Paul T

A while ago someone had mentioned a high (non goalie) performance rating and I forget what it was. Today, Terho Huhtala had a performance rating of 88. That might be the highest single game performance I've ever had from a skater position. Interesting story around Huhtala. I acquired him in an early season 2 trade that sent an all star goalie out West in exchange for Huhtala, Amick and a GHL 1st. The jury is still out on whether it was a bad trade or not as I still feel like the goalie doesn't perform up to his rating, but on paper I probably shouldn't have made it. I was hesitant to acquire him given his low Defense and Spirit, but he quickly became one of my top scorers in season 2 and always seemed to score in big moments (I guess that Heroic trait means something afterall). Going into season 3 free agency, one of the games best forwards, Joesph Rackley, became available via relegation. I decided to make a play for him, but needed to clear some cap first. Huhtala became the odd man out and the only option was waivers. I knew it was a giant risk as it left me with a smidge over 10 million to bid. But... I tried to be sneaky about it, thinking that I could put Huhtala on waivers for an hour or so and recall him if I didn't sign Rackley (I actually made a suggestion quite some time ago that players should stay on waivers for at least 2 days before being able to call them back so don't judge me ). But being on the East Coast, USA makes that plan difficult as free agents happen sometime between 2-4am. Well around 1am I threw on on waivers and within 10 minutes someone claimed him. To add insult to injury, my 10.1M bid was not enough to get Rackley as someone else ended up bidding 12+M (thanks Peekaboo... jerk). So my high risk, high reward plan backfired greatly. My offense really struggled last season and that was a big reason as I never managed to replace him. I think the team that put the waiver bid reached out the following day and asked why I had put him on waivers and I explained my reasoning. I'm pretty sure the other manager either offered to remove the claim or offer some type of trade for him, but I refused stating that I knew it was risky and that I should live with it and let it play out. Think he ended up with 7-8 bids and eventually went to another Eastern team. That team ended up relegating last season and I jumped on the chance to get him back... and it's a good thing because over the first 8 games he leads my team in points (7+4) with a +5 and 80 performance. We are currently 5-0-2-1, but would probably be 1-0-2-5 without him. Good times.

Stang still plays for Cedar. He's one of those guys you love having on your team. Not having to worry about your bottom 6 is a great thing. Just put them out there with confidence. He has 16 career GHL goals, but came up with 2 huge goals in that season 2 first round playoff series. +3 playoffs overall. On the flip side, my best player, De-Nobile has 95 career GHL goals, but only 1 in 12 playoffs games... with a -7. Also... take a look at some of the players that consistently score on me... maybe I should rage!!! https://gameplanhockey.com/game?gpid=23791-A

Good memory. Stang had a career series against me in the season 2 playoffs. Slight misperception, though, as I don't rage. At least not a serious rage as I tend to enjoy when non-standard events occur. I do remember pointing it out and giving my team the hairdryer treatment because of it. But at this point I've come to realize that a CHL team would take us out in the playoffs (specifically 3 games to 1). Fairly certain the game coding goes something like =IF(AND(Manager="Paul T",Game="Round 1 of Playoffs"),Lose series 3-1,jump to rest of code)

I like where this is going.

This is what I like to see. Arrogant Lazy Agitator takes a cheap shot and our guy immediately drops the gloves. And if we lose the fight, we take a cheap shot of our own a minute later. In addition to Fair Play tactic, I kinda wish Scrum logic was an option. A) Always play smart B.) Retaliate when necessary C) Get revenge at all costs

That is a frustrating situation for sure. But I will say that there is ALWAYS a reason to continue! Use those little unfair glitch scenarios as motivation. Take it from a guy who's had this same thing happen to him...... as well as having my draft shortlist glitch during a draft that I spent nearly 15 hours preparing for and ranking 100+ players, only to have the game draft the player I had at #110-ish at the #30 overall spot...... as well as having players consistently reject FA offers to sign with other teams for over a million less...... the list goes on.

follow him this season. Season 2 he was reliable. Very rarely any great games, but no horrible games either. Last season he would get 2 shutouts followed up by 3 games of getting pulled. But it's going to be the same thing again this season, I'll have to out shoot opponents by 10+ in order to win. It's just how we roll.

On cue... And that amazing performance gets him...

Good stuff... thanks, Wendel! I am surprised my goalie doesn't bump my ranking down more. He's only better than teams 11-14, but worst out of the Top 10 teams in the East. Let's see how that plays out again. Also hope everything is good with Erzac.

Always

Less than 2 weeks later...

Chene seems like a great player to me. I don't think he'll ever be a top offensive player in the league, but a great defensive asset, which can be just as valuable. He'll rack up the points if paired with the right players. Offensively seems best suited as a Two Way role or Power Forward. Would probably be perfect for a Crash the Net system... and a really good fit for Possession or Dump and Chase. Might lack a bit with Transition Rushes. Definitely a Top 6 forward, especially on a Two Way line. In my opinion, his best value is on the PK where he can play C or F, which is one of the first things I look for when building a team.

