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AI Only Sim - "And So We Begin..."
I have always found it interesting to watch the league unfold in the AI's hands – without interference by a human-controlled GM. And so, I have decided to document the events as they unfold for anyone else that is interested in the results. My goal will be to present this data in semi-aesthetically pleasing way. Further discussion on the "AI Only Sim" is encouraged!
Simulation Milestone Reviews:
And so we begin... 30 Teams. 2 460 Games. 16 Wins. 1 Stanley Cup. Who will win? Will a dynasty be born? Will a "curse" be shattered? Who has what it takes to lead their team to eternal glory? Stay tuned. |
Leading Up To Opening Day
Leading up to opening day the AI was fairly quiet, lapsing the rights of a few players and signing some of their former draft picks to entry league deals. Apart from that, here is a look at the two other transactions that occured:
October 1st, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/M6Yx5QB.png?1 Sign Todd Bertuzzi @ $2,200,000 cap hit for 2 years At 40 years old, Todd Bertuzzi inks what will most likely be his final NHL contract and he'll be playing with what looks like a serious Stanley Cup contender. October 5th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/wihLOD9.png?1 Trade Jaromir Jagr to http://i.imgur.com/FL6b6en.png?1 for Damon Severson Huge trade before the start of the season saw Jaromir Jagr return back to New Jersey – a team where he spent two seasons prior to signing with Florida. In return, Florida receives a prospect defenceman on a cheaper two-year contract. Here is a look at both players in their new uniforms and a glimpse at their current contracts: http://i.imgur.com/ftPykmq.png Standard NHL contract @ $3,500,000 cap hit for 1 year http://i.imgur.com/zMexqGU.png Entry level contract @ $605,833 cap hit for 2 years Quote:
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Opening Night
The date is October 7th, 2015 and the teams are raring to compete. Unfortunately for an unlucky group, some NHLers will have to wait before they can lace up their skates for the start of the season. Here is a look at the pre-season injury report which highlights some of the more impactful injuries:
http://i.imgur.com/EREIz7V.png?1 Marc-Andre Fleury out 10 more days with a strained posterior cruciate ligament http://i.imgur.com/yymvTNM.png?1 Michal Neuvirth out 12 more days with chronic back soreness http://i.imgur.com/vEkj5w0.png?1 Torey Krug out 15 more days with shoulder soreness http://i.imgur.com/sig29iz.png?1 Mike Fisher out 17 more days with a strained bicep http://i.imgur.com/Is89SDX.png?1 John Klingberg out 17 more days with recurring back spasms In other news, with the start of a new NHL season comes the "oh-so-accurate" predictions. According to the analysts: Quote:
http://i.imgur.com/Vnj8rMi.png?1 As you can see, my predictions have the Chicago Blackhawks repeating as Stanley Cup champions after beating the Washington Capitals in 5 games! On top of these predictions this is what I also expect to happen:
What do YOUR predictions look like? (The first month of the season will be underway shortly, but your predictions are still more than welcome!) |
October Recap
The month of October has concluded! Most NHLers were excited to show their general managers what they were signed big bucks to do while the rest are still trying to find their A-game. Regardless, there are already some interesting things to note.
First, let's recap the impactful injuries for the month of October: October 14th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/yymvTNM.png?1 Matt Read out 21 days with recurring back spasms http://i.imgur.com/Uif8SpB.png?1 Cam Atkinson out 22 days with chronic back soreness October 15th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/QvUm2Qp.png?1 Braydon Coburn out 20 days with recurring back spasms October 17th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/vEkj5w0.png?1 Tuuka Rask out 330 days with a ruptured medial collateral ligament October 22nd, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/M6Yx5QB.png?1 Derek Stepan out 18 days with a calf laceration October 28th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/EREIz7V.png?1 Chris Kunitz out 16 days with forearm tendinitis October 30th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/NYnlrmw.png?1 Carl Söderberg out 23 days with a strained back As for transactions, it was a very quiet month of October. There was only a single minor trade and a handful of waiver claims as shown below: October 19th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/pk9kDVY.png?1 Trade Martin Gernat to http://i.imgur.com/ys1eD8H.png?1 for a 3rd Round Draft Pick (Vancouver), 2016 NHL Entry Draft Waiver Wire Claims: http://i.imgur.com/EREIz7V.png?1 Jeff Zatkoff acquired on waivers by http://i.imgur.com/FL6b6en.png?1 http://i.imgur.com/z1UQVx3.png?1 Matt Donovan acquired on waivers by http://i.imgur.com/mNC8HZl.png?1 http://i.imgur.com/ys1eD8H.png?1 Louis Leblanc acquired on waivers by http://i.imgur.com/NYnlrmw.png?1 http://i.imgur.com/ys1eD8H.png?1 Taylor Beck acquired on waivers by http://i.imgur.com/H5DDq2e.png?1 http://i.imgur.com/M6Yx5QB.png?1 Tanner Glass acquired on waivers by http://i.imgur.com/z1UQVx3.png?1 With those transactions out of the way, we look on towards the results for the month of October. It was a busy month for some clubs as a few teams got the ball rolling on their push for the playoffs. Take a look at the standings and stats leaders for the month of October: http://i.imgur.com/P9kSz5p.png?1 As of October 30th, 2015 A number of interesting notes:
Who's Hot? A look at the hottest teams as of late. The record indicates their last few matches while the number in brackets indicates their position in the league standings.
