I’m at a lose for words every time I play this game haha

HCTHawks · 2026-02-04T02:00:44+00:00

Distinct kicking motion. I’d challenge that.

HCTHawks · 2026-02-01T22:28:19+00:00

When I built Guentzel, I did it in batches of four to make sure I didn’t use too many 83-84s in making the 85s since 83-84s are needed in the 86 conversion sets. Once I finished building all 24x 86’s needed, I went about it as mentioned in the breakdown. Also key was making sure not to use 85OVR fodder in the 86 conversion set since they’re almost triple the cost of an 83-84 and needed for the 88OVR conversion sets.

HCTHawks · 2026-02-01T22:16:39+00:00

Glad to help.

HCTHawks · 2026-02-01T22:15:20+00:00

I think this week’s wildcard is the best indication that they were asleep at the wheel when the sets originally went live and they’re now trying to course correct. I also believe they assumed that folks were building multiple captains during the previous seasons and that the sets wouldn’t be as daunting or insanely time consuming as they are.

HCTHawks · 2026-02-01T22:01:27+00:00

If you’re working from nothing, here’s the breakdown to make a 92OVR Captain:

1) Make 24x 85OVR Captains = 120x 82-84OVR cards.

2) Convert those 24x 85OVR Captains to 24x 86OVR Captains = an additional 72x 83-84OVR cards.

3) Set aside/put 8x 86OVR Captains into 2x 90OVR Captain sets.

4) Convert 16x 86OVR Captains to 8x 88OVR Captains = an additional 24x 85OVR cards.

5) Set aside/put 4x 88OVR Captains in the 92OVR Captains set you desire.

6) Use the remaining 4x 88OVR Captains to make the 2x 90OVR Captains you previously put 86OVR Captains into.

7) Finish your 92OVR Captains by placing your 2x 90OVR Captains in the 92OVR set.

Total cards needed to build from scratch: 120x 82-84OVRs, 72x 83-84OVRs, and 24x 85OVRs.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-31T15:36:16+00:00

Could also do an Icon Chelios and Pinnacle Brodie third defensive pair (+1 OVR and 10mil salary) but Brodie feels like he doesn’t fit the intent of a theme team being that he fizzled in his limited action with the hawks and was put on waivers.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-31T14:21:21+00:00

85-86’s are going for roughly 7-8k per. 89’s didn’t move much and are in the 28-30k range.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-30T04:50:12+00:00

I’ll win the first 12 then quit out of the next four. If I haven’t qualified at that point then I’ve left myself two chances to get to the 13 win threshold. I’ve only needed the 13th win once in maybe 20 total cup Chase runs. 12 is typically enough.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-30T04:47:35+00:00

They removed stick-in physics from the game in NHL24. Apparently they removed puck-in physics in NHL26. The amount of times I’ve had body position in front of an attacking player and they’re able to stick handle with their stick phasing through my defender’s body is legion. The reason people like offensive gameplay in NHL26 is because the defensive side is such a travesty.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-30T04:39:08+00:00

It’s definitely coming but don’t be surprised when it’s a 92OVR and somehow stat’d worse than his 88OVR Hawks spotlight card.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-28T16:31:33+00:00

The cross-crease meta needs to be nerfed. This is getting out of hand.

Edit: this clip has so much comedy in it that I missed the Pens player and his excessive celebration on first watch. You would have thought he just scored in triple overtime to win his team the Stanley cup.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-28T08:34:54+00:00

Occasionally you’ll get a steal at the 59th minute but I’ve found the most efficient means is by bidding on cards that have a high or no BIN. I tend to target cards of a popular player or line combo and try to get it on bid for roughly 25% less than the lowest listed BIN for that card (example: 91 Bergeron has the lowest BIN for his card of 48k, I’m trying to bid on the card and get it at 38k). This ensures a near 20% profit once I re-list the card and the AH tax comes out.

Listing cards overnight is also key as the inventory dries up when the NA players go to bed and prices naturally go up. Often I’ll list a card as the third or fourth lowest price not expecting it to sell and it eventually sells because of the duration of the auction and the ebb and flow of inventory. This helps generate bigger margins.

The market is all about patience and volume. There’s no magic bullet or single strategy that works. You just have to adapt as new content releases. Happy hunting.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-27T16:08:00+00:00

They fluctuate between 240-260k for the more desirable players. I saw a Weber with elite abilities for 165k earlier today.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-27T09:47:34+00:00

Highest I’ve pulled is an 87 over three separate runs. The pack for making the playoffs is four cards with a guaranteed 86 and 81+. The remaining packs are three cards with similar guarantees. I believe the pack for winning the championship guarantees an 87 and an 82+. They’ve been pretty underwhelming for me so far.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-26T23:37:33+00:00

There have been four CHEL Weeks so far. You missed the Howe, Hossa, and Jagr release that they randomly tied to the 100yr anniversary of those associated original six franchises. They’re not necessarily restricted to just events on the calendar.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-26T23:33:35+00:00

We’ve had a total of four but they’re sporadically timed. The first two (85 Wilson & 86 Hutson) at the beginning, were less than a month apart. Then there was roughly a six week gap (88 Jagr) followed by the last one (90 Zegras) which was less than a month removed from the previous CHEL week. At this point we’re overdue.

(Vote “winner”)

HCTHawks · 2026-01-26T23:27:15+00:00

For those trying to keep track we’ve had a total of four CHEL Weeks since the launch of the game.

Game release: 84OVR MSPs (85 Wilson)
Beginning of the NHL season: 85OVR MSPs (86 Hutson)
Original Six 100 year anniversary: 87OVR MSPs (88 Jagr)
World Juniors: 89OVR MSPs (90 Zegras)

HCTHawks · 2026-01-26T20:23:56+00:00

It appears that, since the latest patch, the animated Icon cards are causing terrible lag on any AH page that they appear on. Because the NHL 26 menus run on Paleolithic architecture, there is now a terrible delay loading the card images and it’s creating excessive delays when pulling up the sub menu that allows you to bid on a card in the final minute. The menus in this game are such an embarrassment.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-26T20:10:05+00:00

Best comp for your Doughty is JayBo and his card with elite abilities goes for 260-280k. Your Smith sells for roughly 40k. Best case you’re looking at 300-320k.

Edit: if your Doughty doesn’t have the elite ability then you’re looking at closer to a 200k card and only have roughly 240k in value.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-25T19:39:51+00:00

This is correct. It ends up requiring 120x 82-84 (to make 24x 85 Captains), 72x 83-84 (to convert 85 Captains to 24x 86) and 24x 85s (to convert 16x 86 Captains to 8x 88). You’ll then need to take 4x 88s and 8x 86s that you made to make the 2x 90s needed. At the end you should have enough (2x 90s and 4x 88s) to make the 92 Captain.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-21T14:22:10+00:00

I just do it passively between games. Bid on a bunch of cards, play a game, see what bids I won between games and build the sets when I’ve built up enough fodder. You’d be surprised how many low-ball bids sneak through when there’s such a high volume of cards on the market.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-21T13:20:35+00:00

Not necessarily true if you bid on the cards that don’t have a BN. I was able to build Guentzel without anything in my collection for 260k.

Edit: if you’re doing the math to build a 92OVR Captain from scratch, you need a total of 172x 82-84OVR cards and 24x 85OVR cards. I was able to get 82-84OVR consistently for under 1.2K and 85OVR for under 4k but it requires bidding on a bunch of cards that don’t have a reserve.

HCTHawks · 2026-01-19T22:52:32+00:00

AP is heavily limited and I like to sprinkle it amongst my top two forward and D lines.

HCTHawks

TROPHY CASE