United in Red - A NHL14 Ottawa Senators BaGM

[SENS_AK27]

I'm inspired to reboot my old NHL14 Senators Dynasty. As I stated before, EA killed my love of BaGM mode on NHL15 for the PS4. I've decided to go back to NHL14 and my custom roster and sliders.

This robust roster includes all the AHL rosters and the teams prospects as of the 2013/14 season. I will be playing through as many seasons as I can as I attempt to make the Senators a cup contender once again.

I'm going to be playing the 2013/14 season quickly and then mirroring the offseason moves for the franchise. Only then will I pick up the controls as the New GM for the team.

I will also be following strict GM rules, similar to my Edmonton Dynasty. I'll detail those in another post.

Thanks for following.

[SENS_AK27]

GM GUIDELINES

TRADES:
- Only 4 trades allowed per Calendar year, resetting after the Entry Draft
- 2 Additional Trades can be completed on the Trade Deadline and on the Entry Draft
- Team 1st Round Picks can only be traded at the Entry Draft, to either move up or to trade out of the round.

WAIVERS:
- Only allowed 2 Waiver pickups per season


FREE AGENCY:
- A maximum of 3 Free Agents with an Overall of 75 or high can be signed per season.
- Cannot sign a Free Agent with an overall of 80 or higher until the team has had a winning season (above .500 winning %)
- Cannot sign a Free Agent with an overall of 84 or higher until the team has made the playoffs
- Cannot sign a Free Agent of 88 or higher until the team has won a playoff series


INTERNAL CAP:
- The team will have an internal salary cap of $10M below the cap until the team has had a winning season (above .500 winning %)
- The team will have an internal salary cap of $5M below the cap until the team has made the playoffs.

[SENS_AK27]

Here are my sliders:
Difficulty: All-Star
Period: 10 Minutes
(Human/AI)

Speed: 5
Attribute Affect: Maxed
Fatigue Affect: 5/6
Recovery: 1/0
Injury: 1/1
Puck Control: 1/0
Acceleration: 5/4

AI Learning: 2
AI Difficulty: 3
AI Strategy: 5
F/O Difficulty: 4
Fighting Difficulty: 4
CPU Penalty: Maxed
CPU Teammate Penalty: 4

Pass Assist: 2
Manual Passing: Yes
Pass Speed: 4
Saucer Pass Speed: Maxed
Pass Accuracy: 2/1
Pass Reception: 1/0
Pass Interceptions: 5/5

Shot Accuracy: 2/1
Shot Power: 4/4
Slap Shot Accuracy: 1/0
Slap Shot Power: 4/4
1 Timer Accuracy: 1/1

Hitting Assistance: 1
Aggression: Maxed/Maxed
Hitting Power: 1/1
Stick Lift: 1/0
Poke Check: 1/0

Goalie Pass Frequency: 1
Goalie Cover Up Frequency: 5
Screen Affect: 5/5
Goalie Reaction Speed: 5/4

What I have found with these slider settings is on All-Star the CPU attributes are boosted so to counteract this the Human User needed a bit of an edge in the sliders. Having attribute maxed, the best players really stand out against the average players. Snipers are more prone to snipe and the grinders will bang in their goals.

I have also been getting realistic goals and game totals.
Shots average between 20-45.
Hits average between 15-35
Time on attack is usually balanced between 3-5 minutes.
Teams take an average of 3-4 penalties a game.
Passing Percentage is between 65%-75%

I know these sliders aren't for everybody but if are like me and enjoy a realistic box score then you might want to try out my sliders.

[SENS_AK27]

2013-14 SEASON PREVIEW

September 15th, 2013

The Ottawa Senators are coming off a roller coaster season last year. In a lockout shortened season both Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson started off hot and were early trophy favorites (Norris & Vezina respectively).

Then the wheels fell off as the team was plagued by injury after injury. Just a few games in the team's starting Center, Jason Spezza had to undergo surgery for a herniated disc. Then both Milan Michalek and Erik Karlsson were lost to long term injuries. Despite missing nearly their entire top line, the Senators battled through and continued to win games. This mostly had to do with the stellar play in net by Craig Anderson. Disaster struck once again, when Anderson was run over by a New York Rangers forward and fell awkwardly in his crease. The Senators brass were optimistic that their star goaltender would be day-to-day, but Anderson ended up missing several weeks of play and was thus ineligible for Vezina consideration.

If there was a silver lining for Sens fans, it was that they had a chance to showcase the young talent that the team has stocked over the years. Many young players were brought up and inserted into the lineup. As the Senators kept winning it was evident that the franchises future was very bright indeed. Young Senators like Mika Zibanejad, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Patrick Weircioch, Robin Lehner and Eric Gryba emerged to help fill the void left by their injured superstars and the Senators showed all the pundits that had written them off by securing a playoff spot.

The Playoffs pitted the Senators versus their division rivals, the Montreal Canadiens for the first time in a series. With their wounded stars coming back the expectations were high. The Senators deposed Montreal in five games before succumbing to the powerhouse Pittsburgh team in the second round.

