Erzac

The revitalized Stray Kittens are looking to extend the point streak to 10 games tonight. The top line with Chovanec and Ryzhanov has been on fire, and they show no signs of slowing down.

Currently experiencing this same issue. Tried a new tactic for about 10 games, didn't work so I went back to the old one. The old one has now been in use for ~10 games, but still keeps decreasing, while the tryout tactic keeps increasing.

Another annoying result from the bloated overalls is that players are an indistinguishable mass. As 99 marks the best of the best, currently in Biscuit GHL there are: 24 world fastest skaters, 11 world best passers, 14 world best shooters etc. And if you'd think ~95 is "elite" in a category, then basically any player on any given team is "elite" in something. Which shouldn't be the case obviously.

Here are the notable 25yo or younger GHL goalies I could find with a quick glance. Vojsovic, 20 - 89 Malette, 21 - 95 Cook, 22 - 90 Fricker, 22 - 94 Koivula, 23 - 95 Senko, 24 - 96 Strass, 24 - 95 Yu, 24 - 96 Keehan, 25 - 90 Ormsby, 25 - 94 These guys will be in the game for at least 10+ seasons. And they'll get even better still. Also, there seemed to be no immensely talented 18-19 year old goalies around.

Don't know which other line would carry the scoring if that line won't get going. Not that they're getting it done either, in the past 10 games I've scored more than two goals only once. Which happens to be the only game I've won in that stretch. I did change, but the old tactic wasn't working either. I'm changing back tonight to the more familiar tactic as well as some line and role shuffling. Something has to work eventually.

Correct.

I changed the tactic after things started going south this season, but that hasn't done me any favors just yet. They only started clicking last season after I put them together, mostly I think the problem on that line has been the center. Shuffling hasn't brought any results yet anyways, but I'll keep at it. Interesting note on the d-men puckhandling, I always looked at it being low by nature, but my team does have a notably lower average there than many other teams. Edit: It is actually THE lowest in GHL currently, so that might be one of the issues. The second worst team in that matter is however doing great atm, so it can't be the only problem.

I truly don't understand how the team manages to perform so poorly. The only trick I haven't tried is sacrificing the assistant to the hockey gods, but sadly that option isn't in the game yet.

A good start to a season remains unchecked on the bucket list. After winning the first three games, the team is now 5-1-0-10. The first line that was doing solid work last season has managed to gather a minus-12 rating in 16 games.

1. No limit (other than cap space). 2. Ideally you'll only have 18+2, there's no real benefit to having scratched players on the roster. 3. It's always better to have a player playing somewhere instead of being scratched. Confidence goes up only when playing. Player's happiness might take a hit when sent down, if the player is "too good" for the minors, but that hit goes away when he's recalled. 4. Playing time. Training-wise it's better to have a player play even in the lowest possible minors instead of just being scratched on the main roster.

Updated the first post. Age from 18 skaters + starting goalie.

Personally I feel 21 is a bit early to let go of a player. I've some home-grown prospects that I expect to be ready for GHL around 23-24. A solution that has been suggested previously would be to force all players upwards of a certain age(~25) to go through waivers in order to stay in or be sent into minors. That would allow you to develop your own prospects for a few years, but would prevent the signing of older (capable) FA's just to sit in the minors. Contract signing/extension logic could also be updated so that if a player could clearly "see" that he won't get main roster ice time he'd deserve, he wouldn't sign with such a team. Maybe have an "expectation" that players could have, like "top-6 forward", "top-2 defenseman", or "nr.1 goaltender" and if that's not met, there would be a happiness penalty, as well as a reluctance to sign an extension with a team that has not met a player's expectations. I'm also for a roster limit ~35-40.

