OT: NHL games thread

[MarkusKetterer]

This thread is for anybody who plays NHL or whatever games. The only criteria is that it must be a hockey game. Talk about some other video games is fine, but do please try to keep it on topic. I don’t fully expect it to have a ton of activity, as these games take forever to even SIM a season.

I’m currently doing a franchise in NHL22, as the Sabres. I’m doing an interesting twist to it, namely because the college kids AND Russians are not available in the franchise mode, even if some are on the WJC teams (I haven’t looked after the last roster update).

Later on tonight I’ll post where my Sabres team currently stands, after I write down the trades I did thus far.

Click to read more...

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Posted by @Digable5 in a different thread:


Not sure if this is the right place or if anyone is even interested, but I thought it might be fun to share.

I got Franchise Hockey Manager (FHM8) a little while ago and I'm in my first go 'round with the Sabres. Just an FYI, I don't play to be realistic. I play to have fun and many of my "opponents' " trades are lopsided so why can't mind be?

The 2024-2025 season just ended and Sabres coach Joel Quenneville is retiring on top after bringing Buffalo their first championship.

Despite a title and Presidents Trophy, the organization is facing a lot of changes. Enter new coach John Cooper that was let go by the Tampa Lightening last season. Cooper takes over a pretty revamped roster with high expectations.

Out is Rasmus Dahlin, Jamie Drysdale, Ilya Samsonov, Ryan Johnson, Isak Rosen and Nolan Patrick. In through trade, free agency and the draft are Calle Makar, Andrei Svechnikov, Mikko Rantanen, Max Namestnikov and Josh Fluker (the last two are stud prospects).

Here is the roster to start 2025-2026:

Svechnikov - MacKinnon - Rantanen
Bedard - Larkin - Quinn
Skinner - N. Suzuki - Raymond
Mesar - Namestnikov - Olofsson

Power - Makar
L. Hughes - Seider
Edvinsson - Fluker

Shesterkin
Luukkonen
Askarov

I see Skinner is still married to Buffalo

 

[Digable5]

Thanks, @MarkusKetterer .

And, yes they are still married to Skinner. I may have found a place for his contract over the years but he just used his damn NMC. Funny enough, he was the ConnSmythe winner in our successful bid for the Cup.

Surprisingly the roster above wasn't good enough for back to back titles.

I'm in the middle of my next offseason (2026) and mostly moving out some veterans to make room for prospects and possible UFAs. The complete 3rd line of Skinner-Suzuki-Raymond have already been moved out with UPL. We'll have a tandem of Shesterkin and Spencer Knight in net with Askarov and Portillo in Rochester.

Defense just got another year older and another year of development.

Bedard-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Svechnikov-Namestnikov-Quinn
Misa-Larkin-Michkov
Mesar-Campbell-Olofsson

L. Hughes-Makar
Edvinsson-Power
Fluker-Seider

*Namestnikov is a 22 yo Cirelli with tons more offense. Signed 5 years for only $2.5 per season.
* Michkov's KHL contract finally expired. 3 year ELC for a 21 yo 4/5 star RW.
* Misa was an early 1st round pick and #4 prospect in the league.
*Campbell is a 25 yo revelation that deserves an NHL debut.

Questions:
--Should I spend $7M per for Cirelli to have a stud defensive center line?
---Do I really break the system and sign Carter Hart? Shesterkin, Hart and Knight is overkill, no?

 

[Digable5]

This thread is for anybody who plays NHL or whatever games. The only criteria is that it must be a hockey game. Talk about some other video games is fine, but do please try to keep it on topic. I don’t fully expect it to have a ton of activity, as these games take forever to even SIM a season.

I’m currently doing a franchise in NHL22, as the Sabres. I’m doing an interesting twist to it, namely because the college kids AND Russians are not available in the franchise mode, even if some are on the WJC teams (I haven’t looked after the last roster update).

Later on tonight I’ll post where my Sabres team currently stands, after I write down the trades I did thus far.

I'm behind on the EA sports games. How is NHL 22? I think I have NHL 20. I was thinking about creating a team where every player is a Buffalo Bills player. Mitch Morse a 4th line center of course. Tre White in net, etc....

