[AdequateRandomGaming]

So, I've seen something odd in that same time period, and instead of creating a new thread, I figured I'd put it here since it could be related.

I am playing the LA Kings historical challenge. Before the 89-90 (could have been 90-91) season, I realized that there were 2 different pools of Free Agents. If I went under the NHL menu, then transactions and Free Agents there, I would have a pool of free agents, UFAs and RFAs.

However, if I selected my team, then transactions, and went to Free Agent Center, I could access all the free agent players from the Iron Curtain countries as well as American College players (those players would not show in the other window, nor did the Free Agents from the other window showed in this one). The problem ? I don't think the computer had access to those players...for a few years.
Until the 1992-1993 season, nobody from that pool of players was signed by any other team than mine. As far as I can tell, none of them got drafted either.
Then all of a sudden, in 1992, a bunch of them all got signed at once. Fedorov, Joe Juneau, Konstantinov, Nemchinov etc. all got signed to various teams. The Free Agent pools had not changed - they were still separate entities. But it's as if something "unlocked" and let the AI go for those players as well.

Just thought I'd bring it up in the hopes it helps figuring it out.