I think there's some truth to that last statement This is a trash talk thread after all.

OK, so there's a few interesting storylines heading into Season 4, but I think the one I am interested in the most is Cedar Rapids. It is fairly well documented that this team always overachieves, but after trading away their stud goalie, Lang, they go into the current season with only a single player rated in the 90s. That player being Vendelin Jaros... a 163 lb. friendly yet nervous winger from the Czech Republic. Overall rating in itself doesn't mean everything, but it does give a clear indication of how well rounded players are. This team could easily finish 1st or 10th. Only time will tell.

I should show you the offer I got yesterday. It was worse than that. But would never make a human trade public. Granted it was a counter to an offer of mine, so maybe they just hated mine so bad it was more of an F off response (even though mine was somewhat fair), but still. Makes that Computer trade look like a steal.

It's unfortunate, for sure. I think the trade value meter needs to be revamped. Players and picks should have trade value per league on a 1-10 scale and the overall value should change the more players that are offered. For example, two players rated 5 do not equal a 10. More like 5+5 = 7, however you would code something like that. The sad thing is, I think that team actually did have some offers in on FAs (I noticed some), but they were probably low so they were just outbid. The team will be terrible, but if someone is looking for an actual challenge, they can take it over and go nuts. Personally I feel like rescuing a team like takes more skill than going from LIHL to GHL. But manager reputation won't see it that way.

OMG lol. How did you resist that offer, Peek? To play Devil's Advocate... the programming seems spot on as that is exactly the type of offer I would expect to receive from another human manager.

Well... I am going to miss the old horned skull head spewing fire logo, which gave off an eery satantic vibe that struck fear into the rest of the league, but the new team name and logo is sharp and fresh. Nice work.

Wow - that Finals series was intense! All 1 goal games with the last two being decided in OT. It could have gone either way. In the end, the Hawks pulled it off. Congrats, Bouncer! Anyone who previously played in Biscuit is familiar with seeing his name on the championship banner. Another great season, Peek. I look forward to trying to take you down next season.

Exactly. This is why we need the ability to export stats and/or view a larger range like Top 200 instead of Top 20.

I think this is just it. It's extremely difficult to analyze any one thing in a vacuum. Goalies for example... first, you would need to analyze the Top AND Bottom goalies in the league. If most of the top performers are Stable and Anxious, that would imply that the Big Games trait doesn't matter... unless you take a deeper look and realize the bottom ten are all nervous... and that most above average goalies that are Heroic have really bad defenses in front of them. But who knows. You'd really have to take it all into consideration (team they play for, defense in front of them, specific attributes, are they only playing bottom tier teams, traits, etc.) and that seems like more time consuming than it's worth. I wish there was a way to export all these stats/attributes/traits to make researching easier.

Shortly after I wrote the initial post I did some research between teams who had Heroic WI and teams that had bad or just OK WI.... and.... I couldn't find anything that would solve the mystery. Over the last week I acquired 3 players. There was nothing special trait-wise about these players, but it has increased my WI to Heroic and subsequently knocked my Teamwork down a few rungs, although still Harmony. So.... I still have no idea. What I do know is that the two teams facing off in the S3 GHL Finals do not have Heroic WI. One is just OK and the other is Strong, but seems to border more on OK than Heroic. I'm sure WI has an impact, but it seems like having talented players has the most impact on winning and losing.

A great Finals matchup for sure! Defending champs and beasts of the East, the Dragons against the West Chicago Hawks (formerly West Chicago Protons, and multiple time champions, of Biscuit). I can see dynasties starting for both of these teams.

We need more off-topic posts around here. I am pretty boring when it comes to booze, tbh. My tastes are similar to what you listed above. My typical go-to is American whiskey/bourbon or beer. I've been getting away from beer recently as I tend to like the darker, hoppy beers, but recently drinking one of those feels like I just ate a 32 oz. prime rib on top of a pound of pasta. My biggest decision is usually whether to drink the bourbon with coke, ginger ale or straight. If I want to mix things up I'll have a vodka and sprite - or vodka and red bull. If made right, an Old Fashioned is really good. I just never have all the ingredients and don't like spending more than 15 seconds preparing my drink. If no one is looking, I'll add a splash of cranberry and wedge of lime to my vodka-sprite. And maybe once a month I'll have a glass of red wine with a meal (but not something I would drink without food and I don't think this is what you're going for). Tequila and rum are also good, but haven't had either of them in years. Amaretto, Sambuca and Drambuie are really good, but after a few shots you get sick of em. The only things I absolutely would not drink are gin and white wine... or something fruity with umbrellas in it, unless I'm on a tropical island somewhere, in which case it would be the first thing I ordered.

Everything seems back to normal now. I started noticing the issue with the Messages page around January 10th and the problem persisted until yesterday January 15th.