Here are the average GHL team overalls from S11-S14. Shows a pretty steady increase with no sign of really slowing down. S11 87,91 S12 88,61 (+0,70) S13 89,37 (+0,76) S14 90,02 (+0,65)

1. Oshawa Dynasty Heroes (Kris "Euph" Zenatik) OFF: 85 DEF: 86 SG: 88 OVR: 85,6 2. Sault Ste Marie Admirals (Jacques de Gatineau) OFF: 84 DEF: 87 SG: 87 OVR: 85,3 3. Deferiet Leopards (PAUL "Paul T" T) OFF: 84 DEF: 86 SG: 86 OVR: 84,9 4. Minnedosa Musketeers (Brent "littleb" Little) OFF: 85 DEF: 84 SG: 85 OVR: 84,4 5. Natashquan Mohawks (Brutality "BFGore" Fullgore) OFF: 85 DEF: 83 SG: 90 OVR: 84,3 6. Horseheads North Thundering Herd (Bear Doggit) OFF: 85 DEF: 83 SG: 86 OVR: 84,2 7. Lake Viking Bulldogs (Max Mol) OFF: 82 DEF: 85 SG: 86 OVR: 83,9 8. Nottingham Panthers (J "Jono" Jono) OFF: 84 DEF: 84 SG: 85 OVR: 83,8 9. Webbwood Victors (Juho "Keskustankeisari" Kainulainen) OFF: 83 DEF: 83 SG: 85 OVR: 83,4 10. Bodmin Bangers (sakari "suomyyra" lindholm) OFF: 83 DEF: 83 SG: 87 OVR: 83,2 11. Coquitlam Cougars (Tyler Thor) OFF: 81 DEF: 85 SG: 88 OVR: 83,1 12. Kingston Assassins (canucks "canucks" HD) OFF: 82 DEF: 84 SG: 84 OVR: 83,0 13. Blakely Black Flag (Xavier "EXXEO" O'Connor) OFF: 82 DEF: 83 SG: 86 OVR: 82,6 14. Fair Play Angels (Matt Atkins) OFF: 83 DEF: 82 SG: 85 OVR: 82,5 15. Mount Erie Eagles (James Faran) OFF: 82 DEF: 83 SG: 84 OVR: 82,3 16. Highland Troopers (Ozzy Wylde) OFF: 81 DEF: 82 SG: 80 OVR: 81,7 Calculated on day 3 of S14, using: Team OVR = (OFF + (DEF x 2) + (SG x 2))/26 where OFF = Combined overall of 12 best centers/forwards DEF = Combined overall of 6 best defenders SG = Overall of starting goalie (best overall goalie in team)

Also something to note, league average starting goalie is 94(!) OVR. Every team has a 91ovr or better starter.

1. West Chicago Protons (Richard "bouncer" Feynman) OFF: 90 DEF: 94 SG: 97 OVR: 92,0 Age: 30,5 2. Deadwood Vandals (Kim "koekefix" Vandaele) OFF: 90 DEF: 92 SG: 96 OVR: 91,4 Age: 29,2 3. Portland Marauders (Xavier "xZhou" Zhou) OFF: 90 DEF: 92 SG: 93 OVR: 91,1 Age: 25,9 4. Richford Rebels (Jusu "Jusu5" Manager) OFF: 89 DEF: 92 SG: 95 OVR: 90,9 Age: 28,7 5. Canmore Grizzlies (Matt "themattinthehat" Muffett) OFF: 90 DEF: 91 SG: 92 OVR 90,6 Age: 28,5 6. Harrisonville Sabercats (Hurja "HurjaHerra" Herra) OFF: 90 DEF: 90 SG: 95 OVR: 90,5 Age: 29,4 7. St. Thomas Stray Cats (Erzac "Erzac" Ray) OFF: 89 DEF: 91 SG: 93 OVR: 90,2 Age: 27,5 8. Eldred Elite (Steven "Steve" Bennett) OFF: 89 DEF: 91 SG: 93 OVR: 90,1 Age: 29,6 9. Cedar Rapids Minutemen (Richard "rainsilent" Armour) OFF: 88 DEF: 92 SG: 94 OVR: 90,0 Age: 27,5 10. Thetford Mines Pegasus (Anthony "Pingu" Grauwels) OFF: 90 DEF: 89 SG: 95 OVR: 89,8 Age: 28,4 11. York Wolf Pack (Jiri "jiihee" Heikkala) OFF: 89 DEF: 90 SG: 93 OVR: 89,7 Age: 29,9 12. Buckingham Breakouts (Jussi "jusatin" Ahonen) OFF: 88 DEF: 90 SG: 95 OVR: 89,2 Age: 27,2 13. Violet Volcano (Soupy Salez) OFF: 88 DEF: 89 SG: 96 OVR: 89,1 Age: 28,9 14. Cuba City Tomahawks (BEN \) OFF: 87 DEF: 90 SG: 91 OVR: 88,6 Age: 30,3 15. Hawkeye Indians (Wills Sk) OFF: 87 DEF: 90 SG: 91 OVR: 88,6 Age: 27,1 16. Pinehurst Miners (Phoenix "phoenixtf" TF) OFF: 87 DEF: 89 SG: 95 OVR: 88,5 Age: 28,3 League AVG team OVR: 90,0 League AVG team age: 28,6 Calculated on day 3 of S14, using: Team OVR = (OFF + (DEF x 2) + (SG x 2))/26 where OFF = Combined overall of 12 best centers/forwards DEF = Combined overall of 6 best defenders SG = Overall of starting goalie (best overall goalie in team)