 

[MarkusKetterer]

I'm behind on the EA sports games. How is NHL 22? I think I have NHL 20. I was thinking about creating a team where every player is a Buffalo Bills player. Mitch Morse a 4th line center of course. Tre White in net, etc....

There’s no top NCAA prospects in it, so there’s no Power, Johnson, Levi, Portillo or the Russians to work with for the Sabres (consequently no Beniers, Kent Johnson, Sanderson, among others) and no Michkov in 2023 (and no idea if they use a fake one as I’m still in the first year). It’s harder to make trades, even on easy duty, because the opposing team has very little on the trade block and even then, they want equal value back even if it’s a cap dump. For example, on an abandoned one I was doing, Florida was wanting to dump Hornqvist. The only things they wanted from the Sabres was Krebs, Quinn, Peterka, Rosen or 1sts or 2nds. That’s one thing I think the game needs to add, and introduce counter offers, instead of “close, but no”. At least they got rid of “tweak your offer and offer again” ruining your GM relationships.

It’s kind of more of the same. But I basically go Mad Mike Milbury on these games anyway just for the fun of it. You can still cheese the cross crease goals, but you have to work more at it with puck movement. And random goalies still turn into the 2nd coming of Jesus, as you’ll see when I update.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Thanks, @MarkusKetterer .

And, yes they are still married to Skinner. I may have found a place for his contract over the years but he just used his damn NMC. Funny enough, he was the ConnSmythe winner in our successful bid for the Cup.

Surprisingly the roster above wasn't good enough for back to back titles.

I'm in the middle of my next offseason (2026) and mostly moving out some veterans to make room for prospects and possible UFAs. The complete 3rd line of Skinner-Suzuki-Raymond have already been moved out with UPL. We'll have a tandem of Shesterkin and Spencer Knight in net with Askarov and Portillo in Rochester.

Defense just got another year older and another year of development.

Bedard-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Svechnikov-Namestnikov-Quinn
Misa-Larkin-Michkov
Mesar-Campbell-Olofsson

L. Hughes-Makar
Edvinsson-Power
Fluker-Seider

*Namestnikov is a 22 yo Cirelli with tons more offense. Signed 5 years for only $2.5 per season.
* Michkov's KHL contract finally expired. 3 year ELC for a 21 yo 4/5 star RW.
* Misa was an early 1st round pick and #4 prospect in the league.
*Campbell is a 25 yo revelation that deserves an NHL debut.

Questions:
--Should I spend $7M per for Cirelli to have a stud defensive center line?
---Do I really break the system and sign Carter Hart? Shesterkin, Hart and Knight is overkill, no?

No, to both. Unless it’s a game where you’re just constantly turning over the entire team every couple of years.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Context of my team: the Eichel trade is completed, and team rosters are after the Jan. 26 roster update. So that is my starting point for the team.

September 13, 2021: In a surprising turn of events, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has stepped away from his role and moved up to become the Sabres President of Hockey Operations. To replace his now departed role, he has tabbed Markus Ketterer as the teams new GM. “I felt it was time to fully put the plan for the Sabres into place,” said Adams. “We know what type of team we want. A team that the fans of Buffalo can be proud of. A fast, hardworking team loaded with skill. Markus has performed admirably in his scouting for talent, so I felt he deserved a bigger piece of the pie. I am confident that pairing him with our analytics department, the Sabres will be a force soon.”

“I will use the pre-season to evaluate the players on our NHL team,” said Ketterer. “Nobody on our team is off-limits, and I expect every player to give 110% every game, pre-season included. There will be no floating at any times. I know Buffalo hockey, and know what the fans expectations are. It’s shape up or ship out, starting now.”


After a pre-season where the team finished 6-1-1, the team starts the 2021-22 season in high spirits. They open the season with a win against the Montreal Canadiens, and during the game, GM Ketterer wasted no time putting his stamp on the team by making a minor trade with the Kraken.