The season ended with many Senator fans hoping the heart and soul of the team, Daniel Alfredsson would play one more season. None could have expected that Alfredsson, the longest serving Captain in the NHL would bolt for new division rival Detroit. The loss of Alfredsson stung many Senator fans but Bryan Murray was all smiles as he announced a trade for RW Bobby Ryan. The Senators had to ship off emerging two way forward Jacob Silfverberg, prospect Stefan Noesen and the 2014 1st Round Pick to accommodate the trade but Ryan should bring some scoring to the top line not seen since the Heatley era. The Senators also brought in Maple Leafs cast off LW Clarke MacArthur and defenseman Joe Corvo for his second stint with the club.

The preseason will see many young players and some veterans audition for a roster spot as there are very few positions that are solid locks for this upcoming season. Reigning Jack Adams winner, Paul Maclean will have some decisions to make as preseason kicks off, and he'll have a chance to gauge this years talent and line chemistry.

[SENS_AK27]

Ottawa Senators 2013-14 DEPTH CHART

[SENS_AK27]

Prospects Invited to Training Camp

FORWARDS
54 COREY COWICK
6' 3" 208 1 AUG 1989
OTTAWA, ON, CAN

50 JAKUB CULEK
6' 3" 185 7 SEP 1992
PLZEN, CZE

24 STEPHANE DA COSTA
5' 11" 185 11 JUL 1989
PARIS, FRA

57 DEREK GRANT
6' 3" 190 20 APR 1990
ABBOTSFORD, BC, CAN

53 WACEY HAMILTON
5' 11" 180 10 SEP 1990
CALGARY, AB, CAN

37 DARREN KRAMER
6' 1" 202 19 NOV 1991
PEACE RIVER, AB, CAN

10 SHANE PRINCE
5' 10" 181 16 NOV 1992
ROCHESTER, NY, USA

26 MATT PUEMPEL
6' 0" 198 24 JAN 1993
WINDSOR, ON, CAN

55 BUDDY ROBINSON
6' 5" 230 30 SEP 1991
PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA

61 MARK STONE
6' 2" 188 13 MAY 1992
WINNIPEG, MB, CAN

DEFENSE
70 BEN BLOOD
6' 3" 212 15 MAR 1989
PLYMOUTH, MN, USA

5 CODY CECI
6' 2" 205 21 DEC 1993
OTTAWA, ON, CAN

49 FREDRIK CLAESSON
6' 0" 198 24 NOV 1992
STOCKHOLM, SWE

58 MICHAEL SDAO
6' 4" 221 3 JUL 1989
BLOOMINGTON, MN, USA

[SENS_AK27]

2013 NHL PRESEASON

September 17th, 13

Rookie development camp has finished and the Senators have invited 3 of their home grown draftees to attend. First Round Pick Curtis Lazar, who signed a $925,000 entry level contract earlier in the year; impressed during the camp and could earn a 9 day try out to start the season. His scoring touch around the net and strong two way play during the camp has impressed the coaching staff thus far.

4th round picks Ben Harpur(D) and Tobias Lindberg(LW) also had a strong camp and have garnered interest from the coaching staff as well. After signing an entry level contract for $600,00 the pair will get some preseason action which has Bryan Murray smiling as 3rd Round Pick Marcus Hogberg(G) was also invited to training camp.

The Senators are hoping to get the most of their top picks during the preseason and even if they don't earn a 9 day try out, that this is still a positive experience for them.

[SENS_AK27]

SENS ANNOUNCE FINAL ROSTER: MOVES SURPRISES FANS

September 30th

After a competitive preseason, which saw the Ottawa Senators go 3-2-2 against their division rivals the final roster moves have been made before the October 1st deadline. To many fans, the 22 player roster was a complete surprise, especially with the decision to reassign Forward Mika Zibanejad back to the AHL.

The 6th Overall pick in the 2011 Entry Draft struggled during preseason, playing in 4 games and registering 0 points while being -3. Jean Gabriel Pageau will start the season with the team. The native of Gatineau was coming off a successful playoff performance when he exploded onto the scene. After much speculation, Pageau impressed during the preseason by registering 1 goal, 3 assists in 4 preseason games. It is expected that he'll anchor either the 3rd or 4th line to start the season.

Curtis Lazar had a tough preseason and did not earn a 9 day tryout with the Senators. He was told that he'll have to report back to the CHL for another season of junior. The same can not be said for LW Sniper, Mike Hoffman who dazzled many fans during preseason playing in 5 preseason games. Hoffman played excellent hockey on both a scoring line and an energy line with Pageau and Stone. He finished preseason with 4 goals and 3 assists while going +4.

The opening roster for the 2013/14 season will be:

Forwards (13) - Milan Michalek, Jason Spezza, Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman, Kyle Turris, Clarke MacArthur, Cory Conacher, JG Pageau, Erik Condra, Colin Greening, Zack Smith, Chris Neil, Matt Kassian.

Defense (7) - Marc Methot, Erik Karlsson, Jared Cowen, Chris Phillips, Patrick Wiercioch, Joe Corvo, Eric Gryba.

Goalies (2) - Craig Anderson, Robin Lehner.