I don't know if anyone here still plays the EA NHL games (I haven't bought one in two or three years now) but it's so comical how off they are on the player ratings when they get released.
- hereticpride

i still play the franchise modes from time to time. i like to breeze through the first few years and tear a team down then rebuild through the draft with randomly generated players. the franchise goalies in rounds 4-6 is broken though.

18 of those goals came in 1 month (5 in one game). What was he doing for the rest of the season? Not very much.

Look, if he was on his ELC still and the Flyers could just flip Nolan Patrick or something for him, I'd be all for it. Goal-scoring is the most difficult thing to do, yada yada yada.

But 'going all in' on Laine means not only giving up a bundle of assets (1st & top-prospect+), but you also have to cave to his Auston Matthews-level contract demands... it's a non-starter. If this were young OV or Matthews or young Crosby, who make their teammates better and will do anything to win, then it may be worth it. But Laine's impact isn't worth all the trade and opportunity costs.
- Tomahawk

Just me. It’ll cost more than just Patrick.

i still play the franchise modes from time to time. i like to breeze through the first few years and tear a team down then rebuild through the draft with randomly generated players. the franchise goalies in rounds 4-6 is broken though.
- Mordecai

I used to play a lot. Now I have three kids bug subscribe to the ea hub. Most of the games become free later in each season (all sports).

My experience people get mad at the ratings due to them not being true to the players. An example. When the pens win some of the 4 th lone players are faster or as fast as elite or good players on other teams. Jvr I think is an 87 speed. Laughton is 83 or so. I’ve never clocked them but I disagree. G is 90 or so. More mechanics are being added every year but they are not the same as in the past.

Pronman of the Athletic ranks the Flyers farm system #7 in the NHL. Frost and Farabee are “High End” prospects. Myers, Brink, and Ratcliffe are “Very good “. York is on the bubble between the two categories. The Flyers do not have any prospects in the “Elite” category. FWIW.
- Djapana

Overall, Pronman’s evaluations of the Flyers prospects are very positive. Frost and Farabee are projected as first line forwards. Mildly surprising is that Ersson is the top ranked goalie by a lot and Allison projects as a legit top 6 forward. On the negative side the most common criticism thoughout the 26 prospects is lack of skating speed and quickness. This does not seem to be a priority in the Flyers draft selections.

i still play the franchise modes from time to time. i like to breeze through the first few years and tear a team down then rebuild through the draft with randomly generated players. the franchise goalies in rounds 4-6 is broken though.
- Mordecai

You might wanna check out EHM (Eastside Hockey Manager). I recently picked it up for $5 on a Steam sale. It's pretty terrific.

I used to play a lot. Now I have three kids bug subscribe to the ea hub. Most of the games become free later in each season (all sports).

My experience people get mad at the ratings due to them not being true to the players. An example. When the pens win some of the 4 th lone players are faster or as fast as elite or good players on other teams. Jvr I think is an 87 speed. Laughton is 83 or so. I’ve never clocked them but I disagree. G is 90 or so. More mechanics are being added every year but they are not the same as in the past.
- Peter Richards

the game does kind of balance out having 83+ players on your fourth lines now. they get unhappy with the amount of minutes and either request a trade, or their rating drops signifigantly. i try to avoid making cheesy trades for top picks and keep most top prospects in juniors/AHL until they have a 2nd line rating or close to it.

You might wanna check out EHM (Eastside Hockey Manager). I recently picked it up for $5 on a Steam sale. It's pretty terrific.
- Tomahawk

Mono tried to get me to into it before. i'm dry on fun games at the moment so i might give it another look.

Mono tried to get me to into it before. i'm dry on fun games at the moment so i might give it another look.
- Mordecai

It's kinda intimidating at first, since the level of detail is a bit insane, but it's super fun once you get the hang of it.

You can download rosters from the workshop that have just about every league in the world -- all pro, minor pro, junior, college, HS prep, club teams, etc. The sheer amount of real prospects means years and years of draft accuracy. The trade and contract negotiation AI is pretty solid, too.

It's basically an armchair GM's dream.

It's kinda intimidating at first, since the level of detail is a bit insane, but it's super fun once you get the hang of it.

You can download rosters from the workshop that have just about every league in the world -- all pro, minor pro, junior, college, HS prep, club teams, etc. The sheer amount of real prospects means years and years of draft accuracy. The trade and contract negotiation AI is pretty solid, too.

It's basically an armchair GM's dream.
- Tomahawk

hmmmm that is really interesting actually. sounds like a game i could get lost in for days.

Mono tried to get me to into it before. i'm dry on fun games at the moment so i might give it another look.
- Mordecai

I played it back during middle school, it was addicting af

i still play the franchise modes from time to time. i like to breeze through the first few years and tear a team down then rebuild through the draft with randomly generated players. the franchise goalies in rounds 4-6 is broken though.
- Mordecai

They've fixed the Franchise goalie problem for NHL 20. If you're a fan of playing Franchise Mode, this would be a good year to pick up the game. EA added coaching staff and line chemistry etc.

