My FMH 6 Hockey Manager season is winding down and your 1994 Vancouver Canucks have clinched the playoffs despite going 3-5 in their last eight games.
That being said, making the playoffs is always a huge accomplishment when you start the season 4-12-2.
The playoffs look cautiously optimistic with my possible playoff opponents being Dallas, Winnipeg or Calgary. I have fared decently against those teams but would go into each series by being a slight underdog.
Since the trade of Pavol Demitra and getting Bure back from injury has created balanced scoring. Petr Nedved was once on pace for almost 100 points will only each around 87 points. Trevor Linden, Bure and Demitra have all been slightly under a point per game.
Not much the GM can do now with the trading deadline past. I sit in 6th place at 37-34-9 and consider my first season a success given that my top players are all under 25.
Will update before the playoffs.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Hockey Manager 6 Update - 1994 Vancouver Canucks
The roller coaster year for the 1994 Vancouver Canucks continues! Interesting to point out but at one point the Canucks were 17-9-3 since accruing Adam Foote from Quebec. At the same time, Quebec was 19-7-5. The trade has worked out well for both teams.
There are 19 games to go in the season. I am at a season high seven games above 500. at 31-24-9. Knock on wood but I have a really good shot at making the playoffs.
The last 13 games have been absolutely wild. I was in a really good position 13 games ago and than I hit a bump in the road. Went on a horribly timed 1-5-2 stint that put me on the verge of being out of the playoffs. Things were out of control, on it and off it. Peter Nedved was unhappy, Kirk McLean is injured and Dave Babych is also banged up.
A big win in Chicago a couple of weeks ago avoided a 0-6-1 road trip has reignited Vancouver on a Pacific Division Title chase. I have all of a sudden hit stride and I'm four points back of Calgary with four games in hand.
With all that went on, I have recently made a huge trade that adds depth short term and a huge scoring threat in the future.
I have traded... Alek Stojanov, Scott Walker, Dieter Kochan, 1994 7th round pick and a 1995 6th round pick to Ottawa for 19 year old Pavol Demitra.
It's a huge risk for me that Demitra has the career he did in real life. I gave up a lot but no A level assets.
My untouchables at the trade deadline are Adrian Aucoin and Michael Peca and any 1st round picks.
19 games left. Two games at home followed by a crucial seven game road trip. I could be close to clinching a playoff spot.
There are 19 games to go in the season. I am at a season high seven games above 500. at 31-24-9. Knock on wood but I have a really good shot at making the playoffs.
The last 13 games have been absolutely wild. I was in a really good position 13 games ago and than I hit a bump in the road. Went on a horribly timed 1-5-2 stint that put me on the verge of being out of the playoffs. Things were out of control, on it and off it. Peter Nedved was unhappy, Kirk McLean is injured and Dave Babych is also banged up.
A big win in Chicago a couple of weeks ago avoided a 0-6-1 road trip has reignited Vancouver on a Pacific Division Title chase. I have all of a sudden hit stride and I'm four points back of Calgary with four games in hand.
With all that went on, I have recently made a huge trade that adds depth short term and a huge scoring threat in the future.
I have traded... Alek Stojanov, Scott Walker, Dieter Kochan, 1994 7th round pick and a 1995 6th round pick to Ottawa for 19 year old Pavol Demitra.
It's a huge risk for me that Demitra has the career he did in real life. I gave up a lot but no A level assets.
My untouchables at the trade deadline are Adrian Aucoin and Michael Peca and any 1st round picks.
19 games left. Two games at home followed by a crucial seven game road trip. I could be close to clinching a playoff spot.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Big Wins Put Canucks in Divisional Race
My OOTP Hockey season is moving along quite nicely. Since my dreadful 4-12-2 start I have turned things around quite considerably. I'm 21-7-5 since and I have climbed into the divisional race and now I'm five points back with two games in hand on the Calgary Flames.
