elouan Scott - (94 F): Ovechkin + Gretzky trophies (Goals, Points*), Most shots* Close, but went cold in the last 3 games to finish just off in both key categories. 2) Simon-Delorme - (92 D): Most Points by a Defenceman, Highest +/- Not even close. Hugely disappointing season on a top offensive team. Questioning his necessity to this squad, and may be moving on next season. 3) Henry Lux - (86 F (rookie)): Most Rookie Points Likely would have got this without the injury that sidelined him for 8 games. Still, hugely impressive debut campaign with limited ice time and often in a defensive role. 41 points, +16, nearly 60% CF. 4) D Sharshin, D Nazarov, F Patrushev, C Stalin, C Putin 100 combined points by Russian players DONE. 158 points total. 4a) At least 1 goal scored + assisted by ONLY Russian players Actually did this, Patrushev from Sharshin and Nazarov. Surprising. 5) Sagiv Schuppan - (87 G (rookie)): 40 wins 31 wins, 4 shutouts, and finally settled in and been amazing late in the season with a couple of shutouts. Living up to his potential and 40 wins next season is not unthinkable. 6) Roger Muller - (92 C): FINALLY HIT GODDAMN 50 POINTS DONE! Just - exactly 50 points on the season. Frustrating, but there is progress. Team Objective: Score 300 goals, win 45 games DONE. 54 wins total including OT wins, good for 1st in the East. 318 GF. Record 1866 CF, and 57.9 CF%. This team absolutely destroyed at even-strength.

With limited resources to put into development simplicity is key and it is what makes GPHM shine. Before I start the review of Game Plan Hockey Manager I have to note a few things. First, the game has only two people working on it and they work on it in the spare time that they have in their busy lives. Second, this game has a $1.99 monthly subscription fee. It has a one month free trial though for anyone that wants a taste before they jump in. Finally, I have been playing this game since June of 2015. I enjoy the game. There is going to be some degree of bias as a result. I am going to try to remove as much as possible for the review. Game interface The game interface itself has a rather basic look and isn’t that flashy. It sticks to being rather basic, outside of the ever present faded, large team logo in the background on the left, while having a few nice touches here or there depending upon where you are in the menus. On the team page there is a team jersey in the top right with the logo and team name on the front. If you are on a player page there is a team jersey with the player’s last name and number on the back. It is a nice small touch to an otherwise simple visual interface. ----- Read the review https://gmgames.org/game-plan-hockey-manager/review/

I don't have a strong opinion on it, but here's why I wouldn't necessarily agree with this. 1) High Corsi doesn't necessarily mean that team is dominating games. It could be as simple as, the team goes down early and plays Offensive when trailing. This could lead to more shot attempts, but not necessarily quality chances. Or the team could play Defensive and just not allow many shots, but not get many quality scoring chances. Either way, in this specific case, the Red Dragons are facing relegation so the high Corsi isn't helping. 2) The game has an element of randomness to it, much like the sport itself. That's a good thing. Sometimes certain outcomes just don't make sense, other than the element of randomness. Overall, the game is directionally accurate and the "better" teams tend to place higher in the standings/have better stats. 3) If we had the tools to determine exactly why stuff like this happened, then every manager would use the same tactics, build the same roster, play the same focus. That would get pretty boring. I like the fact that every manager is given a clean slate and able to customize their team to their liking without there being a "right" or "wrong" way to do it. 4) Personally, I think statistical outliers add fun to the game. It's fun when an inferior team is high in the standings - or a completely stacked team isn't as good as everyone thought. Although I would admit that this isn't necessarily fair... but sometimes sports aren't fair (or life for that matter). 5) If you take a close look at this specific team, they have a very unique set up. An Offensive Defenseman playing 1st line wing. A Two Way D playing 4th line wing. That would definitely screw with the simulation. But I think we all agree the game needs more micromanagement, so I see that as a good thing. Figure out unique ways to set your lineup. If you compare their defense to mine, they are actually better. Red Dragons - 90 89 88 88 88 85 (528) Stealheads - 92 88 88 87 86 81 (522)