You might wanna check out EHM (Eastside Hockey Manager). I recently picked it up for $5 on a Steam sale. It's pretty terrific.
- Tomahawk

👍

hmmmm that is really interesting actually. sounds like a game i could get lost in for days.
- Mordecai

Borderlands 3 in a few weeks.

They've fixed the Franchise goalie problem for NHL 20. If you're a fan of playing Franchise Mode, this would be a good year to pick up the game. EA added coaching staff and line chemistry etc.
- dubc55

I remember back in the day playing the earlier NHL games on PC. You could decorate the GM's office and stuff. Though I always liked starting with like a 68 player and incrementally trading players until you turned it into like Joe Sakic.

I'm one of those guys who tried winning 10 cups in a row, I didn't like losing. I'm also the same kid that always played with game genie on Nintendo.

I used to play a lot. Now I have three kids bug subscribe to the ea hub. Most of the games become free later in each season (all sports).

My experience people get mad at the ratings due to them not being true to the players. An example. When the pens win some of the 4 th lone players are faster or as fast as elite or good players on other teams. Jvr I think is an 87 speed. Laughton is 83 or so. I’ve never clocked them but I disagree. G is 90 or so. More mechanics are being added every year but they are not the same as in the past.
- Peter Richards

The old Sega games were true. In NHLPA 93, Shawn Chambers was a 1...a ONE. I don't think he was THAT bad, but a guy like Dave Brown or Craig Berube would top out in the 30s-40s. Now, I don't think anyone is below a 40 (even the DEL guys) and most NHL players are in the low 70s at worst.

It's kinda intimidating at first, since the level of detail is a bit insane, but it's super fun once you get the hang of it.

You can download rosters from the workshop that have just about every league in the world -- all pro, minor pro, junior, college, HS prep, club teams, etc. The sheer amount of real prospects means years and years of draft accuracy. The trade and contract negotiation AI is pretty solid, too.

It's basically an armchair GM's dream.
- Tomahawk

Do you play in a league against other players or is it all simulated?

The old Sega games were true. In NHLPA 93, Shawn Chambers was a 1...a ONE. I don't think he was THAT bad, but a guy like Dave Brown or Craig Berube would top out in the 30s-40s. Now, I don't think anyone is below a 40 (even the DEL guys) and most NHL players are in the low 70s.
- jmatchett383

And now I have to hook up my Genesis and waste a night playing NHL 95

And now I have to hook up my Genesis and waste a night playing NHL 95
- 2sticks1puck

Aside from you liking the cover, 95 is an odd middling ground. There was a noticeable uptick in speed from 94, but still no fighting and the controls weren't great. 94 and 96 were my 2 favorites.

Aside from you liking the cover, 95 is an odd middling ground. There was a noticeable uptick in speed from 94, but still no fighting and the controls weren't great. 94 and 96 were my 2 favorites.
- jmatchett383

Growing up, I was more of a SNES guy so a lot of the genesis games are just fill ins. Apparently, I should sell Castlevania yesterday since it's worth a decent bit.

Oddly enough, my favorite game of the series was NHL 98. It was the first game I had on PC, and the jump in graphics from the SNES/Genesis games was gigantic to me. Sure, there were better games afterwards, but just always had a soft spot for 98.

Growing up, I was more of a SNES guy so a lot of the genesis games are just fill ins. Apparently, I should sell Castlevania yesterday since it's worth a decent bit.

Oddly enough, my favorite game of the series was NHL 98. It was the first game I had on PC, and the jump in graphics from the SNES/Genesis games was gigantic to me. Sure, there were better games afterwards, but just always had a soft spot for 98.
- 2sticks1puck

I think 98 had Forsberg on the cover? Or was that Lindros?

Do you play in a league against other players or is it all simulated?
- jmatchett383

Unless they’ve changed it up, it’s just a simulator. It’s probably been 10 years since I played.

I think 98 had Forsberg on the cover? Or was that Lindros?
- jmatchett383

Lindros was on 99 Forsberg was 98

Unless they’ve changed it up, it’s just a simulator. It’s probably been 10 years since I played.
- tangent_man

I'd like to be able to play against a friend, or run a fantasy league.

I'd like to be able to play against a friend, or run a fantasy league.
- jmatchett383

eastsidehockey.com They do have multiplayer now, up to 30 players.

Might be able to incorporate a fantasy league into it, but we use Fantrax - under $6/team for 14 teams and fully customizable.

I'd like to be able to play against a friend, or run a fantasy league.
- jmatchett383

A bunch of us joined a yahoosports fantasy league.

https://hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com/hockey/7483