10-05-21: To SEA LW F. Cederqvist (55 SNP), LD L. Cronholm (56 DFD), VGK 2023 3rd. To BUF: LD R. Evans (61 OFD) SEA 2022 7th

“Ryker is a fantastic puck moving dman. I was high on him during his draft year. He’s a smart, hardworking player who has worked his balls off to get to where he is. The fans are going to love him.” said Ketterer. “As a reward, he will play in our next game so the fans can see firsthand why I am excited to add this player. As to the two prospects we have traded away, this gives the Kraken pieces to work with as the team embarks on their journey. I wish the players luck.”

And proving his words prophetic, the Sabres new acquisition goes 1+1 in 8:03 of ice time in his NHL debut, leading the Sabres to a 3-1 victory, before being demoted to Rochester to round out his game.



A month and a half into the season, the Sabres yo-yo between wins and losses, sitting 5th in the Atlantic division, but 7th in the Eastern conference. Rumblings are out that the Sabres are looking for a shakeup. The Sabres are taking a beating on social media, both for legitimate reasons and silly ones. The silly ones are mostly centred around concession prices being too high, despite their prices being near the bottom of the league for expense. “I hear the fans complaints, and I understand their frustration. I am too. This is not a team to be proud of yet,” said Ketterer. “Our veterans are not performing. I’m trying to work things out, and give the fans reasons to be excited.”

When fans woke up for work or school on the morning of November 20th, not only were Sabres fans amazed, so was the entirety of the NHL. The Sabres had completed an NHL and professional sports record 8 trades overnight, completely transforming the team, literally overnight. 26 players changed hands, plus 4 draft picks.

The 8 trades that GM Ketterer made are as follows:

- To NYI: RW/C J. Hayden (76 GRN), To BUF: D Z. Chara (82 TWD)

- To STL: VGK 2022 1st, RD J. Boychuk (70 DFD), G A. Dell (80 HYB), To BUF: RD C. Parayko (86 TWD), G V. Zherenko (65 HYB)

- To BUF: G F. Sandstrom (73 HYB), To PHI: G C. Anderson (81 HYB)

- To CHI: RD C. Miller (83 TWD) (50% retained), To BUF: LW/C L. Reichel (74 TWF)

- To BUF: RD S. Hatakka (74 DFD), C T. Jacobsson (71 TWF), To SJS: LD R. Hagg (82 DFD) (50% retained), 2022 BUF 4th

- To LAK: LW D. Cagguila (77 TWF), 2023 BUF 4th, To BUF: C S. Helenius (70 TWF)

- To ARZ: G D. Tokarski (78 HYB), C C. Eakin (80 TWF), To BUF: G I. Prosvetov (74 HYB), LW B. McCartney (73 SNP), 2023 ARZ 3rd

- To VAN: LD W. Butcher (81 OFD) (50% retained), C A. Oglevie (74 TWF), 2023 ARZ 3rd, 2023 VGK 2nd, To BUF: RW V. Podkolzin (79 SNP), LD J. Rathbone (77 TWD), LW M. Ferland (70 GRN)

- To COL: G M. Subban (81 HYB), To BUF: LW/RW S. Ranta (75 PLY)


“I feel confident that our team is now something that Sabres fans will support,” said Ketterer during that evening’s press conference. “Our acquisition’s are all excited to be here. They, like the Sabres fans in Buffalo, come from cities that are traditionally blue collar hardworking places. They know what excites fans, and can’t wait to bring that mentality to Buffalo. And with 3 days until our next game, they will have a couple of practices to get to know each other and their tendencies. The new era starts this weekend.”

Before their next game, the Sabres re-acquire Dustin Tokarski off waivers. His second stay in Buffalo doesn’t last as long as his first stint.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

On November 21st, the Sabres claim G Dustin Tokarski off waivers from the Arizona Coyotes. GM Ketterer immediately tried to move him back to the Coyotes for an unsigned prospect, to no avail. He immediately pivoted towards to other team that put a claim in on him, the Winnipeg Jets. Discussions went on through the night, and while Winnipeg and their farm team were playing the next night, a trade was finalized.

