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**RomanesEuntDomus** · 11-05-2021, 07:30 AM

The thing about the GM position is that the requirements have changed so much and that goes way beyond punishments or PT passes. In the past, what you needed to be a successful GM was a general interest in the management side of hockey and the right demeanor to be able to build an enjoyable locker room.

Nowadays however, the one key competence needed is being a big FHM nerd.

That simply is much less enticing and interesting for most people, especially since putting in the effort and acquiring that FHM-knowledge from scratch is a daunting task as it takes a long time and still doesn't nearly guarantee you any kind of success, as the established teams are so far ahead of you and many have multiple people with lots of FHM-experience in their front office that you can never catch up to, who are able to spend hours upon hours every week on optimizing their rosters and strategies.

At the same time, the other aspects of GMing like trade talks, prospect cultivation and locker room building seem to have become less important. There is less movement of players between teams both due to the cap situation and due to the fact that most people value staying with their group of buddies more than chasing money or ice time at a new team. So it has also become harder to gain any kind of edge through your "soft skills", which I think probably was the part of GMing that a lot of people have enjoyed the most in the past.

***sve7en*** · 11-05-2021, 08:17 AM

11-05-2021, 07:30 AMRomanesEuntDomus Wrote: There is less movement of players between teams both due to the cap situation and due to the fact that most people value staying with their group of buddies more than chasing money or ice time at a new team. So it has also become harder to gain any kind of edge through your "soft skills", which I think probably was the part of GMing that a lot of people have enjoyed the most in the past.

Gonna pick this part out, sorry. We added 6 1500+ players to our division this offseason though, and Philly added GA. Movement definitely exists and soft skills and are rewarded.

Also, there's a demand that every team has FHM knowledge, but it doesn't specifically have to come from the head GM. I think at least Evok, Finn, Trella, Joe, and Izzy all aren't the main FHM knowledge source for their team and there's probably more. They draw from CoGMs and their roster.

charlieconway · 11-05-2021, 08:18 AM

i know this is tangential but i feel like it's kinda relevant to the topic of GM PT passes being discussed, as well as fewer GM applications:

if you knowingly, without a gun to your head, decide to be an SHL or SMJHL GM and commit to the amount of work that entails for what is an internet sim sport hobby then your brain is broken beyond repair

Bfine · 11-05-2021, 09:06 AM

11-05-2021, 07:30 AMRomanesEuntDomus Wrote: The thing about the GM position is that the requirements have changed so much and that goes way beyond punishments or PT passes. In the past, what you needed to be a successful GM was a general interest in the management side of hockey and the right demeanor to be able to build an enjoyable locker room.

Nowadays however, the one key competence needed is being a big FHM nerd.

That simply is much less enticing and interesting for most people, especially since putting in the effort and acquiring that FHM-knowledge from scratch is a daunting task as it takes a long time and still doesn't nearly guarantee you any kind of success, as the established teams are so far ahead of you and many have multiple people with lots of FHM-experience in their front office that you can never catch up to, who are able to spend hours upon hours every week on optimizing their rosters and strategies.

At the same time, the other aspects of GMing like trade talks, prospect cultivation and locker room building seem to have become less important. There is less movement of players between teams both due to the cap situation and due to the fact that most people value staying with their group of buddies more than chasing money or ice time at a new team. So it has also become harder to gain any kind of edge through your "soft skills", which I think probably was the part of GMing that a lot of people have enjoyed the most in the past.

I think this is partly true. Yes FHM knowledge has become arguably the most important part of being a GM (and I will admit Boom carries me on that side of things) but you can't ignore the soft skills. You still want to be someone that the players like as a GM, as it helps with both retention and attracting free agents. It helps in trade talks as well as other GM's would prefer to work with GM's who aren't dicks. And finally prospects know now more than ever about team cultures and if they hear that yours isn't great, they could always tell you they don't want to be picked by you. I will say that yes FHM is my least favorite part of GM'ing, and probably most important, and hopefully HO can take a look and not make it the end all be all of the league so newer GM's like me aren't automatically screwed trying to catch up to the HAM, BUF, and CHI's in FHM knowledge.

**RomanesEuntDomus** · 11-05-2021, 09:09 AM

11-05-2021, 08:17 AMsve7en Wrote:
11-05-2021, 07:30 AMRomanesEuntDomus Wrote: There is less movement of players between teams both due to the cap situation and due to the fact that most people value staying with their group of buddies more than chasing money or ice time at a new team. So it has also become harder to gain any kind of edge through your "soft skills", which I think probably was the part of GMing that a lot of people have enjoyed the most in the past.

Gonna pick this part out, sorry. We added 6 1500+ players to our division this offseason though, and Philly added GA. Movement definitely exists and soft skills and are rewarded.

Also, there's a demand that every team has FHM knowledge, but it doesn't specifically have to come from the head GM. I think at least Evok, Finn, Trella, Joe, and Izzy all aren't the main FHM knowledge source for their team and there's probably more. They draw from CoGMs and their roster.

