MattBerserkers

I think it would be a fun idea to have a standings graph of teams on the league page. I've always found it neat to look at teams where they rank relative to each other after each game. Here is an example of what I mean:

I don't see how he is speaking for Anders, he is just stating the facts previously given to us. And I think you read his tone wrong as I don't think he's insulting you, just pointing out how to deal with injuries and mentioning that sometimes, it's down to luck.
 
As for your original suggestions, I think CPU trading is a lot better. You now have to give something of value that the CPU wants in order to get anything of value back. For server speed, that takes time and I'm pretty sure Anders tries to keep it as fast as possible, but every update with new content is going to inevitable slow the game down a tad. Also, our last update has noticeably gotten the game to run faster.
 
I do agree with your mention of player degradation. Right now it needs to be fixed, but before this last update, there were too many prospects developing too quickly and people were calling for the oldest players to degrade a little bit faster as they remained in their prime too long. It looks like a delicate balance that will probably take multiple updates to get right.
 
Finally, I don't think it's fair that you are comparing our time to Anders time spent on this game like they are equal. They are not. We only have to spend a few minutes a day to enjoy this game, Anders has to spend hours writing and fixing code. Sure it's something he does for fun, but too many of our own immediate demands can burn him out and make this feel like a job. I'm probably speaking for him there and he can correct me if I am wrong, but it's something I've seen happen before. So just have a bit patience while we wait for a fix.
 
 
 
 
Exxeo, did that 19-year old play in juniors? If he did, he looks like he was barely progressing before this last update, I actually think that his max potential might be around 83ish overall.

As per Keskustankeisari's request, here are Game World Fishbowl's GHL Power Rankings for season 9.
 
I calculated the averages the exact same way that Erzac did in his post, so if you want the calculation rules, visit this thread: GHL s10 power rankings.
 
This is based on the lineups after the first preseason game, or early day 5.
 
A Couple of Notes:
Pinewood doesn't have 12 forwards, I assume they sign an 84 rated center/forward. I may have missed someones forum name, if I have, post below and I'll add it. All predictions are unbiased, no prediction I made or calculation is meant to favour any team, including mine. Simply my opinion. Any star (*) indicates a tie in position in terms of overall. The team rated higher in the power rankings had a stronger finish last season. Alright then, the teams are listed best to worst in terms of overall:
 
1. Larson Knights (GM: Kelvin)
      OFF: 89 DEF: 92 SG: 91 OVR: 89.8
Previous Finish: 1st, Eliminated first round 
 
2. Cedar Rapids Panthers (GM: Mauri Nieminen)
      OFF: 88 DEF: 87 SG: 88 OVR: 87.9
Previous Finish: 8th, Eliminated semi finals 
 
3. Horn Lake Hooligans (GM: Mike Grubb - Mickg34)
      OFF: 87 DEF: 88 SG: 96 OVR: 87.7
Previous Finish: 3rd, Eliminated semi finals 
 
4. *Hawkeye Revolution (GM: Marcel Proust - Haradrim)
      OFF: 87 DEF: 88 SG: 90 OVR: 87.5
Previous Finish: 4th, Lost Golden Cup finals 
 
5. *Cuba City Eagles (GM: Mare Maro)
      OFF: 87 DEF: 89 SG: 87 OVR: 87.5
Previous Finish: 2nd, Eliminated first round 
 
6. Jolly Rattlers (GM: Jaryn Barnes - JBizzle)
      OFF: 86 DEF: 86 SG: 90 OVR: 86.4
Previous Finish: 7th, Golden Cup Winner
 
7. Sellwood Spirits (GM: Misco Grossi)
      OFF: 86 DEF: 87 SG: 89 OVR: 86.1
Previous Finish: 13th, Survived relegation playoff 
 
8. Montmorency Vortex (GM: Peter T. - IneffableLeafs)
      OFF: 86 DEF: 86 SG: 90 OVR: 85.9
Previous Finish: 1st, SHL
 
9. Wynyard Wildfire (GM: Matthew Berntsen)
      OFF: 85 DEF: 87 SG: 86 OVR: 85.7
Previous Finish: 12th
 
10. Canuck Mighty Rhinos (Computer)
      OFF: 86 DEF: 85 SG: 84 OVR: 85.6
Previous Finish: 9th
 
11. Pinewood Lumberjacks (GM: Matthew Henke - MattLumberjacks)
      OFF: 85 DEF: 85 SG: 89 OVR: 85.4
Previous Finish: 2nd, SHL
 
12. *Wildwood Violent Rush (GM: Juho Kainulainen - Keskustankeisari )
      OFF: 84 DEF: 86 SG: 90 OVR: 85.3
Previous Finish: 5th, Eliminated first round 
 