Adam Foote has had stellar play for the Canucks while adding much needed depth when Dave Babych was injured for a few games.
I have made two minor trades since as I traded Dan Ratushny to Anaheim for Gerard Gallant. A couple of weeks later I shipped Sean Pronger to Philly for Bob Wilkie.
Wilkie is one of the players that was on the Swift Current bus crash while Gallant is now a Head Coach in the NHL but currently unemployed since he was fired by the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Peter Nedved is still my leading scorer with 63 points in 51 games. My big concern is that how Bure is going to slide in when he returns. He is slated to return in a few weeks after not playing since November 14th.
I will be holding pat at the Trade Deadline most likely as the majority of my star players are under 25 and don't see a need to be going all in at this point. I'm going for my third consecutive division title in a row and that would be remarkable considering where the franchise was prior to 1989.
Adam Foote has had stellar play for the Canucks while adding much needed depth when Dave Babych was injured for a few games.
I have made two minor trades since as I traded Dan Ratushny to Anaheim for Gerard Gallant. A couple of weeks later I shipped Sean Pronger to Philly for Bob Wilkie.
Wilkie is one of the players that was on the Swift Current bus crash while Gallant is now a Head Coach in the NHL but currently unemployed since he was fired by the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Peter Nedved is still my leading scorer with 63 points in 51 games. My big concern is that how Bure is going to slide in when he returns. He is slated to return in a few weeks after not playing since November 14th.
I will be holding pat at the Trade Deadline most likely as the majority of my star players are under 25 and don't see a need to be going all in at this point. I'm going for my third consecutive division title in a row and that would be remarkable considering where the franchise was prior to 1989.
Friday, April 10, 2020
Bure injured, Courtnall Traded - Update on my OOTP Season
As I mentioned last week, I bought OOTP Hockey Manager to help with the withdrawal of sports during this very hard time.
This is a simulation computer game where you are the armchair GM of a NHL franchise and has the flexibility to start in any year.
I took over the Canucks on September 18th, 1993and here is an update on how my season is going.
Firstly, Peter Nedved is still a Canuck. He has a new five year 635,000 dollar deal per year. He is surprisingly, my best player on my team with 17 G, and 19 Assists.
My season has been pretty bumpy from the start. 1-5-1 became 5-12-2 pretty fast and I was knocking on the door of a bottom three finish in the NHL. Fortunately, there are only 12 teams in the Western Conference this year, the Mighty Ducks are an expansion team and San Jose are fairly new as well.
Assuming that those two teams miss the playoffs, that would mean there are 10 teams fighting for the 8 playoff spots.
Since my slow start, my team is on a tear. I am 9-3-2 in my last 14 games and currently hold the 8th spot in the Western Conference with a 14-15-4 record.
In the middle of my 14 game stretch, I pulled off a trade that sent Geoff Courtnall to Quebec in exchange for Adam Foote. Bert Robertsson and a second round pick also went to Quebec.
There are two key factors that led to me needing a young defenseman at this time.
1. Pavel Bure is out for 2-3 months
With the injury, my focus quickly became on how I can get younger without taking a step back. Nedved, Linden and Bure is the core of my hockey and their all young. I have a supporting cast of Ronning and Greg Adams which led me to believe I had the freedom to trade Courtnall.
2. Lack of Defenseman in Next Years Draft
In the first 13 picks in 1994, their were only four defenseman and three of them had stints with the Vancouver Canucks in real life. Jovo and Ohlund are great but neither of them can change a franchise like Chris Pronger could the previous year.
For me, Foote is a cornerstone D-man that every team would love to have and I don't think that the price was too steep.
Two positives come out of this for me and it's a win-win deal for me. One, I stay in the playoff race until Bure gets back and if I don't, I don't have to second guess myself if I draft a forward in the Top 10.
Before the trade, I didn't see my Defense as being a strong part of my team. I only had two D-man I was comfortable with.
