So after playing for 100+ hours with 4 teams I decided to ask a few questions/highlight a few things.
First off, the game is better than any previous versions, fair play to the guys for all their hard work.
I only play modern day NHL as a GM/HC.
Always start on the first of July to give myself enough time for trades to set up for opening night. My trading difficulty is set to much, much harder with the hidden traits to extreme.
First thing I do with every team is hiring my own coaching staff (bar the Penguins as theirs is amazing), set my same tactics. I do SIM the games, don't watch them.
Played with the Panthers to see the Barkov-Tkachuk partnership, with the Oilers to see what can McDavid achieve, my favourite team the Penguins to see what's left in Crosby and Co. and started with the Senators to see what the young core can develop into.
I'm not sure what to think of the starting settings of percentages of points or talent from previous seasons stats.
What is the best way to set this up? leave it alone?
I had various success with each team.
By far most successful were the Oilers (played 12 seasons with them) winning 8 cups, McDavid got over 900 goals and 2100 points and still has 3 years on the last contract.
What I find strange in this save is that he would always start out super hot and have 90 points in 40/45 games and then it either slows to 30-40 points for the rest of the season or he gets injured. Every year! I think there was only one year where he got to 82 games.
As this is my longest save, I've the most comments to it.
No AI GM seems to be able to get a "hometown" discount from any of their players. Everyone gets a raise on their last contract and that becomes an issue. I was able to resign Draisaitl at the same 8.5mil a year for 8 years and McDavid for 9.5mil a year for 8 years. that's a 3mil a year cap saving.
Superstars (4.5-5 star players) going to free agency are fairly in line with real life initially, the problem is, that there is 90% of the time no one able to sign them for cap reasons, and on the 31st of august you can get them on the cheap for a long term. If they signed for 1 year for 3-4 million, and went back to free agency next year, it would be more realistic.
Trading, the holy grail of any management simulation.
My main and only issue is still the same as previous years, no sellers or buyers at the deadline. That, and the fact that I did not receive a single offer from anyone in 12 years.
The trade block is a waste of effort (might be harsh wording) as it doesn't seem to matter what I offer for the players there, it isn't good for the team putting them on it.
In my humble opinion, the "team outlook" should play into the decision making during trades too... win now teams shouldn't trade their star players for prospects or for rights to drafted players and picks, while a rebuilding team shouldn't really trade for a 4.5star player with 4-5 years of a bad contract.
Goalies I can still play my goalie in all 82 games and it doesn't seem to have any impact and AI still plays a 2.5 star goalie in the playoffs over a 4star one. If they started the 4 start and after losing 2 games reverted to the 2.5 I wouldn't point it out. Or if after losing 2 in a row in the series they went back to the 4star one. Calgary with Vladar is the main example.
Clique this while a good feature, is quite annoying. I had to tear down the entire Senators team as multiple cliques formed over the 3 seasons I played. As soon as I removed one, another appeared.
I have my Negotiating and Man management traits upgraded as first together with tactics on and off the ice, and I don't know what else to do to stop this from happening. I don't seem to have any disruptive or selfish players, maybe 1-2 outspoken or unpopular and it absolutely destroys the team. Yet others with "open hostility" are cruising....
My Panthers and Penguins saves are very similar.... no matter what I do, I'll finish 2nd or 3rd in the division and lose in the playoffs, never got to the Stanley cup final, even when I recreated nearly identical rosters on all 4 teams... with the same tactics.
Training - I leave this to my assistant all the time (same assistant in every save) with incredibly mixed results.
This should help my players to learn how to play under my tactics... but it doesn't seem to be the case. And the fact that a lot of the players upgrade skills irrelevant to their position is flat out annoying. When my top 2 D man who is set to "rushing defence man" and his skills improved are face offs and hitting. Same for a lot of other players. An assistant that has "very good" or "great" training attributes should be better at assigning training.
I do enjoy the game a lot and I know the devs are trying to improve every aspect of it, personal opinion, the modern day should be the main focus.
I really enjoy the contracts displaying what teams the player will accept a trade to.
There was a number of head scratching AI trades of players for high picks just for the player to be waived the next day, a few high potential players rights lapsed and other "bugs" mentioned on various other posts.
Attaching my Oilers roster in year 12 and Senators in year 4. I rage deleted the Panthers and Penguins saves as I couldn't win the cup with a loaded roster with either of them as mentioned above. The Senators team will get the rest of this year to win it all before I end up doing the same...