13. *Blenheim Pirates (GM: Martin J.)
      OFF: 85 DEF: 86 SG: 90 OVR: 85.3
Previous Finish: 6th, Eliminated first round 
 
14. Urbancrest Comets (GM: Noah High - Noah)
      OFF: 85 DEF: 85 SG: 87 OVR: 85.1
Previous Finish: 10th
 
15. Wolfe Wolves (GM: Marcel Cloutier)
      OFF: 85 DEF: 84 SG: 90 OVR: 84.9
Previous Finish: 11th
 
16. Merrick Thunder (GM: Matt Jaworski)
      OFF: 84 DEF: 85 SG: 86 OVR: 84.3
Previous Finish: 3rd, SHL, promoted via promotion playoff 
 
So there you go fishbowl GHL, use this information as you'd like.
 
8 Predictions for Season 9 in the GHL
 
1. Canuck Mighty Rhinos relegated - The only computer controlled team in the league, is likely to suffer the same fate as the computer teams in season 8, Red River Dragons and the South Township Spartans. Owning by far the worst starting goalie in the GHL, at only 84, they should have a dismal season as human managers pick off their stars.
 
2. It's the same old contenders - The talent gap after the Cuba City Eagles is immense. The contenders: Larson, Cedar Rapids, Horn Lake, Cuba City, and possible Jolly, should all clinch playoff spots due to the talent difference. Expect Larson to bounce back after winning three league titles in a row and being beat by Cedar Rapids, who will likely finish higher than 8th this season.
 
3. Tight battle for 7th and 8th - After playoff runs, Wildwood and Blenheim both regressed, due to old age, and expiring contracts. However, they will both be expected to finish 7th and 8th due to their experience. However, the emergence of the Sellwood Spirits should not be ignored, and the Montmorency Vortex and Wynyard Wildfire both look to make the playoffs as well, possibly the first for both managers in Fishbowl.
 
4. Emergence of new talents - At season 9, the stars that fist emerged in season 1, such as Ivar Lund, Eser Heinze, Dominik Svidran, and Nilo Strinberg, all are on the verge of declining, making room for new stars to step up to the plate, starting with season 4 and 5 draftees: Jeffrey Richardson, Joen Jacobsen, and Bo Welker.
 
5. Emergence of new playoff teams - After teams such as Hawkeye, Wildwood, and Canuck, who came out of lower leagues and established themselves in the GHL, with managers Matthew Henke, Matt Jaworski, and  Peter T. building formidable teams directly after promotion, and Sellwood also having a great offseason, expect new playoff teams. This will be the first taste of human competition to stay in the league for some established teams, and don't be surprised if a formidable team goes down instead of the recently promoted. Also, the Jolly Rattlers' offense is ageing, and will start to regress, and along with a poor defensive corps for a playoff team, even a 90 rated goalie may not save them from a mid table finish this season.
 
6. A decent draft - Analysis of major junior teams throughout the world shows that this draft will be pretty strong, and should have an above average top 10, with okay depth. Early in the season, no game-breakers have emerged yet, but in the USA, goaltender Chris McCready is surprising many scouts with his superb ability, notably his athleticism. He looks like a GHL star for sure.
 
7. Expect Batchawana back - The prime favourite for the SHL title, Batchawana should solidify the GHL as a completely human division next season, assuming Canuck is relegated, and their reputation as a 'battlin' team should pull them a long way, especially in hopes of landing them Chris McCready in the upcoming draft.
 
8. Team spirit will be important - Looking at the league, other than contenders, the rest of the standings will be anyone's guess. Many are expecting that winner instinct, teamwork, and most importantly confidence will greatly influence the table this season, with such even teams.
 
Hope you guys found this useful or interesting 

Ok that is not that helpful because S15 is missing in the picture you provided. I then assume that he started as a 78 in junior, grew to an 82 when he was drafted and has digressed one overall in 2 years. Is that right?
 
Edit: One way or another I wouldn't have drafted him based upon what I am seeing of him as he looks like a rather mundane draft pick with a low skill rating, which of course is hidden, which means that he will degrade sooner anyways.
 
What I suspect is going on with many of these players losing ratings, without seeing anything beyond what you have shown Exxeo, is that the lower skill rating players are now dropping in ratings rather than slowly growing because they don't have the massive growth boost that every player had in the past.

I can't believe how much this thread has taken off.  There's so much going on so quickly.  
 
I think we've all become a bit spoiled at this point, in terms of players.  I'm still a relatively new manager, and this will be my first season in the GHL (in Clapper), but there definitely seems to be a lot of really good players, at every level.  It feels like it's too easy to build a team from free agency that can compete at whatever level you're at because there's just so many capable players.  
 
