Thank you for this info!  I rarely play the 50mil cap, so it is quite valuable for me, even though I am not technically a beginner anymore.

Questions:
1)  What kind of assist production do you want from your defencemen?

2) With the min. salary defencemen, do you look for max def rating, or more of an assist maker like
Faubert or Carlyle?

3) has the engine moved away from Crozier in net?  He was appearing on a lot of cup winning rosters for a while

Posted by the_jsa on 11/4/2012 7:59:00 AM (view original):
Thank you for this info!  I rarely play the 50mil cap, so it is quite valuable for me, even though I am not technically a beginner anymore.

Questions:
1)  What kind of assist production do you want from your defencemen?

2) With the min. salary defencemen, do you look for max def rating, or more of an assist maker like
Faubert or Carlyle?

3) has the engine moved away from Crozier in net?  He was appearing on a lot of cup winning rosters for a while

(1) As a general rule, I don't draft defensemen (other than the minimum salary defensemen) that have an apg more than 0.20 in an OL.
(2) Either way is ok, imo.
(3) I don't think a lot of people use the 3 goalie platoon like I do in an OL.

I followed your advice, and put a team in an ex league. I haven't played hockey here in a LONG time, primarily b/c I didn't do too well at it when I did play. I love Hockey, and am itching to figure it out and give it another try. I think a progressive would be a lot of fun.

This post did provide a framework for a beginner to follow. Once I entered an ex league, some of the guys there also offered advice, which I eagerly accepted. I played 5 ex leagues before I entered a team in an OL, and it is doing quite well. I also got into a progressive league, and that is the way to go, at least IMO. NCmusician followed up several times after I posted here, and he was a great help. Hockey guys generally have been very forthcoming. I have enjoyed it immensely.

Thanks for the info NC, I'm trying it out in an EX right now.  What kind of salary are you using for the top 3 lines?  High medium low or balanced.  Also noticed that I had to drop my D salary down to about 4 mil avg and that barely left money for 3 goalies.  Any extra input would be very helpful.  My first two full seasons were a total disaster.

Hey NC, do you have anything like this for NBA?  My last team won 31 games, so I need help there too.  Thanks, Craig

Posted by 19craig58 on 1/24/2013 5:51:00 PM (view original):
Hey NC, do you have anything like this for NBA?  My last team won 31 games, so I need help there too.  Thanks, Craig

http://whatifsports.com/forums/Posts.aspx?TopicID=440310&Page=1&TopicsTimeframe=30

Posted by 19craig58 on 1/24/2013 5:47:00 PM (view original):
Thanks for the info NC, I'm trying it out in an EX right now.  What kind of salary are you using for the top 3 lines?  High medium low or balanced.  Also noticed that I had to drop my D salary down to about 4 mil avg and that barely left money for 3 goalies.  Any extra input would be very helpful.  My first two full seasons were a total disaster.

You don't need a 3 goalie system Craig. Draft a goalie with about 75-80% games played with a good save %, and a back-up with usually the money you have left after filling out your roster. My back-up usually costs around $230-350,000 and I play him in around 20-25 games per season to keep my starter rested for the playoffs. Also, don't overpay for goals from your defensemen. You can draft 6 dmen for about a $3.6 milllion average with an average d rating of 90.

Just curious How would the drafting rules change for a league with a 100 mil cap?
I've played a few of these and can't get much further that the first round of the playoffs.
thanks in advance for any help.

no wonder i only had about a 27% success rate

Posted by ncmusician_7 on 9/1/2014 1:54:00 PM (view original):
Here are some open league tips, based on the salary structure and sim engine as of September 2014.
These are only suggestions, you can build a successful OL team without following all of these suggestions.

Drafting

Draft 2 forwards that meet the following criteria:
games played % >= 75
shooting % >= 20
defensive rating <= 40
shots per game <= 4
goals per game >= 0.25
points per game >= 0.50

Draft 1 forward that meets the following criteria:
games played % >= 75
defensive rating >= 70
Salary <= $3.5M

These 3 players should be forward line 1.  Repeat this for forward lines 2 and 3.  With regards to forward line 4, you can either repeat this criteria again or draft 3 minimum salary players (2 offensive forwards and 1 defensive forward).

Draft 5 defensemen who meet the following criteria:
games played % >= 75
defensive rating >= 70
Salary <= $5M

Draft 2 minimum salary defensemen and 1 minimum salary forward.

Draft 3 goalies who meet the following criteria:
games played % <= 30
save % >= 90

Roster Management

You will get 3 minor league forwards, 2 defensemen, 1 goalie.  The forwards can be used if one of your forwards gets injured or suspended.  Use the 2 minor league defensemen and 2 minimum salary defensemen to platoon the 6th defensemen slot.  Use the goalie to run a 4 goalie platoon during the regular season.

In-Game Strategy

During even strength, set your forward lines to conservative and your defensemen lines to rarely shoot.

Been away from this for a while.
My top line is Cassels 62 assists. 3.5 mill 52 + 41 Vaive with LW Helman.79
.D = rubber stamp 93's Daneyko and 19 assists Foote D 79 pr 3 both PP.

Sound workable? 50 mill league. didn't draft anyone HUGE like Mario or 99.

Weakest attendance is Bouchard 66/80 all others 85% pgp +