NHL 11

[Mr. X]

I just completed the worst trade I've ever done; Brian Campbell to Florida for Jonathan Oligny. This was more of a cap clearing move that will pay off in the long term as I won't have so much money tied up in my top three defense men.

[Toe]

I just completed the worst trade I've ever done; Brian Campbell to Florida for Jonathan Oligny. This was more of a cap clearing move that will pay off in the long term as I won't have so much money tied up in my top three defense men.

I have done worse. I picked put Steve Ott for my playoff run as the Leafs, then sent him away for a 7th round pick. I needed to do it to pick up Parise.

I could see the Blackhawks trying to move Campbell in the future. His contract is not a good one for a team pushing the cap.

[SeanDMan]

So two days before the deadline, I lost Tavares for six weeks with an elbow injury. Fortunately it was two days before the deadline and not two days after. I then unloaded everyone who was a potential UFA and ended up shipping out Hejduk (for a first), Joni Pitkanen (for a first, a second, and Zack Kassian) and Koivu/Witt/Madden (for assorted filler). The computer also was kind enough to put Marin Biron on waivers for some reason, so I lost him too. Tanked the rest of the season, dropped from tenth in the east to last in the east. I was pleased with everything, except Kassian having C potential for some reason.

Then the deadline itself happened and the biggest deal of the day was a one for one swap of Wade Redden for Martin Broduer of all people. This deal made no sense for either side, since New Jersey has absolutely no goaltending and the Rangers already had Lundqvist. Twenty games into the new season, Brodeur has played 3 games, one of which was coming in a game I played the Rags and shelled Lundqvist for five goals.

I ended up getting Hejduk back in free agency for a cheaper deal then I did when I traded for him. I also filled out my blueline a bit; I couldn't sign Pitkanen back, but I managed to turn the second I got from San Jose into Dan Boyle (!!!) and signed Christian Erhoff for four years. My defense now has Erhoff, Campbell, and Boyle all capable of lighting it up, and then Anton Klementyev and Bruno Gervais, plus Witt, to dish out the big hits. I also brought in Jason Arnott to be my third line center, and all of a sudden I have three lines that can score instead of just two. The team is still somewhat enigmatic; getting torched 6-3 by the Rangers featuring a Sean Avery hat trick (two of them were empty netters) and then two weeks later shitkicking them 6-1 (they scored with 30 seconds left, such a piss off), but that makes it fun.

But yeah, Martin Brodeur, the six million dollar backup.

[Meacon Keaton]

I have had a nasty habit of starting a new franchise every time I turn NHL on. I always start with a lower team, and trade away the high priced contracts for draft picks. Not sure if I'm doing myself any favors by doing this. I know it depends on your assistant coach, but how quickly do these guys I'm drafting (usually in the 60-70 range) develop into guys I can bring up into the NHL? Would promoting them right away help them develop faster? Or would I be better to leave them on the first and second lines of my AHL team, than them being fourth on my NHL team?

[SeanDMan]

They develop faster depending on how well they play. If you're just playing them on line four, they'll never amount to anything. Wait until you're comfortable slotting them into top six/top two pairings.

[Meacon Keaton]

Ok. I'm planning on starting a new franchise tonight. One that I hope to stick with, and I'm going to be playing the AHL games too. I think if I actually do that I'll get a better feel for when they're ready to move up, whether their ratings reflect it or not. Thanks, SDM.

[SeanDMan]

Yeah, if you PLAY your AHL games, their experience should go through the roof. Just put all your B/B- potential players on your top two lines and if you can get wins and put up stats, you're laughing.

[Toe]

I ended season two by losing the Eastern Conference finals to the Lightning. Still, it was a great season. Jimmy Howard was more reliable then DiPietro and Eric Johnson won the Norris. He has an amazing shot and crushes everyone in sight. Tavares and Okposo both topped 90 points, and Dustin Penner had 99 points. He had 60 assists!

At the draft, I moved a prospect for Loui Erikson. Penner, after his amazing year, took LESS money and is now making 2 mil per season. Johnson and Tavares were RFAs, but they were not too expensive.

Since Weight, Arnott, and Hal Gill retired, I needed to add some depth. Picked up Erik Christensen and Mike Brown. Then, I decided to offer sheet Seabrook. Now my defence looks like this.

Eric Johnson (89) - Andrej Meszaros (82)

Brett Seabrook (87) - Paul Ranger (83)

James Wisniewski (80) - Marc Andre Bergeron (80)

[SeanDMan]

Now that this game has the AHL implimented, I am going to try and follow along with what I did in EHM, which had decent results.

When you draft someone, they'll usually be 18.

18: Unless they can play top six forward/top four D, leave them alone, don't sign them.

19: Same deal.

20: NHL 11 seems really odd in the way it handles juniors. It MIGHT be just like the real rules; IE they must be past season 4 before they can go to the AHL. Anyway, once they hit 20, sign them. If you can, send them to the AHL. If not, back to junior. Once they're in the AHL, play them on the second line/second pairing.

21: If they played well, move them up to pairing one. If not, keep them where they are.

22: This is probably, unless they're a bona fide stud at 18 already, when you should first consider bringing people to the NHL. If they played well on pairing one, move them up to the second line in the NHL if you have room. If they played well in the second line of the AHL, move them up to the first line.

23-24: Generally, if a guy is still in the AHL at 24, he's a lifer. At that point (In EHM) I cut bait because of the veteran limit, but it isn't in effect in NHL 11, so you'll probably be fine keeping him around as a 3rd/4th line guy.

Also keep in mind the "Player Type" setting. If a guy is set as a two way forward, he'll turn out like ass. Adjust him, make him a Power Forward. He'll become a far better player for it. Ditto if you have a guy like Sam Gagner, who you want to shoot more. Make him a sniper instead of a playmaker, he will round out his game. Remember: this is the type of player you WANT the guy to be, and adjusting it will adjust how the players experience is spent on skills. Giving them "two way" status just makes them a midling shit. Might as well pick whether you want them to play up, or smash heads.

[Toe]

You can sign your young guys to deals, and if they aren't on your NHL roster by the waiver deadline, it will send them back to juniors and the contract won't start until next season.

[SeanDMan]

Does the contract roll over? I didn't know that.

I generally tend just to not sign them if I can't use them.

[Toe]

I signed Kabanov and Neideretter, and they still haven't gone past the first year of their three year contract since they haven't played for me.

[SeanDMan]

Score.

[Mr. X]

Finally got Look Ma No Stick today while playing a game as the Ice Hogs.