I was certainly enjoying watching my young team improve like mad for the past few years, and I felt like the player progression adjustments were going to hurt my team a bit more than others in my world because I just had so many draft picks and young starters.  But if everyone is having the same problem, and the people with superstars are seeing their 90's degrade, then I think we're all in the same boat anyway.  I wouldn't mind seeing the average overalls be something like: 
 
LIHL - 65's
IHL   - 70's
BHL  - 75's
SHL  - 80's
GHL - 85's 
 
I do feel like right now there is a massive gap between GHL and SHL in Clapper, and based on what everyone is saying, that gap gets worse in the faster worlds.  There's just too many superstars, and it's hard to build a competitive team without signing a bunch of old guys that no one really wants once you get promoted.  I feel like the current adjustments will make it more fair for teams that are promoted and demoted, and it may reign in the top teams in the GHL as well and make the competition a little more stiff.  
 
As for the CPU trading, I have definitely made my fair share of "shrewd" trades with the AI, I'll admit it.  But it's definitely gotten harder to just "abuse" the CPU, and I like the updates in that case.  I still have more success than with human players, and you won't realistically get something without giving something in either case now, which is much more fun and rewarding than salary-dumping on a CPU team to get an elite prospect.  It's more realistic, and it challenges the player more.
 
Basically, this was my long-winded way of saying that the changes may be annoying now, but it looks like the game is getting better each day, and Anders definitely had a long-term goal in mind.  Just read the road map and that fact becomes evident.  
 
So, although it's in everyone's right to vent in the forums, it's also important to have a dialogue because that ultimately helps the game, too.  It's definitely gotten harder, but at the same time we're all getting better at it.  I like how it's constantly changing and challenging the players.  
 
And as always, thanks Anders! 
 
 
 
Side note: I do kind of like the idea for a premium world, at least from an economic sense.  I just don't know how feasible it is and how many people actually donate.  

As Matt said though I am not in any way "abusing" you, insulting you or however you want to put it. I think it is good that you (or anybody) started this topic. All I did was tell you what Anders did based upon what he told us and give you advice on how to deal with the adjustments good and bad. Until he fixes the bad (or other in game issues) we are more or less stuck with dealing with the bad and I don't doubt that he will adjust or fix bad things with the game as soon as he can. Be patient and more importantly be realistic. Anders is working on this game alone as a hobby. It takes him time to code adjustments to the game. Thus telling him to fix something or else you will leave is more along the lines of throwing a fit than reporting game issues with a level head.
 
Exxeo what is the 19 year old players ambition rating? Also by the looks of it no matter his ambition rating he looks to have the lowest player skill rating. That of course is hidden now and we cannot see it. Of that rating when we could see it I got to see an 18 year old with that rating (before it was hidden) go down in skill despite being ambitious in ambition rating. That reason is why I stay away from players that don't grow much as all like the plague.

I may be a bit late to the conversation but if I were to take a wild guess, Anders' vision wasn't to have GHL teams have an average rating of 90. It's common sense. I'm looking in fishbowl, the newest game world there is (in terms of what season it's on). There is no oversaturation of 90+ rated players. Every contending team in the GHL has maybe 3-7 90 rated players, and the rest are role players, which make or break a team's playoff hopes.
 
I'm on the same page as rainsilent. All worlds have the same treatment. They all get the same updates, so theoretically if biscuit or fishbowl was as fast as lumber, they would have the same issues. But no, lumber (and mitts) saw/see everything. If slow worlds were faster, it would be possible that some players rated 85's now would be 95's in 5 seasons. If you can't handle Anders testing player development and reduction, then I suggest dropping your faster world teams. From my experience, the ONLY time fishbowl was paused, was when lumber crashed a while ago and Anders had to pause all worlds. There are never ridiculous issues with slow worlds.
 
However, Lumber is crucial to the games development because it is the fast world where Anders (and lumber users) are able to see and report bugs, so that Anders can save the slower world's from the same fate.
 
Until Anders is able to create a perfect player progression/reduction system, this will happen. Players will unexpectedly lose ratings, players will develop extremely quickly, and everything in between.
 
Fangwall, I think that if Anders is able to create the perfect player development/regression system, where there are only 3 Crosby's in a world, instead of 3 per team, which I think he wants, I'll be one of the first to call for him to delete all the worlds and make new ones. Even though I've built some solid teams, it doesn't take that long to build a stellar team. All you need is shrewd trading skills, and good tactical knowledge of hockey in general.
 