Heading to the Red River Valley were Tokarski, C/RW prospect M. Pekar (66 TWF) and Buffalo’s 2022 3rd rounder in exchange for minor league goalie M. Berdin (73 HYB), C D. Gustafsson (77 TWF), and unsigned Swedish forward D. Torgersson (67 PWF) heading to upper New York State.

After this trade, GM Ketterer spoke to the media in his office (a change from prior regimes) to convey his thoughts. “I know Dustin was excited for his Arizona opportunity. He knew the challenges there, and was hoping to help them build something and get that fanbase as passionate about their team as the fans in Buffalo are about the Sabres. Unfortunately it didn’t work out because of the league rules, so he’s now headed to Canada to play. He’s excited to be now joining a team that’s in a playoff race and was boosting their goalie depth. I wish him luck in the future.”

As for the new Sabres acquisitions, GM Ketterer had this to say: “Berdin will be backing up UPL. He’s been in the AHL awhile, so he can help push him there and provide another ear for him. He fully accepts his “demotion” from being the starter. I think fans will love Gustafsson. He’s a strong faceoff man who is very responsible in his own zone defensively. He doesn’t panic under pressure, he’ll make someone part of the board advertisements if necessary, and he’s tenacious on the puck. And for the young man in Sweden, I haven’t talked to him yet to welcome him, but he’s a strong, tenacious young man. He hits everything, battles hard in front of the net, doesn’t take unnecessary penalties, and sees the ice well. Once he works on his skating, I fully expect him to move up to the SHL, and eventually to Rochester.”

Since GM Ketterer’s shocking overhaul of the entire Sabres organization, the Sabres caught lightning in a bottle. They rocketed up the league standings, closing out 2021 by going 17-2-1 in their last 20 games, including getting points in 13 straight games. They sit 1st overall in league standings with a record of 28-7-1, 5 points up on the equally shocking Blackhawks and Canucks, and 8 points up in their division on the Lightning. The Sabres have been playing for each other, with different players stepping up nightly. Goalie Ivan Prosvetov, who looked to possibly be heading back to Europe next summer, is now considered a dark horse candidate for the Vezina, but even his job isn’t secure, as his backup Felix Sandstrom has been better in limited action.

It remains to be seen what happens in Buffalo during the 2022 portion of the season, but the future is bright in Buffalo, and that appears to be here sooner rather than later.


Sabres lines:

Skinner - Cozens - Tuch
Olofsson - Thompson - Podkolzin
Marchment - Mittelstadt - Asplund
Jankowski - Girgensons - Okposo
X: Hinstroza, Ranta, Gustafsson (injured)

Dahlin - Parayko
Rathbone - Jokiharju
Chara - Bryson
Pysyk

Prosvetov - Sandstrom

 

[HaNotsri]

I really recommend getting super blood hockey. You sell a kidney to finance your own franchise, it plays like an old school hockey game but with resource management. It's hard to keep the collective brain damage under control.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

I really recommend getting super blood hockey. You sell a kidney to finance your own franchise, it plays like an old school hockey game but with resource management. It's hard to keep the collective brain damage under control.

Haha. I was watching a YouTube channel where the guy played that game. Then he just stopped. Either that or it just stopped showing up in my suggestions

 

[MarkusKetterer]

I stopped playing that franchise and started a new one now that Power has been added to the game. Tage has also upgraded in his rating, from 79 to 82.

The abandoned mode I was still 1st overall. I’ll attempt to make the trades only I won’t have Hagg as trade fodder now.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

NHL22 franchise mode makes no sense at all. My new mode was after the last roster update, and somehow that team is A: currently 3rd in the Atlantic (ahead of Toronto, Florida and Tampa [Leafs are out of the playoffs currently]), B: better than Vegas, C: completely balanced scoring wise from the forwards and D: Kjell 2.0 has more goals and points than Dahlin and Power despite 0 PP time

 

[MarkusKetterer]

This is my third attempt at a franchise mode. I have a plan for my future lineup, but I can only use that for the 2022-23 season in this game. So I get to play around using this past 2021-22 season. Any acquisitions I make will be traded in the off-season to guarantee I have that team. This is using the latest (May 10th) roster update.