Who's Cold? A look at the coldest teams as of late.
Looking forward to the month of November, I expect the Calgary Flames to start running out of fuel in the Pacific, the Tampa Bay Lightning to win more games and pull closer to Montreal in the Atlantic, the Chicago Blackhawks to begin to run away in the Central, and the New York Islanders to switch places with Washington. It will be interesting to see how the hot goaltending tandem of Jonathan Quick and Jhonas Enroth will do in November, how Boston handles the absence of Tuuka Rask for the rest of the season, and whether or not McDavid can find his rhythm in the NHL and lead the pitiful Edmonton Oilers to the playoffs – or at least a race for the final wildcard spot that does not end before the All-Star game. By the way, Anthony Duclair of the Arizona Coyotoes currently leads rookies skaters with 11 points (6G, 5A) and Jack Eichel in second with 10 points (3G, 7A) – Connor McDavid has only put up 6 points (3G, 3A). That's it for the month of October! What are YOUR thoughts on how the season started? And what are YOU looking forward to in the month of November? |
If you are reading this and you recall my predictions, I want to make it aware that I only realized after the fact what my predictions implied. In past simulations, I have seen this conference finals match-up before around the 3rd/4th year, and thought it would be interesting to predict this for the 1st year.
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Considering that both the teams in each match up (Pittsburgh/Washington and Chicago/St. Louis) are divisional opponents, my prediction assumes that both the Metropolitan and the Central will win a wildcard and play in the crossover. But it doesn't end there, I also picked Chicago to win the Presidents' trophy, which means it has to be St. Louis in the west to finish in the 1st wildcard spot so they crossover to the Pacific. It goes further... I chose both Edmonton and San Jose – Pacific divisional teams – to play in the Western Semi-Finals. That means that either of those two teams must also win in the wildcard (alongside St. Louis) and finish last amongst the playoff teams. Overall, either I am an absolute genius on these predictions and should start playing the lottery, or I should get some sleep before making predictions in the future. I actually had Tampa Bay over Washington in the East but thought it would be boring to have a rematch of the Cup final the year before (I've had it in previous GM modes). Additionally, usually the San Jose Sharks are my prediction for the first year conference finals, but I decided to shake it up with a St. Louis pick. Little did I know at the time how much I really shook things up! |
November Recap
I was way too excited to get the next month underway! I am not sure if people are just uninterested in this sort of thing or if the boards are a little more inactive than I thought. Either way I'll continue this project as long as I am having fun doing so!