Because honestly, I'd rather play a game where player overalls aren't so ridiculous, more along the lines where you have a few 90 rated forwards, a few 90 rated defenders, maybe a 90 rated goalie, and then as overalls go down, player quantity goes up. (i.e. more players will develop into 85 overalls compared to 88 overalls)
 
All I'm saying is, no matter how much integrity this game has, I'm willing to lose all my team's to help this games development, because I know it can be better. I've been around to see a few updates, and after affiliate teams are released, I don't even know where this game will go.

I don't see how he is speaking for Anders, he is just stating the facts previously given to us. And I think you read his tone wrong as I don't think he's insulting you, just pointing out how to deal with injuries and mentioning that sometimes, it's down to luck.
 
As for your original suggestions, I think CPU trading is a lot better. You now have to give something of value that the CPU wants in order to get anything of value back. For server speed, that takes time and I'm pretty sure Anders tries to keep it as fast as possible, but every update with new content is going to inevitable slow the game down a tad. Also, our last update has noticeably gotten the game to run faster.
 
I do agree with your mention of player degradation. Right now it needs to be fixed, but before this last update, there were too many prospects developing too quickly and people were calling for the oldest players to degrade a little bit faster as they remained in their prime too long. It looks like a delicate balance that will probably take multiple updates to get right.
 
Finally, I don't think it's fair that you are comparing our time to Anders time spent on this game like they are equal. They are not. We only have to spend a few minutes a day to enjoy this game, Anders has to spend hours writing and fixing code. Sure it's something he does for fun, but too many of our own immediate demands can burn him out and make this feel like a job. I'm probably speaking for him there and he can correct me if I am wrong, but it's something I've seen happen before. So just have a bit patience while we wait for a fix.
 
 
 
 
Exxeo, did that 19-year old play in juniors? If he did, he looks like he was barely progressing before this last update, I actually think that his max potential might be around 83ish overall.

First we can't actually see your team unless we are in the same game world thus linking it like that is a waste of time. If you want us to see your team screenshot it and post the screenshot.
 
Second I don't see the same issues that you are talking about in the game world I am in thus it makes me think one of two things. 1. Bizarre isolated incident. 2. Your over exaggerating the situation and/or not being forthcoming about horrific team management that you can't get yourself out of a la old players that you are stuck with.
 
If you are in the fastest league(s) there are somethings you need to realize.
 
1. There was a massive over build up of players 90+ overall leaving the world over saturated with extremely high overall players. Anders had to counter this immediately thus he made it very hard for players to keep "topped up" skills topped up. He also had to counter the excessive over growth of younger players that was creating an over saturation of extremely high overall players thus he slowed down the development pace of players. If one or both of these factors of player development needs to be adjusted in the future they most definitely will when they need to.
 
2. The fastest leagues were breaking the sim engine and while not near as big of an issue now they still give the sim engine a good working over. Also Anders is adding more sim detail into the sim engine. Both of these combined are going to cause the sim to go slower.
 
Finally it is hardly a wasted season if it is less than 20 games in. Learn some patience. Every team is going to go through tough stretches. Yes injuries can cause teams to miss the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Lightning is the most recent shining example of such. If you don't like that too bad. Sorry to be brutal about it but it is something we all have to deal with in due time. The better managers do a better job dealing with injuries via making sure that they have good players in reserve before they actually need such players. That doesn't mean that they are immune to injuries. It just lessens the impact that injuries have.
 
Finally in terms of trading with the CPU be reasonable with your offers and I don't doubt that they will actually go through.

I've had a trade go through. Your going to dump your teams because you don't like something? And, while being direct, being direct in public is somewhat of a poor look my friend.

To combat some Monday boredom, I went ahead and calculated some average overall stats from GHL teams. Overall doesn't of course paint the full picture of a player's capabilities, and thus is only a vague approximation of what a team can do, but it's the only easily available number for comparison.
 
Team overalls here are comprised of the average of a team's best 18 skaters (12 centers/forwards, 6 defenders) and the starting goalie. OFF/DEF come from the same players, but are simply rounded up/down to the closest full number for clarity. SG is simply the assumed starting goalie (best overall). Calculations made on day 5 of S10.
 
Here are the numbers - teams are in order starting from best OVR.
 