It's good to see that movement seems to have picked up again lately but it definitely was down over the last few seasons. Let's hope its a trend that continues thanks to the cap changes, although I still think things were more fluid in the past. I didn't mean to say that this is all bad btw, the blossoming Discord friendship are a beautiful thing after all that's probably more important than any in-sim results could ever be. We just need to find the right balance here between people wanting to be on a team with their friends and the necessay player movement that a league needs to function.

And your second point is exactly the one that I wanted to make. If you come into a team as a GM who doesn't have super deep FHM knowledge, it isn't enough to acquire that knowledge yourself to be able to compete. You also need to build up a team of ideally multiple people with deep FHM knowledge and also some time on their hands to be able to compete on a tactical level, all the while you also likely have to close a big gap in terms of roster quality and TPE-levels. It's just a much bigger and more daunting task than it was in the past and one that is clearly less attractive for people, as recent application numbers seem to have shown. Even if you are a super quick learner and a great FHM-"talent", you are still likely to never catch up to someone who already has 1000 hours in the game or is in contact with the devs or things like that. Even if you yourself perform at your highest, it's almost impossible to close the gap unless the teams at the top screw up by themselves.

***sköldpaddor*** · 11-05-2021, 09:12 AM

11-05-2021, 08:18 AMcharlieconway Wrote: i know this is tangential but i feel like it's kinda relevant to the topic of GM PT passes being discussed, as well as fewer GM applications:

if you knowingly, without a gun to your head, decide to be an SHL or SMJHL GM and commit to the amount of work that entails for what is an internet sim sport hobby then your brain is broken beyond repair

I already know my brain is broken but it's not because I enjoy GMing a fake juniors hockey team.

GeckoeyGecko · 11-05-2021, 10:44 AM

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***WannabeFinn*** · 11-05-2021, 10:55 AM

11-05-2021, 08:18 AMcharlieconway Wrote: i know this is tangential but i feel like it's kinda relevant to the topic of GM PT passes being discussed, as well as fewer GM applications:

if you knowingly, without a gun to your head, decide to be an SHL or SMJHL GM and commit to the amount of work that entails for what is an internet sim sport hobby then your brain is broken beyond repair

ye my brain is broken alright but it ain’t because of this league.. not entirely anyways

*JURT* · 11-05-2021, 10:56 AM

11-05-2021, 10:44 AMGeckoeyGecko Wrote: e

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PremierBromanov · 11-05-2021, 11:11 AM

11-04-2021, 05:57 PMWannabeFinn Wrote:
11-04-2021, 04:26 PMleviadan Wrote: This is probably a dumb question because I don't know the first thing about GMing a team or FHM, but why limit coaching?
FHM coaching goes a lot farther than simple line combos and player roles. Most people have a hard enough time trying to figure those out, while some other coaches are tinkering around with their millionth permutation of individual tactics.

Restricting individual tactics puts coaches back on more even footing.

why would we want that? Personally I enjoy the fact that we can't just set and forget our tactics, especially in the playoffs. "lesser" teams can easily win out with the right tactics.

PremierBromanov · 11-05-2021, 11:12 AM

11-04-2021, 08:40 PMMazatt Wrote: Fuck I think I missed the drama. Hopefully @PremierBromanov figured out his sharty pants. Being a poopy diaper pants baby is the real issue here that people refuse to acknowledge in this thread.

first of all, i was wearing boxer briefs
i dont have a second item

***luke*** · 11-05-2021, 11:30 AM

That’s a no from me dawg on gms getting PT passes or CW passes. Lead from example and do the work. This is coming from being a gm in both leagues. CW takes an hour max, you can do it while scouting. CW is as easier as it’s ever been now lmao

Skeleton Party · 11-05-2021, 11:49 AM

What if we just fine the GMs right when they get hired so we can get the awkward part out of the way?

***WannabeFinn*** · 11-05-2021, 11:51 AM

11-05-2021, 11:11 AMPremierBromanov Wrote:
11-04-2021, 05:57 PMWannabeFinn Wrote: FHM coaching goes a lot farther than simple line combos and player roles. Most people have a hard enough time trying to figure those out, while some other coaches are tinkering around with their millionth permutation of individual tactics.

Restricting individual tactics puts coaches back on more even footing.

why would we want that? Personally I enjoy the fact that we can't just set and forget our tactics, especially in the playoffs. "lesser" teams can easily win out with the right tactics.

There’s some real unintentional irony here. Last season HAM set their tactics and let them be and ran roughshod over the league throughout the season and playoffs.

Bfine · 11-05-2021, 12:00 PM

11-05-2021, 11:11 AMPremierBromanov Wrote:
11-04-2021, 05:57 PMWannabeFinn Wrote: FHM coaching goes a lot farther than simple line combos and player roles. Most people have a hard enough time trying to figure those out, while some other coaches are tinkering around with their millionth permutation of individual tactics.

Restricting individual tactics puts coaches back on more even footing.

why would we want that? Personally I enjoy the fact that we can't just set and forget our tactics, especially in the playoffs. "lesser" teams can easily win out with the right tactics.

Then why is it always HAM BUF CHI TEX in the finals? Eyebrow

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