48 Team Franchise : The Milwaukee Bucks of Hockey

[Elphalpha]

Hey All! With NHL 23 going on sale, I decided to give it a shot after hesitating with the poor launch state. One of the things that really excited me was the option of custom franchises. Having immense flexibility and some unique options intrigued me into trying this out. With some of the settings, I really am guessing at this. Not sure what to expect, but hopefully it turns out all right.


All expansion teams will be starting with ECHL rosters, so it's going to be an uphill battle. Bedard watch should be fun!

There's no reason to clutter the forum with posts of every game, so I'll give 21 game updates (84 games in a year, so during the quarter points of the season) for the Bucks along with some league updates.

Also, I typically play games unless I'm up by 3 or down by 3 (which I'll usually sim). Around game 15, I decided to only play third periods unless I'm up by 3 or down by 3. This will make seasons go by more quickly. I still plan on playing all of the playoff games.

I'm not very good at the game either, but I play on AlTitos Sliders with All-Pro and 1/6 CPU difficulty adjustment. I changed it from 0/6 to 1/6 after the first game and then later to 3/6 in game 30 of season 1.

[Elphalpha]

House Rules

Can re-sign RFAs and pending-ufas to at least 90% of value. I can't adjust the years on the contract.

Can only sign UFAs for what they're asking for *no lowballing

User-signed FA Players must play 70 percent of their contract before being traded. EXE: signing a player at 7 years means they can't be traded until their 5th or 6th season. Unless a player's morale is low enough that they'd rather be traded then stay with the organization.


TRADES..make it make sense for BOTH teams. Can only trade green-value for red-value.

1-year FA: Can trade at the Deadline

2-year FA: Can be traded at the year 2 deadline

3-year FA: Can be traded at the start of year 2

4-year FA: Year 3 Start

5-year FA: Year 3 deadline

6-year FA: Year 4 start

7-year FA: Year 5 Start

8-year FA: Year 5 deadline

DRAFTING..

MAX 12 picks.

SCOUTS + Coaches fit under budget, can't offer contracts on the first day of free agency.

NO trading players until 1-2 months after free agency starts.

[Elphalpha]

Custom Franchise Settings

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NHL League Setup

48 Teams

2 Conferences

8 Divisions

Salary Cap: ON

Salary Cap Inflation: ON

Player Salary Scaling: OFF. Taking a risk here, but I've had experience in NHL 22 when the cap goes up and 80ovr D-Man are asking for 5 to 10 Mil

Cap Max: Default

Cap Min: Changed to 20M to ensure that AI doesn't get punished because they can't reach the floor in the first year.

NHL Schedule

Games: 84. Added two just because I thought it would be fun to see if any interesting record get broken.

Division Games: 18

Conference Games: 34

Interconference Games: 32

NHL Standings Format

3 Points Per Regulation Win

2 Points Per OT Win

1 Point Per SO Win

0 Points for any losses

NHL Playoff Qualification

Playoff Reseeding: YES

Wild Card Round: Yes. The format doesn't change too much except that the WC game is hosted by the team with more points. Only 1 game decides who goes on.

Teams that qualify per Division: 4

Teams that qualify per conference: 18. 24 Teams in a conference. So 6 teams will miss out on the playoffs. Ensures that the worst teams get the best possible draft picks, and makes for an incredible playoff gauntlet

Teams that qualify for the playoffs: 36. 12 teams will miss out on the playoffs.

AHL Changes

All conferences are removed. Teams will compete in a 34 team playoff bracket to determine who hosts the Calder Cup

Playoffs and season changes are nearly identical to the NHL

[Elphalpha]

Meet The Expansion Franchises

1. Atlanta Gladiators. An ECHL import that will attempt to finally have a successful franchise as an NHL team in Atlanta. Can they succeed this time?

2. Cleveland Growlers. Dawg Pound! The Blue Jackets aren't alone in Ohio anymore. With the ECHL team moving from Newfoundland, they'll do their best to compete at the NHL level.

3. Halifax Mariners. Another ECHL team, but this time they get to compete in a market that's hungry for professional Hockey. Can the Maritimes have a team to be proud of?

4. Hamilton Tigers. Toronto is filled with money and die-hard hockey fans. Can the former NHL team capitalize on its long-suffering fanbase, or will it choke it all away?

5. Hartford Whalers. A storied NHL franchise in a small market. Ownership is banking on nostalgia toward success. As long as they don't play in a mall again they should be alright.

6. Houston Astros. MLB Ownership hopes to succeed in hockey by utilizing its baseball franchises' marketing. Certainly doesn't hurt that they're in one of the largest markets in the USA.

7. Indianapolis Fuel. ECHL team transferring directly to the NHL. Indy has proven it can have financial success in sports as long as it can win. Will it work with Hockey?

8. KC Scouts. Former NHL team returning to Kansas City. I'm actually surprised something like this hasn't happened. Imagine Patrick Mahomes wanted to diversify some of his income and purchased a Hockey team.

