New cities, new toko. I’m headed to Tampa, baby. Ford has been home in Liverpool since the Panthers got eliminated. He’s going to fly into Edmonton and we’re going to go on a raucous road trip down to Tampa (not to Calgary, an hour away, we’re going to earn our kicks).We’re renting a bad ass RV rocketing south towards the gulf. We were going ot have Kennedy join us, but he’s too busy grinding for TPE and prepping for next season. Otter was going to come as well, but has a bunch of GMing duties, so he’s just going to meet us down there. And, inversely, Duggan has been partying down in Tampa since game 40. We’ve rented a house with the company card, and it’s stocked full of booze and cured meats. Tony and I are going to hit every jiggle joint on the panhandle on the way to our rental, so Eggy’s going to have to go into the petty cash and get us some singles. I hope the rental has a TV so that i know when i should get a ride to the arena for the cup party. Thanks for hosting, skoldpaddor!


I’m personally a big fan of both franchises. Esa, the Parmgawd himself is in my draft class, so I feel the attachment there, however Tampa Bay is made up of a much younger team, many of which I know well from either my draft class or my seasons in juniors. Alongside of Calgary being our (Edmonton’s) rivals, they also strengthen us by playing well. Similar to the SEC “bias” in college football, its comforting to know that the best teams will come from the South Eastern Conference because they all have such difficult schedules. If Calgary wins, history will just reflect that Edmonton had that much harder of a schedule, and that our accomplishments were that much greater. Also the idea of beating them last season in the playoffs will be even more impressive.
Howevuhhh… Ford, Skoldpaddor and I have a wager going, where i will get paid (and a shiny new sig) if Tampa Bay wins (this bet was made before the season started). I would still be eligible to win if Calgary won and then next year Tampa Bay beat a different team, but in my mind, it would be best for my personal legacy if Tampa Bay won, i used that earned money on improving myself, and then Edmonton wins again next year.
I just hope everyone has fun.


I currently like the playoff layout as it is. One idea that I toyed with that I genuinely think would be interesting, would be to turn injuries on for the post season. Injuries and adversity are something that has affected every post-season hockey team in the real world, particularly the ones that win it all. Turning on injuries for the regular season risks a drop in activity, but post-season is less than two weeks, and most of the site is already on the sidelines anyway. It lets the competitive players load up (responsibly) on durability and adds an extra element to the game. It will give the coaches/GMs a more interesting task (as opposed to simming the original matchup 50 times at the beginning of the round, day by day tweaks become more important). Making use of the durability skill even in just postseason will invite a much larger build variety into the league.


In the reality where helmets were not required, there was a slightly different outcome to the playoffs. For those of you less versed, a certain reality believes that head trauma and CTE symptoms are signs of a higher plane, and players go out of their way to repeatedly bump their heads. They dont get the glorious benefit from big hits or punches, just steady bruising. In these playoffs, pretty much every player was very slowed down because they wanted to better regulate their blood pressure and would get light-headed. All players after their 15th season would have “donated their bodies to science” and therefore be out of the league. As a cow, with a much thicker skull and smaller brain, i would be at an incredible advantage. Without their older players, Calgary, Edmonton, Buffalo, Manhattan, Hamilton, and NOLA would be without major contributors. Most notably, Izzy would be absent from the finals, meaning that (at the time of writing) the Dragons probably dont force a game 5.


I lobby that the “NBA Jam” rule should be added to the league. I risk writing this and watering down my honest hot-take about post-season injuries, but I’ll have my fun. My proposed rule change would be that if a player scores a natural hat trick, he or she be allowed to do whatever he or she wants on the ice until another team scores, or he or she loses a fight. This could be illegal checks, interference, off sides, goalie interference, etc. It all flies until the team that gave up the natural hat trick scores, or bucks up and tries to kick said players butt. Fighting rules would be the same though, the player could not carry a stick into the fight.
By my math, there should be around 8 natural hat tricks per season across the league. So this would be easy to implement slowly. Within the sim, we could introduce this by having that player get a 5 point boost across all attributes.


My puck handling is seriously lacking. At 82, it is not dreadful, but as Adam Oates will tell you, puck handling is everything. Fielding a pass in your skates is much easier when you’ve got better hand-eye coordination, as well as dishing a pass from a funny angle or knocking away passes by the opposition. All efforts made in making your stick an extension of your body are efforts made towards improving your on-ice numbers. Having your stick in the right area drives your possession numbers up and limits the opponent’s opportunities. A less quality answer is my durability. I’ve been passively lobbying to get injuries turned back on in order to increase the role of the enforcer. If i suddenly get my wish and injuries are turned back on, I would be as vulnerable as everyone else. My TPE bank is low. Typically I prefer to have a little rainy day fund in case major build changes are necessary, and I can’t imagine a more necessary change than my health.

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