1.  West Chicago Protons (GM: Richard Feynman - bouncer)
OFF: 89 DEF: 91 SG: 95 OVR: 89,5
 
2.  Deadwood Vandals (GM: Kim Vandaele - koekefix)
OFF: 87 DEF: 89 SG: 96 OVR: 88,4
 
3.  Harrisonville Sabercats (GM: Hurja Herra)
OFF: 88 DEF: 89 SG: 88 OVR: 87,6
 
4.  Rome Trojans (GM: Yann Rock)
OFF: 87 DEF: 88 SG: 91 OVR: 87,5
 
5.  Cedar Rapids Minutemen (GM: Richard Armour)
OFF: 86 DEF: 88 SG: 93 OVR: 87,1
 
6.  Eldred Elite (GM: Steven Bennett)
OFF: 86 DEF: 89 SG: 93 OVR: 87,0
 
7.  Canmore Grizzlies (GM: Matt Muffett - themattinthehat)
OFF: 86 DEF: 87 SG: 91 OVR: 86,9
 
8.  Moapa Valley Gothic Knights (GM: David Chaw - FTW)
OFF: 87 DEF: 87 SG: 90 OVR: 86,9
 
9.  Richford Rebels (GM: Jusu Manager)
OFF: 86 DEF: 89 SG: 89 OVR: 86,9
 
10. St.Thomas Stray Cats (GM: Erzac Ray - Erzac)
OFF: 87 DEF: 87 SG: 90 OVR: 86,8
 
11. Portland Oilers (GM: Xavier Zhou - xZhou)
OFF: 86 DEF: 88 SG: 91 OVR: 86,6
 
12. York Wolf Pack (GM: Jiri Heikkala)
OFF: 85 DEF: 87 SG: 93 OVR: 86,2
 
13. Violet Volcano (GM: Soupy Salez)
OFF: 85 DEF: 88 SG: 92 OVR: 86,1
 
14. Thetford Mines Pegasus (GM: Anthony Grauwels - Pingu)
OFF: 85 DEF: 86 SG: 89 OVR: 85,5
 
15. Oshawa Dynasty Heroes (GM: Kris Zenatik - Euph)
OFF: 85 DEF: 85 SG: 86 OVR: 84,7
 
16. Collegeville Rhinos (BOT)
OFF: 85 DEF: 82 SG: 90 OVR: 84,4

Hi guys!
I'm the manager of the TIMAGAMI TOMAHAWKS. 
I took over the team during season 8 in LIHL and kinda forgot about it for most of the season. I just checked back on it a few days ago and realized this seemed like a pretty fun game. So I guess I'll keep on playing!
I've just been promoted to IHL, so we'll see if I can secure the spot on that level.
 
I've managed teams in Websim Hockey for almost 10 years but GPHM seems much more complex. I live in Montreal, Canada.
 
See you around!

The problem has persisted for more than two seasons. It feels like the NHL is turning into the Allsvenskan.
 
Anders, are you having any success finding the source of the problem?

Usually, he would show up right away, but if you are in the last days of the season it might be different.
If that player is a prospect (younger than 21) the contract will start the next season if the player has a contract with a non-player league.

What to make of the first quarter of the season
 
The season is now a quarter of the way through. Management and fans alike can now look into their crystal ball to try and predict how the season will unfold now that every team has played each other once. Here at On The Ropes we think crystal balls are dumb. Hockey is random and hard to predict, but since upstairs is raining shit on us to boost numbers in readers and subscriber we’re going to give it the old college try with some hot takes. 
 
HOT TAKE #1 - NOTTINGHAM PANTHERS COULD PROMOTE BACK TO BACK
 
After being promoted up from the BHL after finishing second last season the Panthers are again steering their titanic vessel towards the iceberg that is promotion. The Panthers are currently holding down first place in the league after going 8-0-0-2 in their last 10 games. Ranking 2nd in both goals for and least goals against Nottingham has put together a roster that isn’t waiting to be able to compete in the SHL. 
 
In speaking with general manager Peter T before the season, he told us that developing his core was their main focus after being promoted. Now he could have just been modest in his response or maybe he couldn’t have expected the team to play this well after promoting. The Panthers boast a deep lineup, their top three scorers spanning across three separate lines and they currently have the top offensive defenseman in the league in Erkan Finkelstein. This spread of talent has created a lineup that is a hard matchup for opposing teams and while they only have one other top 20 scorer outside of Finkelstein, they still have the second highest goal total. 
 
Nottingham is currently icing a lineup where a commitment to the defensive side of the puck is the driving force behind their offense. With a team that is built to it’s system, this roster can presumably withstand some mid season injury woes that are bound to occur and still position themselves in the top 2 where the players can watch the playoffs from a beach in Mexico while they await their promotion cheques to clear.
 
 
HOT TAKE #2 - FROM 2 TO 10 IT’S A BARE KNUCKLE BRAWL WITH RINGS LEFT ON
 
Only 11 points separate the Rocky Mountain House Timberwolves in second place from the Minnedosa Nighthawks in 10th. That’s a difference of four wins give or take from top to bottom, meaning that over the next quarter there is going to be a lot of movement in the standings. To further demonstrate how close the standings are together, from Stoney Brooke in 3rd place to Bakersfield in 7th, there is only a single win separation. The playoff picture is a dog fight, but with so many teams still in heavy contention, having a rough quarter leading into game 31 can end all playoff hopes. 
 