This is a simulation computer game where you are the armchair GM of a NHL franchise and has the flexibility to start in any year.
I took over the Canucks on September 18th, 1993and here is an update on how my season is going.
Firstly, Peter Nedved is still a Canuck. He has a new five year 635,000 dollar deal per year. He is surprisingly, my best player on my team with 17 G, and 19 Assists.
My season has been pretty bumpy from the start. 1-5-1 became 5-12-2 pretty fast and I was knocking on the door of a bottom three finish in the NHL. Fortunately, there are only 12 teams in the Western Conference this year, the Mighty Ducks are an expansion team and San Jose are fairly new as well.
Assuming that those two teams miss the playoffs, that would mean there are 10 teams fighting for the 8 playoff spots.
Since my slow start, my team is on a tear. I am 9-3-2 in my last 14 games and currently hold the 8th spot in the Western Conference with a 14-15-4 record.
In the middle of my 14 game stretch, I pulled off a trade that sent Geoff Courtnall to Quebec in exchange for Adam Foote. Bert Robertsson and a second round pick also went to Quebec.
There are two key factors that led to me needing a young defenseman at this time.
1. Pavel Bure is out for 2-3 months
With the injury, my focus quickly became on how I can get younger without taking a step back. Nedved, Linden and Bure is the core of my hockey and their all young. I have a supporting cast of Ronning and Greg Adams which led me to believe I had the freedom to trade Courtnall.
2. Lack of Defenseman in Next Years Draft
In the first 13 picks in 1994, their were only four defenseman and three of them had stints with the Vancouver Canucks in real life. Jovo and Ohlund are great but neither of them can change a franchise like Chris Pronger could the previous year.
For me, Foote is a cornerstone D-man that every team would love to have and I don't think that the price was too steep.
Two positives come out of this for me and it's a win-win deal for me. One, I stay in the playoff race until Bure gets back and if I don't, I don't have to second guess myself if I draft a forward in the Top 10.
Before the trade, I didn't see my Defense as being a strong part of my team. I only had two D-man I was comfortable with.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Would you trade Pettersson and Hughes for the Twins?
The Canucks are in a special position in their franchise as for the first time in their history they have two generational superstars.
That speaks volumes considering that in the early 90's Pavel Bure and Trevor Linden were on the same team and the Canucks had 18 good years of the Sedin twins.
In fact, the Sedin twins left such a legacy that it seems that this new core have a huge shoes to fill in the next few years.
Assuming that the 2020 season won't resume again, I feel that the upcoming year will be a make or break year for Pettersson and Hughes. Next year will shape what the next five years will look like. I say this because it will be very painful to pay both Pettersson and Hughes 10 Million each if they have no playoff games under their belt.
Pettersson and Hughes are special but it is going to be expensive to keep this core in tact which begs the question if it was possible, would you trade Pettersson and Hughes for the Sedin twins at 26 years old.
When the Sedins were 26, the Canucks were entering their the 2007 season in an entirely new era of Canucks hockey. The Sedins didn't disapoint that year with Daniel putting up 36 goals and 48 assists.
The Sedins gave the Canucks real Stanley Cup hopes for the next eight years. As good as the Sedins were they were not generational players like Pettersson and Hughes but what makes the debate a good one was that their contracts were so cap friendly which gave the Canucks a chance so add other players that created a generational team from 2010-2012.
The second argument of why you would trade Pettersson and Hughes for the Sedins is how they were so consistent. The two never missed games and were great leaders.
For me, there is no right answer but to see what Pettersson and Hughes will do in Canucks jerseys is so exciting.
When I got asked this question, I really had to think about. I finally said yes, because I know what I would get from them and putting them into a lineup with Boesser and Horvat would be a great combination. I also said yes because I am dying for Canucks playoff hockey and I am nervous that we don't get in next year because four years of not making the playoffs has me nervous.
My gut tells me that most Canucks fans would not make this trade but I don't blame you for not being tempted like I was.