Just something that came to mind, the easiest way to probably resolve this would likely be a gradual decrease of current salary cap over a few seasons until it's at a "realistic" level in comparison to the current contracts (probably somewhere between 40-50 million). A gradual decrease would allow teams to make necessary moves and prepare in advance.

I'll keep hammering at this a little more. Superstar contracts should take at least 10% of cap space making those players a real commitment cap-wise. Currently in Biscuit GHL there are exactly 2(!) players that take over 10% of cap space. (With many star players taking much closer to 5%) A ratio of 0,125 players/team. Compare this to the NHL: In NHL there are currently 30 players that take up 10% or more of a team's cap. A ratio of 0,968 players/team. Almost eight times higher ratio than in Biscuit GHL currently. Not saying this game should try to model the NHL, but clearly a change is needed to make the cap space an actual factor in decision-making.

New season, new block. Looking to move: D Izidor Hocevar, 87 ovr. http://gameplanhockey.com/player?gpid=28805 Good point producing d-man, a great choice especially for SHL teams. Looking for a pick, either a GHL 2nd or a SHL 1st.

Would just like to bump this thread a little as I see this as a huge issue and it's not being talked about much. Many players across the board in GHL take significant pay cuts in their extensions regardless of age, skill or production. It's more of a rule than an exception. A player should never agree to a pay cut unless his production or skills are clearly declining/not worth his current contract. Currently if you get your hands on a player (in GHL), you will never have to let him go unless you want to (barring relegation/retirement), which really takes away from the managing experience. Having realistic extension demands from players would at least alleviate the problem by making cap space a real issue.

Team that gets the player is decided by a lottery among all teams that have made a claim, with teams that are lower in the standings having a higher chance of winning. http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/8729-ir-waivers/ As for the latter, here are the instructions: http://forums.gmgames.org/topic/3858-add-your-manager-signature/?hl=signature

For comparison, I have Nervous: 0 Anxious: 3 (One of them starting goalie) Stable: 4 Determined: 6 Heroic: 6 (7 if backup goalie counts) Had "strong" winner instinct at start of season, quickly dropped to "ok" with zero roster changes. For whatever reason winner instinct gradually drops throughout the season even when no changes are made. (I had no multi-day injuries on the main roster this season so playing roster stayed the same.) It's a total mystery. Also no idea if winner instinct actually has much of an effect. At least the worded thresholds don't seem to hold significance. Basically a "high ok" feels the same as a "low strong" and so on. I've also no data to back any of that up (except for the gradual drop throughout the season, which is evident).

Indeed it's way too easy to hold on to star players (or any players for that matter). Sometimes they even accept extensions for less money than what they previously got, even if their skill level has remained the same or improved, and they are still in their prime. Individual stats (and maybe team position in the standings/playoffs) should also play a role when it comes to how much a player asks for. If a player is coming off a great season he should ask for more. Significantly more if he has great stats season after season.

I'm entertaining offers on all my players under 1-way contract. Looking for players with 2-way contracts, picks and prospects. Also, won't pull the trigger on any trades just yet, but I will move players if it looks like I'll finish 13th or lower in the standings.

SHL teams can indeed already claim GHL waivers.