Premise: this is the 3rd one I’ve done, as I started this after the latest roster update. So Power is part of the Sabres, along with other top prospects on their teams.


September 13, 2021: In a surprising turn of events, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has stepped away from his role and moved up to become the Sabres President of Hockey Operations. To replace his now departed role, he has tabbed Markus Ketterer as the teams new GM. “I felt it was time to fully put the plan for the Sabres into place,” said Adams. “We know what type of team we want. A team that the fans of Buffalo can be proud of. A fast, hardworking team loaded with skill. Markus has performed admirably in his scouting for talent, so I felt he deserved a bigger piece of the pie. I am confident that pairing him with our analytics department, the Sabres will be a force soon.”

“I will use the pre-season to evaluate the players on our NHL team,” said Ketterer. “Nobody on our team is off-limits, and I expect every player to give 110% every game, pre-season included. There will be no floating at any times. I know Buffalo hockey, and know what the fans expectations are. It’s shape up or ship out, starting now.”


After a pre-season where the team finished 6-1-1, the team starts the 2021-22 season in high spirits. They open the season with a win against the Montreal Canadiens, and during the game, GM Ketterer wasted no time putting his stamp on the team by making a minor trade with the Avalanche.

“The Sabres have traded Cody Eakin (80 TWF) exchange for Nico Sturm (78 TWF). We have retained 50% of Eakin’s salary, both to help Colorado and ourselves stay above the cap floor. We are excited to add Sturm to our young core, and he’s looking forward to the challenge of being Rochester’s 1C this upcoming season.”

From there until the new year, the Sabres battled up and down the Atlantic division, giving many players their first shots at the NHL due to injuries and ending the 2021 portion in 5th place, 1 point back of a wild card berth.

As the calendar rolls over to 2022, the Sabres make a very minor trade. They ship C Andrew Oglevie (70 TWF) to Boston for a 2023 7th. GM Ketterer had this to say about the trade “Andrew was buried on the depth chart in Rochester and hasn’t played a game for them. We were finally able to find a team with room to acquire him and will give him playing time. I wish him the best of luck for Providence.”

The Sabres take care of some minor business throughout January, expanding food options and re-signing Olofsson (83 SNP), Sturm (79 TWF), Bryson (76 TWD) and Luukkonen (80 HYB). The extensions break down as:

Olofsson = 4 x $4.6M
Sturm = 4 x $1.55M
Bryson = 1 x $1M
Luukkonen = 2 x $3M

The team gets healthy for the first time all season, and by Valentine’s Day, GM Ketterer decides to show the league and Sabres very little love. He makes 4 trades in one day and one free agent signing, completely overhauling the team in one fell swoop. 16 players change teams in total.

The first trade was with the Minnesota Wild. Gone to the Wild were D Mark Pysyk (80 TWD) and LW Drake Cagguila (80 TWF). Heading to Buffalo were D Jacob Middleton (78 DFD) and C Noah Stevens (76 TWF).

The next trade was with Chicago. Gone to the Windy City was G Craig Anderson (80 HYB) and D prospect Miska Kukkonen (58 DFD). Going back to Buffalo was DFD Alex Vlasic (77 rating).

To fill the gap of trading a goalie, the teams signed FA Artyom Zagidulin (75 HYB) to a one year, $925K contract.

Their next trade involved a swap of minor league goalies with the Anaheim Ducks. Malcolm Subban (79 HYB) goes to Orange County, and Olle Eriksson-Ek (71 HYB) goes to Erie County. Both players then get re-assigned to the AHL affiliates.

The day’s final trade involves Vegas, which is the teams second trade since the summer (Eichel trade in this instance and for the purposes of this game, even though that trade didn’t happen then in reality). Heading to Sin City are G Dustin Tokarski (78 HYB), D Will Butcher (80 OFD 50% retained), LW prospect Isak Rosen (70 SNP), and C John Hayden (75 TWF).

Going back to Buffalo are G Logan Thompson (76 HYB who grows to 78 upon his arrival), LW Pavel Dorofeyev (77 SNP) and D Zach Whitecloud (80 TWD).