9. London Royals of Canada. The Golden Horshoe supposedly can support three NHL teams. We'll see how much success this team can scrape away from the GTA.

10. Orlando Solar Bears. Yet another ECHL import looking to capitalize on the NHL market. Florida finally gets a third team to compete for market share. Doesn't hurt that those UNIS look nice.

11. Portland Red Hawks. I honestly picked the name because I didn't feel like changing anything with the team that was already created by another user. Either way, this team should become Oregon's pride and joy over the historically mediocre Trailblazers.

12. Quebec Nordiques. Makes zero sense this team isn't already in the NHL considering how much Canada loves hockey. Easy win for whoever buys the team. Will they be able to compete with the Habs is the question.

13. San Diego Seals. San Diego gets a team owned by someone who hopefully won't move it. The Golden Seals come back with all their branding and everything to a city that doesn't have a team. Hey, and it's kinda interesting that a team with a huge naval presence has a team named the Seals.

14. Saskatchewan Roughriders. A CFL team turned hockey gets to go to Saskatoon and be the only team in the province. Should be a fun rivalry between some of the other Canadian teams.

15. Utah Stealth. I really didn't want to re-make the Grizzlies and decided to choose the premade stealth bomber. Either way, the logo, and unis look cool.

16. Milwaukee Bucks. Lastly, the team I will be controlling in this franchise. I've always wanted a team to truly support, and having to choose between several teams has never felt right to me. I never really liked the Wild, and the Blackhawks were already good before I was interested in hockey, so it felt like bandwagoning. Right now I currently support the Maple Leafs, but if Milwaukee got a team, then I'd support them right away. Now they have one!

[Elphalpha]

Divisions

Eastern Conference - Northern Division Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 23, 2022
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
Toronto Maple Leafs	0-0
Montreal Canadiens	0-0
Ottawa Senators	0-0
Buffalo Sabres	0-0
Hamilton Tigers	0-0
Quebec Nordiques	0-0

Eastern Conference - Northeastern Division Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 23, 2022
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
New York Rangers	0-0
New York Islanders	0-0
New Jersey Islanders	0-0
Boston Bruins	0-0
Hartford Whalers	0-0
Halifax Mariners	0-0

Eastern Conference - Central Division Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 23, 2022
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
Pittsburgh Penguins	0-0
Philadelphia Flyers	0-0
Columbus Blue Jackets	0-0
Nashville Predators	0-0
London Royals	0-0
Cleveland Growlers	0-0

Eastern Conference - South Eastern Division Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 23, 2022
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
Tampa Bay Lighting	0-0
Carolina Hurricanes	0-0
Florida Panthers	0-0
Washington Capitals	0-0
Orlando Solar Bears	0-0
Atlanta Gladiators	0-0

Western Conference - Midwest Division Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 23, 2022
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
Chicago Blackhawks	0-0
Minnesota Wild	0-0
Detroit Red Wings	0-0
St. Louis Blues	0-0
Indianapolis Fuel	0-0
Milwaukee Bucks	0-0

Western Conference - Plains Division Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 23, 2022
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
Winnipeg Jets	0-0
Dallas Stars	0-0
Colorado Avalanche	0-0
Utah Stealth	0-0
Houston Astros	0-0
Kansas City Scouts	0-0

Western Conference - Northwest Division Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 23, 2022
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
Seattle Kraken	0-0
Calgary Flames	0-0
Arizona Coyotes	0-0
Edmonton Oilers	0-0
Portland Red Hawks	0-0
Saskatchewan Roughriders	0-0

Western Conference - Pacific Divisions Conference Standings - Updated: Sep 23, 2022
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
San Jose Sharks	0-0
LA Kings	0-0
Anaheim Ducks	0-0
Vancouver Canucks	0-0
Vegas Golden Knights	0-0
San Diego Golden Seals	0-0

[Elphalpha]

Season Expectations and Goals for 2022-2023 NHL season

Stop-Tanking.jpg

Nobody expects anything out of an expansion franchise, or at least they didn't until Vegas went on its miracle run a few years back. However, this year is different. There's zero expansion draft, teams don't get an option at drafting prior to the season, and all 16 teams are forced to roll into the season with ECHL rosters.

Our expectation isn't to roll over and die. I play nearly every game, so I'm not going to throw in the towel for 84 games. That doesn't mean I'm trading away assets, but taking on salary cap dumps might be OK as a goal. We can improve while also getting valuable assets in return. We have 20M in cap space at the moment, so it only makes sense to do so.

I'd still like to get a lottery pick, but I'm not going to tank to do it. Especially since it would kill our team morale (I play with morale on).

[johnstone1987]

Wow all this can be done with NHL 23? I gotta check it out!

[Elphalpha]

Pre-Season and Early Season Trades

Milwaukee making noise by trading for major assets during the early season picking up Nikita Zaitsev, Patrik Nemeth, and Erik Gudbranson for draft assets. All of these teams managed to get rid of their bad contracts at a cheap value.



gudbranson.PNG

nemeth.PNG

zaietsev.PNG