If we use goal differential as a tool to find separation within the pack we can see a clear top four and a remaining bottom six that will be take the fight onto the street for the final playoff spot as the 6th seed.
 
(2) Hockey Mountain House +16
(3) Stoney Brook +17
(4) Newcastle +14
(5) Timagami +7
(6) Mayfair +6
(7) Bakersfield +15
(8) Portland +7
(9) Tionaga +2
(10) Minnedosa -7
 
 
The top three appear to hold placings true to what you would expect. Bakersville find themselves in 7th place, although only 1 point from being tied for fourth. 
 
A few indicators have emerge from this. With the season being so early on many teams in this group are merely over or under performing. Timagami and Mayfair are right on group average for goals against but find themselves with the lowest goals for total of the top seven teams in the league by a margin of about ten. Unless their offense can increase their production they are going to see themselves fall below Bakersfield over the next quarter. 
 
Our Newcastle Fighters find themselves fourth in our elite four bracket of goal differential. This is clearly due their 2nd worst goals against total in the league. If they were in the group average of goals against their differential would be up to +21. On the other spectrum, if their league leading offense starts to slow it’s pace and the teams defense doesn’t correct itself, they will find themselves in a free fall down the standings. 
 
Lastly, Minnedosa and possible Tionaga can be categorized as the pretenders of the group. Minnedosa is both well below group average in goals for and is bottom five in the league for goals against. Tionaga on the other hand fall below group average in goals against, actually conceding the second lowest amount of goals in the league, but their offense is going to have to find a way to pick up some slack. Tionaga averages 28 shots against and their starting goalie is posting a respectable .902 save percentage, but any dip in his play and the team just doesn’t have the goal support to overcome nights where their starter falters. 
 
HOT TAKE #3 ANY MORE SLIP UPS AND SCHOZEN WILL SLAM THE HAMMER DOWN. 
 
After the now infamous Leaning Ladies Scandal after the Fighters round 7 game against Nottingham, the Fighters have been walking the straight and narrow. Partly due to a curfew that Coach ncik implemented while playing games at home and the team is yet to stay in a hotel on the road since the incident. Instead opting to ride the bus through the night to the next location. General Manager Schozen has not been as hands on to prevent further mishaps as the teams coach has been. 
 
“One more fuck up and I swear to god I’ll send them to Hawkeye.” Schozen told us in a recent sit down. Naming Hawkeye as they are last place with the best relegation odds. “If you have a one way contract I’ll buy you out and make sure no team outside of the French Hockey league will touch you. Players don’t like me smoking on the bus? You wont see a shift until you’ve finished your pack from intermission.”
 
Since the return of Mirius Hirt and Isaac Crimmons, the front men for the Leaning Ladies night out Finchman and McEvoy have found themselves back in the scratch squad. 
 
“He won’t even let us go near the spread of food in the press box. The old man was in the lockup as well that night, I can’t believe he is going to talk down to us.” That was Finchman after his first game since being taken out of the lineup. He’s since found himself on the trade block and hasn’t been allowed to speak to the media. 
 
McEvoy on the other hand may have saved his spot on the fighters. His strong play while being in the lineup as an injury replacement really gave him a chance to showcase his value. Still in good age at 22, his demeanor since the incident demonstrates he probably won’t make the same mistake twice. 
 
“I don’t want to be on Mr. Schozen’s bad side. He’s had a beer with everyone that’s everyone in hockey at least once. The people he knows… It can derail you’re career. I’m just going to play hard when called upon and keep my head down for the most part.”
 
That was McEvoy after yesterdays win. He was in the lineup an extra game after Fincham was scratched. Did he receive the same cold treatment as Finchman when he got to the press box?
 
“Mr. Schozen threw a sandwich down in my lap after grilling Finchy. There was only butter on it, no meat or condiments, but I think it was a good gesture. I think that was his way of saying ‘kid you messed up, just don’t do it again’”
 
Good observation, because if that ‘again’ ever comes… After my sit down with Wick Schozen, I left there with the feeling that if I ever report something he doesn’t like, he’ll find a way to have me doing write ups in France until my fingers or lungs give out.