All players get a week and a half to integrate themselves with the team, and both goalies win their Sabre debuts (5-0 over St. Louis, 6-1 over Dallas) and the team goes on a heater. By mid-March the team sits in 5th place in the Atlantic, 8th in the conference and 5 points (shockingly) up on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

They make one minor acquisition, picking up D Mark Stone (79 TWD) off waivers from Calgary and assign him to Rochester.

For a re-building team to be in contention for the playoffs at this point in the season is shocking. The fans are coming back in droves, shocking everybody around the league. It’s the home stretch of the season, so now to see if the Sabres can pull off what was deemed unthinkable at the start of the season, which is make the playoffs.

During the trade deadline, Buffalo decides to add to the team to make a playoff push. First they claim D Jakub Zboril (76 TWD) off waivers from Boston, then send him back for a 2022 7th.

The teams next move was shipping out LW Viljami Marjala (57 TWF) to the Sharks for LW/D Yevgeniy Kashnikov (57 TWD).

They then swiveled south and made a trade with the surprising Anaheim Ducks, trading C/RW Vinnie Hinostroza (76 TWF), 2023 2nd (BUF), and a 2024 3rd (BUF) for C/RW Jacob Perreault (80 TWF). With Tuch’s long term injury, he immediately slots into the open 1st line spot on RW, keeping the other lines together.

To bolster the D corps, the Sabres head North a bit and make a trade with the Kings. Heading west are D Jacob Middleton (77 DFD) and a 2022 3rd (BUF) for D Olli Maatta (82 TWD) and C Samuel Helenius (70 PWF).

The Sabres gain 5/6 points after the deadline, and appear to be headed for the playoffs for the first time in a decade, sitting 5 points up on Tampa Bay for the 1st wild card spot, and 9 points up on the Rangers for the (at worst) last wild card position.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Because this game makes no sense at all, I won the Cup last night despite simming the rest of the season. This is a placeholder and I’ll write up the rest of the season and playoffs when my daughter goes back home later today.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Season stats (GP-G-A-PTS-PIM-(+/-))
* after name denotes rookie

Skinner 82-31-41-72-6-+20
Tuch 69-20-39-59-44-+17
Cozens 82-22-35-57-41-+15
Dahlin 81-7-48-55-32+14
Olofsson 82-30-21-51-8-(-4)
Asplund 78-16-26-42-11-+12
Thompson 53-15-22-37-18-+11
Krebs* 82-16-18-34-6-(-12)
Okposo 82-13-21-34-20(-15)
Mittelstadt 74-12-21-33-20-(-2)
Girgensons 81-11-19-30-22-+6
Samuelsson* 80-7-17-24-24-+28
Power* 80-7-15-22-25-+5
Jokiharju 82-6-14-20-55-+3
Perreault* 19-7-7-14-6-+10
Stevens 32-5-9-14-7-+13
Cagguila 34-5-7-12-8-+1
Whitecloud 32-3-8-11-10-+8
Bjork 48-6-4-10-5-(-3)
Hinostroza 41-4-6-10-4-(-10)
Dorofeyev* 11-5-3-8-2-+8
Pysyk 44-3-5-8-6-+1
Maatta 14-0-4-4-2-+3
Biro* 4-3-0-3-0-+1
Butcher 6-1-2-3-2-+1
Helenius* 3-2-0-2-0-+2
Malone 4-2-0-2-2-+2
Peterka* 6-1-1-2-0-0
Vlasic* 15-1-1-2-2-+3
Middleton* 4-0-2-2-0-+3
Weissbach* 6-0-1-1-0-(-1)
Hayden 2-0-0-0-2-(-1)
Kukkonen* 2-0-0-0-2-0
Pekar* 1-0-0-0-2-(-1)
Worge Kreu* 1-0-0-0-0-+1
Cronholm* 1-0-0-0-0-(-1)
Cederquist* 1-0-0-0-0-0
Rousek* 1-0-0-0-0-0
Quinn* 1-0-0-0-0-0

Sorry it’s a mess but I dunno how to do tables anymore after the board migration.