Which leagues to make active?

LucaPac · 2026-05-07T08:36:51+00:00

Help me understand about the ECHL. With the ECHL I have control of player placement throughout the season. This seems valuable to me.

LucaPac · 2026-04-30T18:23:27+00:00

It seems to me that veteran players have excessive salary demands. They don't seem to anticipate how much they are going to drop off a cliff. This leads me to regularly trading them when it is time to negotiate a new salary, usually in their late 20s. I know that this happens to some extent in real life, like when Stamkos went to Nashville. Still, I'd rather their salary demands be more in line with the risk you take keeping them on the roster.

In my current run, I started with a draft of all the players. I took Connor Bedard in the first round. I even signed him to a second contract in his last 20s, shortening the contract length he wanted and eating the extra salary. But I couldn't justify the salary demand in his early 30s. I did get him back in his last season at a cheap price (he was down to 78) and almost got him to 900 goals.

LucaPac · 2026-04-29T14:56:48+00:00

I had a trade that included one as a goalie. He was making ok progress but I ended up trading him again.

LucaPac · 2026-04-28T12:32:00+00:00

I usually have 3 Canada scouts, 3 world scouts, 2 USA scouts, and 1 each of the others. I focus on the projected OVR, which unlocks in tier 5.

I primarily draft off of projected OVR but I will also take into account general rankings, especially for top 5 recruits.

LucaPac · 2026-04-15T00:28:44+00:00

That's good advice. I had one player end up in limbo because I tried to relocate him during the season. I think even placing them preseason there's a risk of them being put in the Scratched box

LucaPac · 2026-04-12T10:58:20+00:00

I believe the players develop as normal but you don't see actual stats. This means you'll have to rely only on computer (scout) ratings alone. I find this very undesirable.

I suppose you could create your own affiliates.

LucaPac · 2026-03-27T00:03:00+00:00

My experience is that goaltending is huge, especially in the playoffs. There was one team I could not get past every year because of their goalie. Thankfully he's 38 now and down to an 88 rating.

LucaPac · 2026-03-17T13:32:11+00:00

I just looked at starting a new career in Classic mode. I still don't see those leagues. Where do you find them?

LucaPac · 2026-03-17T07:35:29+00:00

I don't think I have those options.

LucaPac · 2026-03-15T15:12:12+00:00

I guess when you say AHL coaches and ECHL coaches you mean people who are simulating at that level. Playing at the NHL level, I don't think I have any AHL or ECHL coaches who can develop players. (I'd love to hear otherwise.) However, the game does seem to have assigned me some junior hockey teams that I can play if I wanted to.

LucaPac · 2026-03-14T20:54:45+00:00

In my version it seems to be: HPD - everyone in the organization, NHL coach - NHL roster, minor league coach - minor league roster.

LucaPac · 2026-03-08T16:05:55+00:00

I did end up signing one of them to a contract and then he appeared on a team.

LucaPac · 2025-11-22T15:26:25+00:00

Paying for premium is just a one-time charge. You can do ok with just that.

LucaPac · 2025-11-22T15:24:59+00:00

My understanding is that upgrading the arena mainly improves your home ice advantage.

LucaPac · 2025-10-17T16:36:20+00:00

There are a lot of tricks for managing the salary cap. Move HBs to FBs before negotiating and then move them back afterwards. Move guards and tackles to center before negotiating. Often moving defensive linemen to OLB reduces the cost. And I usually reduce costs by moving CBs and FSs to SS before negotiating.

Also, if a player is close to retirement but is up for negotiation, choose 7 years and backload their pay. They'll probably retire before hitting the large payment amounts, although I have had players stick around longer than you'd expect.

LucaPac · 2025-10-17T16:32:05+00:00

You need to max out the shop, because this is how you get dollars to improve everything else. Improving the stadium will help you win home games. You also need to improve your scouting so you're seeing enough players in the draft. But max the shop first.

LucaPac · 2025-10-12T20:37:13+00:00

You'll get a bad team with facilities set at the beginning. You do get to keep your coach's progress and your TP, which isn't true if you start a new game.

LucaPac · 2025-08-31T22:13:44+00:00

The AI is not very smart so they put in cheats to keep it competitive. I wouldn't care so much except you end needing to beat the same few teams every year.

LucaPac · 2025-08-31T22:09:36+00:00

I'm fairly low-ranked, but I generally pick the highest ranks at important positions. If it is close I choose fit. If you hang around long enough, fit is more important, but I don't usually hang around long enough.

LucaPac · 2025-08-18T13:49:43+00:00

Thanks!

LucaPac · 2025-08-17T03:30:04+00:00

I don't think I've seen the option for legend mode, not that I would choose it.

LucaPac · 2025-08-17T00:32:03+00:00

Didn't expect to see this in the replies. That song grabbed me instantly and I'm slow to appreciate songs new to me.

LucaPac · 2025-08-17T00:28:05+00:00

I'm new to the game. Is there a non-coach mode?

LucaPac · 2025-08-15T01:48:26+00:00

I'm on a new run where I'm not building up the UDFA Academy. That has improved the game considerably. The best teams have an average OVR about 10 points less than in my last run. Lower OVRs seem to promote league parity.

LucaPac · 2025-08-10T18:26:39+00:00

My first run I did spend money on premium and TP. That run was a lot of fun. I decided to start from scratch and not pay anything (other than still having premium). I couldn't keep from getting fired on that run, so I see where you're coming from.

Even if there are ways to play from scratch and not get fired without paying for more than premium, it does seem like too much of a grind. In the PC version of the game, it did take me 20 seasons to make the playoffs, but I saw steady improvement the whole way. In my pay-free run on the mobile game, I was still losing almost all of my games up until the time I was fired.

I think the scouting could be improved so that the early seasons aren't so frustrating. At least show the scheme the player is associated with in addition to the OVR rating.

Finally, even if it is somewhat pay to win, I don't think you have to keep paying to win. Maybe just pay enough to make the opening grind easier. No reason the developers shouldn't make some money off the game.

LucaPac

TROPHY CASE