 

Winning streak snapped, a fight with a strip club bouncer and someone get the man a cigarette

Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches. After allowing a short handed goal on the opening power play and then surrendering three unanswered goals to the Nottingham Panthers, the last of which became the game winner in a 5-4 loss, the real disappointment for Newcastle seemed to be in the events after the game. Coach ncik decided he wanted the players to get a good night's rest before tomorrow's game, so the team chose to book a hotel in town. Some of Newcastle's young core chose to use this opportunity to take in Nottingham's nightlife before the bus went wheels up to head towards Timagami the following morning. A night intended to be an escape from hockey clearly went off script. When the beat writers here at On The Ropes came into the office this morning there were reports waiting at our desks about how the young core in reference found themselves bunking up for the night in Nottingham’s County Lockup. 
 
The group was lead out on the town by defensemen Elvin Finchman and Andre Mcevoy, 23 and 22 years old respectively. Both players, whom frequent the scratch box in the stands, have found a regular shift in the lilineuphile injuries to two top 4 defensemen have sidelined Isaac Crimmins and Marius Hirt. But the trouble for the gang last night (and worrisome for fans) arose in the tag along crew of 19 year olds Ricky Sundvall and Belel Langlet and team baby, last season's first round draft pick, Hektor Langstrom, 18.
 
Allegedly Finchman got into a scuffle with a bouncer at the Leaning Ladies establishment because he wouldn’t allow the underaged players to enter the club. When the Nottingham Sheriff's department showed up, just like their on ice counterparts showed these Newcastle players earlier in the night, this was not a good night to be a member of the Newcastle Fighters.
 
"I told them that I’m doing them a favor,” Sherif Pinkee told OTR "a loss to Timagami tomorrow night and they’ll have far worse headlines in the papers than what they’re going to be reading on the bus tomorrow. I can’t imagine management is going to come down on them too hard since there is already a member of management in the slammer for the night.” 
 
That was not a figure of speech by the Sheriff, the jail bound Fighters found GM Wick Schozen already making accommodations in the Nottingham county jail when they arrived. Schozen was seen leaving the game half way through the third. No one can blame him for that, fans could have witnessed a more inspired performance from a bum claiming he needs money to feed his children while standing outside a liquor store than what was displayed on the ice. Schozen found himself in a similar situation, albeit with a different disagreement of a Nottingham establishments policies.
 
“Look all I wanted to do was go to the bar, have a drink and a smoke before we blaze the night train to Tamagami.” Schozen left the arena before the announcement was made that the team would be staying in town “Look players don’t smoke on the bus like they did back in the '80s, heck even the '90s. If there’s snow on the ground that means it’s hockey season and if it’s hockey season that means I’m under a lot of stress and riding the buses a lot. I don’t want to be shivering to smoke a god damn cigarette. All I wanted to do was try what the local watering hole had on tap and smoke a cigarette.”
 
Schozen found himself taken in when he refused to oblige the bars no smoking policy and wouldn’t leave the premises until he finished the beer he had purchased. 
 
“I just think as a society we’ve lost touch with our values.”
 
 
 
With last nights events making headlines for all the wrong reasons it’s hard to pay attention to the fact that the Fighters put together a string of three strong victories to get their season rolling in the right direction.
 
After their win against Missanabie, the Fighters managed to sneak by Parkville with a 4-3 win with a tally by star center Rushan Shuldeshov at the 9 minute mark of the third period to hold on for the victory. Returning home the next night they handed a statement 6-1 victory to the Hawkeye Animals. The win appeared to be a sign that things were starting to come together for the Fighters. One game and a night that never got further than the sidewalk has really shaken the grounds of that optimism.
 
 
Newcastle plays Tamagami tonight looking for a strong response to their performance both on and off the ice. I don’t believe it’s a stretch to assume that they won’t be booking any hotel rooms after the game.

A trade broke on the morning of day 12 which saw the Fighters solidify the depth of their bottom six, but leaves questions about the teams commitment to their youth movement. Newcastle shipped out promising winger Sergey Chadov, 22, along with a pair of black aces in Declan Buzzell and Paddy Cranston. In return Newcastle received the services of a pair of 36 year old forwards Zack Page and Charles E.L Deziel from the Coquitlam Sea Hawks. 
 
GM Wick Schozen would not go on the record as he was seen leaving the Ringside Lounge. The bartender, who returned in the morning to see Schozen still there, relayed to us that Schozen, in his words, spent the night making sure the deal remained consistently hydrated so to blossom into a transaction. 
 
Chadov is coming off a season where he put up 7 points in a limited 9 game showing after the front office change of the Fighters, leaving many to expect he could build off of that for a strong year this season. Coach ncik had spoken briefly about Chadov after the Fighters morning skate. 
 
