How's Your GM Mode Going?

[ML]

Just blew a 3-0 lead in the 3rd period against Columbus as the Rangers to lose 4-3 in the 2nd game of the season .

Sidenote: When do you guys start your backup goalie? I think the assistant coach puts him in way too often, not sure though.

[DetroitStyle]

Quote: Originally Posted by Splitter77

how are the stats? does everyone play 82 games? can players get 100points? goalies save % above .920

Take a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbl_4-LUIm0

They're within the realm of reality but goals are a little high but spread out evenly, which is a bad thing. You don't see a lot of individual high goal scorers but it's more spread out.

About 11 goalies gave up more than 160 goals which hasn't happened IRL in about 10 years.

[BigMacAttack22]

This was a great thread last year. Thanks for making it again.

My GM mode is going well so far. Started one with the Jets. When I was younger, I'd always make a star prospect (not me) and try to build around him. I haven't done that in a few years, so I'm trying it out again until the rosters are fully up to date.

I'm pleased with the morale system. It mostly makes sense and, for a first year effort, it works reasonably well. The player talks aren't super difficult, but you do need to be aware of the player's mood and role in the locker room, which is a nice touch.

Has anyone figured out what to do with players who are "Disengaged?" I made a good number of roster moves and now Bryan Little and Mark Scheifele have that designation. Their overalls dipped a lot, but have been coming up slowly as we've had success opening the season.

[Vmascarello]

Ive seen its just a gradual process to get the players morale better. Such as obviously winning games, favorable team meetings for that player and favorable personnel decisions for that player eventually will affect their negative status. Or, you could just ship him out but if its Little or Scheifele, prob dont want to do that.

I just shipped Chris Kelly over being disengaged for a 6th. Some guys arent worth the effort.

[Dmeadows013]

Started one today with the Canes. Didn't make any changes to the roster except creating Hanifin and Eichel (both low 70s and medium franchise potential) and putting them on their respective teams. Now 3 seasons in, just won the cup (Cap off/All Star difficulty).

First season:
Immediately after beginning, I started rebuilding. I made a few trades right off the bat. None are particularly realistic, but I don't care.
-Erik Staal and 1st round pick -> Edmonton for Connor McDavid
-Jordan Staal, Cam Ward, Jeff Skinner, 1st round pick, 2nd round pick -> Florida for Nick Bjugstad, Aleksander Barkov, and Marc Savard
-Alex Nedeljkovic, 2nd round pick, 2 3rd round picks -> WPG for Connor Heliebuyck

First season was terrible. McDavid started on the second line and replaced Bjugstad on the 1st about halfway through the season. Hanifin played in the minors. Chemistry and morale was pretty low, but I managed to keep it somewhere around 60. We ended up last in the NHL, and got the 2nd overall pick. Since I also inherited LA's 1st rounder from the Andrej Sekera trade, we also had the 27th. With the 2nd pick, drafted Jake Kryski, a center playmaker with high top 6 forward potential. With the 27th, I don't remember who we got.

In the second year, we were better, but still missed the playoffs. Chemistry and morale improved to the low 70s, and players like McDavid, Barkov, and Heliebuyck continued to improve. Hanifin still played in the minors, as he was 80 overall at the beginning of the season, and I didn't feel like we were a contending team anyway. No reason to stunt his growth. Ended up with the 13th overall pick and picked Lee Heerema (RW PF with top 6 medium potential). In the resign stage, James Wisniewski said that he wanted to win now, so he wanted more money if he was going to sign with me. I think that's new this year, and it was a nice touch. I gave him a few extra dollars. In free agency, I found a couple good prospects, one with elite potential. Not sure if he was drafted or what, but I remember seeing that happen in NHL 14 as well.

3rd year was good. McDavid and Barkov were both above 90 overall at the beginning of the year, and Heliebuyck took over the starting goalie role over Lack. Hanifin started the year in the NHL as an 85 overall, and by the time the season was over, he was an 89. As the year progressed, chemistry and morale went all the way up to 92. We ended the year 50-26-6 and second in our division behind the Rangers. In the playoffs, we took the Islanders, Penguins, and Lighting to 7 games before finally prevailing. In the finals, we beat the Stars in 6. Heliebuyck won the Conn Smythe, and captain Bjugstad scored the series clinching goal with 14 seconds left in the game.

In the off season, I simmed the draft since we had no 1st rounder, and went straight to free agency. Again, there were some more prospects that probably shouldn't have been there, including Jack Eichel. I guess he was a UFA since he was a CAP, and probably didn't want to resign in Buffalo for the same reason Wisniewski didn't want to resign with me. The CPU just didn't offer him more money. 20 year old playmaker at 89 overall... I picked him up.

Now starting the 4th season, expecting big things out of our team. If something would prevent us from repeating, it would be our depth for sure. Current lineup is:

Barkov (90) - McDavid (94) - Eichel (91)
Lindholm (85) - Bjugstad (87) - Korostelev (87)
Gerbe (83) - Rask (84) - Nash (83)
Malone (81) - Merkely (83) - Tolchinsky (82)

Hanifin (92) - Faulk (88)
Fleury (86) - Murphy (86)
Pilon (82) - McKeown (81)

Heliebuyck (89)
Lack (89)

Still have a couple really good prospects in the AHL that can either fill in holes in my lineup or be used as trade assets, but the future looks bright for the Canes.

[Les Paul]

Still on my EA Access trial period. Still leaning toward waiting until the price drops to under $40. Just messing around last night with a Rangers GM season. I played one pre-season game then proceeded to trade Nash straight up to Edmonton for McDavid. My team morale took a nosedive. You'd think trading the the guy that consistently pulls the Alex Rodriguez disappearing act every year in the playoffs for a once in a decade franchise player would've had just the opposite effect....

[Vmascarello]

Maybe you guys already have, but Id recommend to put trading on "Hard" if you want a challenge to make a deal. All of the other settings are too easy to land favorable deals.

[YakCityGaming]

Hey guys! So glad to see everyone getting deeper into seasons right off the bat!

Myself, I have just released episode two of my Be A GM with the Flames! We went 6-0 through the preseason, but Monny got injured at the end...