Without further adieu... The month of November saw NHL action start to heat up. Some teams have even started pulling ahead of the pack while others are showing signs of a disappointing year and are falling behind. But, before we discuss the standings and stats, let's look at the monthly injury report and transactions! There were a number of impactful injuries compared to the previous month of October: November 7th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/mNC8HZl.png?1 Brent Burns out 25 days with a strained groin http://i.imgur.com/vEkj5w0.png?1 Brad Marchand out 27 days with a fractured foot http://i.imgur.com/wihLOD9.png?1 Aaron Ekblad out 28 days with a latissimus dorsi strain November 10th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/mVSKS9i.png?1 Craig Anderson out 25 days with a strained shoulder November 12th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/zcDX0cF.png?1 David Backes out 24 days with chronic back soreness http://i.imgur.com/Is89SDX.png?1 Tyler Seguin out 25 days with recurring back spasms November 14th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/sig29iz.png?1 Filip Forsberg out 20 days with shoulder soreness November 21st, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/6EQePRf.png?1 Andrew Ladd out 130 days with triceps tendinitis November 23rd, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/zcDX0cF.png?1 Paul Stastny out 25 days with shoulder bursitis November 28th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/zcDX0cF.png?1 Martin Havlat out 328 days with a ruptured medial collateral ligament And the minor league pickups via the waiver wire: http://i.imgur.com/NYnlrmw.png?1 Reto Berra acquired on waivers by http://i.imgur.com/wihLOD9.png?1 http://i.imgur.com/zcDX0cF.png?1 Kyle Brodziak acquired on waivers by http://i.imgur.com/z1UQVx3.png?1 http://i.imgur.com/M6Yx5QB.png?1 Viktor Stålberg acquired on waivers by http://i.imgur.com/wWSKTDF.png?1 Finally, there is one single trade to report on for the month of November. Unfortunately, however, it does not make as big of a splash as you would expect considering a player involved in the trade will most likely finish the season in the minors (unless injuries occur). November 17th, 2015 http://i.imgur.com/pk9kDVY.png?1 Trades Cam Talbot to http://i.imgur.com/EREIz7V.png?1 for Ian Cole Cam Talbot is on a Standard NHL contract @ $525,000 cap hit for 1 year while Ian Cole has a Standard NHL contract @ $2,100,000 cap hit for 3 years. How have some of these bigger name players faired with their new teams so far? Let's take a closer look: http://i.imgur.com/isBcC4i.png Quote:
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Now let's take a look at how the month of November panned out for everyone else: http://i.imgur.com/9vIfYVa.png?1 As of November 30th, 2015 As predicted, the Calgary Flames cooled off, Tampa Bay put together a 9-4-1 record to compete with Montreal and Detroit in the Atlantic, and the Chicago Blackhawks went on a monstrous 11-1-1 tear in the Central. My one incorrect prediction was the New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals switching places in the standings, however, the Capitals have kept the pace with the Metropolitan division leaders. A number of interesting notes:
To follow up on October's curiosity, Jhonas Enroth has fallen out of favour in Los Angeles, however, Jonathan Quick continues to put up top 10 numbers. The Boston Bruins struggle to win without Tuukka Rask and Malcolm Subban is struggling to put up comparable numbers to him. Lastly, as mentioned earlier, Connor McDavid has begun to tear up the rookie scoring race with 22 points (7G, 15A), Anthony Duclair a close second with 19 points (12G, 7A), and Jack Eichel pulling up in 3rd place with 16 points (5G, 11A). It will be interesting to keep up with the rookie scoring race as well as the other scoring races – goals, assists, and points – in the NHL. It's nice to see names like Anders Lee and Max Pacioretty battle for the leaderboards, but will they be able to keep up the pace with the established scorers like Alex Ovechkin, Jonathon Toews, Steven Stamkos and Patrick Kane? Lastly, will the injury bug that the St. Louis Blues have ran into lately effect their standings heading into December? That's it for the month of November! What are YOUR thoughts on how the season has progressed? And what are YOU looking forward to in the month of December? |
following
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following aswell
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This is fantastic, I'll be following for sure!
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I've just bought FHM 2 in the last 5 minutes. I am the same as you, Bets, with my OOTP 17 baseball leagues. I enjoy letting the AI take over and watching the league unfold over the years. I would often step in to add new fictional players, sometimes to shake up the league. I would take players out, suspend them, all to see how the league and teams adapt to the changes. I will do the same with my fictional hockey league, too. I will enjoy watching your league evolve, Bets. |
I do this as well sometimes on my free time, great stuff so far!
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I was looking forward to continuing this, however, all of my saved game files have been deleted somehow.
When I went to load the save, a message popped up that said "Invalid Database" and then when I checked my saved games folder, everything was deleted. Maybe I'll try again, but I'll probably be less detailed as this setback is pretty demotivating. |
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this is an awesome idea, i am looking forward to following this as you post more. (excitedly getting ready to read all that has been posted to this point as well thanks!) |
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