“I’m happy with the return we received. Our issues on the defensive side of the puck couldn’t be fixed with a patient approach in a timely manner.” ncik explained. "Seeing Chadov go is not ideal, we thought he could really make an impact this season, but we are looking at the big picture. We aren’t trying to develop a losing culture here with this team and you have to give to receive.  I’m happy with the two players we are receiving, I like what they will bring to our team both in the room and on the ice.”
 
This is the first midseason trade Wick Schozen has been able to complete for the Fighters since being named the teams general manager. Fans at the end of last season will recall the report of Schozen standing outside Mountain Lakes Cougars arena in the rain Raniero Grossi to take star center Rushan Shuldeshov with him to the GHL. Schozen would not shed any light on the events of that night but did get a statement across about this mornings transaction
 
“I'm excited to see what two guys with children can do on a team full of kids."
 
 
This all took place after the Fighters were able to capture their first regular season win over the season in a 5-2 victory over the Missanabie Wasps last night. It was the first game this season we got a chance to see how well the Fighters can perform. Newcastle outshot their opponent 29-22, but it was their offensive possession that really set the tone.
 
“It's nice to finally get a win in regulation.” Captain Rafet Bugri said after the game. “This was our first game we really bought in as a team and stuck to the script, the boys earned their beers tonight.” 
 
Yassine Hutton opened the scoring two minutes into the first to further his league leading goals total. He later assisted an insurance goal by defenseman Marius Hirt to move back into sharing the league lead in points with Nottingham Panthers defenseman Erkan Finkelstein.
 
 
None of the players were aware that this morning's deal had started being worked out by Schozen after the team fell to the Portland Tigers 7-2 the night before. The game exposed the team's glaring lack of defensive support through their forwards it was clear a change had to be made before the season stumbled out of control. The newcomers Deziel and Page will be in the lineup tonight against the Parkville Kinsmen who are still trying to achieve their first win of the season.

(Originally posted April 9th)

Maybe what we could do is create a promotional salary cap box as well. That way as the season progresses you can see if you're planning on promoting what the next season may look like for you

It would be nice to get a quick message or pm sent to my inbox when either I or my trading partner submits a new offer just so that I can remember what has already been offered and what hasn't been offered. Sure I could just write it down, but I'm lazy and I know others are as well.

Another center with a 20 game injury? Really?!? Argh

There should be measures in place to avoid any such cap problems in the first place. "Punishment" shouldn't even be needed.

Okay, so my idea is not quite as exaggerated as my title suggests, but it is still a suggestion to reduce the number of active players in the game.
 
 
My idea is simply that players above a certain age (25?) who remain unsigned after a full season have a chance that they decide that it is time to hang up their skates and retire from hockey. And the chance that they decide to retire early goes up with the number of consecutive seasons without being on a team. This chance would be added to however you have it set up with age now.
 
Because I've been doing a lot of math today, here's a formula for how I am imagining it would work :
 
if Age >= 25 and #SeasonsNoTeam > 0
(%Chance)=((#SeasonsNoTeam)^2 * 2.5%)
 
I think the 2.5% is fair because a player would still have the determination to succeed after only missing a single season and therefore a low chance of deciding to retire early, however, a player missing 6 seasons would be pretty sure that his career is over (having a 90% to retire with the equation) and a player who missed 7 seasons in a row would definitely decide to retire early. Also, remember that they should be added to whatever formulas you already have involving so an older player missing a few seasons would also be pretty much guaranteed to retire a bit earlier.
 
This idea stems from the fact that at the end of the season in Lumber there are currently 4883 free agents and a good portion of them are unlikely to ever get a contract offer. For a slower world, there are currently 2908 free agents in Fishbowl. I think it would also help with the oversaturation of players that we see in a lot of leagues as there will be fewer players available. It might also help keep the game running faster if the unused players are putting any strain on the server.
 
So what do you guys think?

I call that: "playing yourself out of a job", when a player becomes unsignable. 
 
Probably the fault of their agent though, telling them they're GHL ready, when no GHL team will hire them. 
 
Would be funny to add a groveling feature: where 10 games into the season, you get a message from one of these guys that you have shortlisted, and the message essentially says: "Sorry to bother you, but if you have any space left on your team, I might be willing to take a pay cut. No more agent fees to pay, since I've fired him!" 

Yes, but not everyone wants to break out the hand calculator and do the math. I mean if this will save 30s per player when a person is checking out a bunch of different possibilities, why not have it? Plus it's not uncommon for people to guess the promotion salary and then massively underestimate the reality. 

Yes that is exactly the case. The last development update was a little too much and has been tuned down in the upcoming release. I was aiming for making something like the top 5 prospects ready for GHL level at the age of 18. Not top 50. :/
 
Can't do much about the current prospects I'm afraid.