That speaks volumes considering that in the early 90's Pavel Bure and Trevor Linden were on the same team and the Canucks had 18 good years of the Sedin twins.
In fact, the Sedin twins left such a legacy that it seems that this new core have a huge shoes to fill in the next few years.
Assuming that the 2020 season won't resume again, I feel that the upcoming year will be a make or break year for Pettersson and Hughes. Next year will shape what the next five years will look like. I say this because it will be very painful to pay both Pettersson and Hughes 10 Million each if they have no playoff games under their belt.
Pettersson and Hughes are special but it is going to be expensive to keep this core in tact which begs the question if it was possible, would you trade Pettersson and Hughes for the Sedin twins at 26 years old.
When the Sedins were 26, the Canucks were entering their the 2007 season in an entirely new era of Canucks hockey. The Sedins didn't disapoint that year with Daniel putting up 36 goals and 48 assists.
The Sedins gave the Canucks real Stanley Cup hopes for the next eight years. As good as the Sedins were they were not generational players like Pettersson and Hughes but what makes the debate a good one was that their contracts were so cap friendly which gave the Canucks a chance so add other players that created a generational team from 2010-2012.
The second argument of why you would trade Pettersson and Hughes for the Sedins is how they were so consistent. The two never missed games and were great leaders.
For me, there is no right answer but to see what Pettersson and Hughes will do in Canucks jerseys is so exciting.
When I got asked this question, I really had to think about. I finally said yes, because I know what I would get from them and putting them into a lineup with Boesser and Horvat would be a great combination. I also said yes because I am dying for Canucks playoff hockey and I am nervous that we don't get in next year because four years of not making the playoffs has me nervous.
My gut tells me that most Canucks fans would not make this trade but I don't blame you for not being tempted like I was.
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
OOTP Hockey Manager is Awesome
With the Covid 19 halting pretty much everything, I have decided to purchase Franchise Hockey Manager which can be downloaded at the website. It is similar to OOTP Baseball which simulates full seasons and you can be manager.
The advantage this has over video games such as the EA Sports NHL series is that after a few seasons, no name players take over the game which slowly takes the fun out of things.
This game you can start in any past year and work your way to the present day with real drafts and everything.
The year I choose was 1993 and I have taken over the Vancouver Canucks. This will be super interesting because this seems like a huge turning point for the Vancouver Canucks. They had won the Smythe Division Title two years in a row but hadn't had much success in the playoffs.
Making the Stanley Cup Playoffs only seemed reasonable if Wayne Gretzky got eliminated by another team but that would all change when the NHL went to a new Playoff format.
On opening night of the 1994 season, the Vancouver Canucks defeated the LA Kings 4-2 when they came roaring back from a 2-0 first period deficit.
Pavel Bure popped home two goals as they were able to ruin Los Angeles Western Conference Champion Banner raising night.
Vancouver went 2-11 on the Power Play and LA went 1-9.
Tune back later on more updates on my season.
The advantage this has over video games such as the EA Sports NHL series is that after a few seasons, no name players take over the game which slowly takes the fun out of things.
This game you can start in any past year and work your way to the present day with real drafts and everything.
The year I choose was 1993 and I have taken over the Vancouver Canucks. This will be super interesting because this seems like a huge turning point for the Vancouver Canucks. They had won the Smythe Division Title two years in a row but hadn't had much success in the playoffs. Making the Stanley Cup Playoffs only seemed reasonable if Wayne Gretzky got eliminated by another team but that would all change when the NHL went to a new Playoff format.
On opening night of the 1994 season, the Vancouver Canucks defeated the LA Kings 4-2 when they came roaring back from a 2-0 first period deficit.
Pavel Bure popped home two goals as they were able to ruin Los Angeles Western Conference Champion Banner raising night.
Vancouver went 2-11 on the Power Play and LA went 1-9.
Tune back later on more updates on my season.
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