Franchise NHL - Questions Section

[dickiedunn]

How long should it take to rebuild a fantasy hockey team?

I'm thinking 1 season. You should be motivated to move out players that you don't want to rebuild around and bring in the new group within a season. I mean this is fantasy right!? So it shouldn't take years or it'd be like watching paint dry and I mean oilbased paint, not latex. lol

[joeshmoe]

It can take a long time.  If you have no trade chips and the free agency market is dry its tough.  So it really depends.  How much cash do you have, how many actual chips.  Can you get pieces that are ready to start playing in the NHL soon but aren't on gigantic bad contracts?  There's a lot to it.  I'm going on into my third year in SD for FGM and I am just now starting to see some change.  It's tough.  Be in for the couple year long haul.

[Drew]

Ya I would say if your lucky 1 year but normally probably 2 to 3 years. I am lucky as I am not in a rebuild mode in any league here. It might be because I constantly just try to win and will refuse to rebuild though too.

[RSnakeBR]

I believe it will takes me 3 years to rebuild the team here. 

[dickiedunn]

I believe it will takes me 3 years to rebuild the team here. 

In that case Snake you should hire a new GM to do the work for you as the owner. lol

Drew, I believe that works too but only for active teams. I also believe at any point a team can just stop playing in "re-building" mode and compete.

Joe, a long time is relative and I think in fantasy a "Long time" is one season. If you have to re-build for and not be competitive for more than one year you are bound to lose interest. No one like losing for too long.

I see my Franchise NHL Senators team as a 1 year re-build with a shift to my brand of core players and a farm system that's ready to move up within the next several months or become more valuable as prospects in that time.

A few people told me I can play without a starting goalie so I might just put that to the test or see what the off-season brings with the new pool of free agents.

I honestly think re-building is more interesting that taking over a winner or play-off team because there's more room to shape the roster to meet your needs and how you play.

[joeshmoe]

In that case Snake you should hire a new GM to do the work for you as the owner. lol

Drew, I believe that works too but only for active teams. I also believe at any point a team can just stop playing in "re-building" mode and compete.

Joe, a long time is relative and I think in fantasy a "Long time" is one season. If you have to re-build for and not be competitive for more than one year you are bound to lose interest. No one like losing for too long.

I see my Franchise NHL Senators team as a 1 year re-build with a shift to my brand of core players and a farm system that's ready to move up within the next several months or become more valuable as prospects in that time.

A few people told me I can play without a starting goalie so I might just put that to the test or see what the off-season brings with the new pool of free agents.

I honestly think re-building is more interesting that taking over a winner or play-off team because there's more room to shape the roster to meet your needs and how you play.

Depending on the shape of a team it could take well over a year.  There was no way to salvage the Padres in one year in FGM...no way.  I imagine the same is true here.  I stand by my conviction, it could take a few years.  If youre not ready for that, don't take that team.  Any owner who bails on a team after a year because it hasn't turned around is not a good gm...I stand by that!

[PigsRule]

a team that has assets and some decent prospects, sure within 1 yr. but if a team's got few to no assets to trade and a depleted farm system, i agree with joeshmoe it might take a few seasons to turn things around.

[dickiedunn]

If a GM is very particular about the players he wants and has a specific shopping list then sure it can take a while to build a custom team. My Senators had a decent roster though one that was and still remains winless however we have enough parts to deal to bring in some nice players to build around for later this season and mainly heading into 2012-13.

I've been pretty active hear trying to make trades and therefore have moved things along in the re-building process but I can see how the team wouldn't change much if I only sent 1 or 2 trade offers a week since more than half the trade offer PMs I've sent haven't been answered or replied to in over 2 weeks since I joined and sent them. So what I'm saying is you really have to put time into this.

Of course I'm not saying Joe's SD team isn't taking the time it is to re-tool since trades also depend on other teams willing to accept players you want to move or even reply to PMs the negotiate. lol

[joeshmoe]

If a GM is very particular about the players he wants and has a specific shopping list then sure it can take a while to build a custom team. My Senators had a decent roster though one that was and still remains winless however we have enough parts to deal to bring in some nice players to build around for later this season and mainly heading into 2012-13.

I've been pretty active hear trying to make trades and therefore have moved things along in the re-building process but I can see how the team wouldn't change much if I only sent 1 or 2 trade offers a week since more than half the trade offer PMs I've sent haven't been answered or replied to in over 2 weeks since I joined and sent them. So what I'm saying is you really have to put time into this.

Of course I'm not saying Joe's SD team isn't taking the time it is to re-tool since trades also depend on other teams willing to accept players you want to move or even reply to PMs the negotiate. lol

No offense taken...SD had been in a tough spot when I took over in FGM.  The trade offers were all trying to rip me off.  I had very few pieces, and had lots of salary to move (my cap was 60m and 14m a year was locked up in Jake Peavy!!).  And, there are teams in that league with more cap space next year than my entire salary cap.  It's a very tough situation.  So I draft, and sign young guys with large bonuses.  I have to keep salary low costs in order to compete.  So, I am waiting for guys like Christopher Hawkins, Javier Baez, Kolbrin Vitek and others to mature, which in the MLB can take a while...same as NHL; draft picks usually aren't playing in their first season.

I finished 4th in my division this year...it's a step in the right direction!!  That project is definitely a few year process.  I have had opportunities to move to other teams, but I've grown attached to my roster and I want to see what happens to it.  I think that makes me a dedicated owner...and so you have to ask...why are you competing?  To win now or for the challenge?

Now, the Bruins are in first place for their division and are looking really good.  Part of that is that I haven't been quick to trade and haven't sent the pieces out the door.  I have guys in the minors and my major league roster is a winner.  But had I gone trade crazy, who knows what would have happened.  Just my two pennies.

[SizzRat]

Edmonton was terrible when I took them over this past offseason, but one big trade really turned things around.

I traded Taylor Hall and Khabibulin for Scott Hartnell, Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrej Meszaros & a  1st rd. draft pick (which was later packaged with my other first to move up and take Sean Couturier)

Last year Edmonton won 9 games all season, and so far I already have 4 wins and am within inches of taking down the 7-1 Phoenix Coyotes this week. While I'm not done rebuilding in any sense, I think doing your homework and understanding each player's situation when you trade for them can make sense.

Everyone called me crazy when I traded Taylor Hall away, but I knew that he'd be on the top line every night against each team's top D-Men, and I knew Khabibulin only has a few years left in him... by the time I'd be "Re-Built," he'd retire.

I picked up Bobrovsky, who will be a starter in this league within the next 2 seasons, Mezsaros who QB's the PP when Pronger is injure (which is a lot cause he's old as the sun), Hartnell is a consistent 20-25 goal scorer, and I was able to add Sean Couturier, one of the few 18 year olds in the league.

So, you might have to make an unpopular trade, but I think doing your homework and understanding the situation each player will be in besides just looking at a stat line can pay huge dividends. Of course, this assumes you have a player worth trading...