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1982 OFFSEASON & SEASON PREVIEW
Finally we can run 4 full lines as the NHL now permits 18 skaters, so I adjust my team accordingly.
The big offseason move was the acquisition of Larry Murphy, who I grabbed from the Kings. The deal basically amounted to Murphy and Patrik Sundstrom for Mike Rogers and Blaine Stoughton. The Rogers/Stoughton era in Hartford is officially over. They leave as the all-time assists and goals leaders respectively in Whalers history.
Larry Murphy is obviously a premier defenseman. He's a bit more offensive than Mark Howe, and a right-handed shot. So I decided to mirror-image my tactic and turn my RDs into quarterbacks and my LDs into two-way guys. The LWs and RWs have been flipped as well. We'll see how it works out. I'm happy to have an elite #1 pairing, something that was missing when compared to a team like the Canadiens (Robinson/Langway). Murphy won the Calder Trophy in 1980-81 so we've traded for guys who were back-to-back Calder winners in Propp & Murphy.
Ron Francis has had a boost to his attributes thankfully, and the game even thinks he'll be involved in the scoring race. It'll be a seamless transition to him as my #1 center, and he takes over captain duties as well. The Whalers are starting to look pretty good and get a shoutout in the season preview.
I've also changed from Snipers to Perimeter Shooters, as my guys were more suited to that. I've run some testing and this kind of role switch doesn't make that big of difference anyway. I've started to pick up a few Swedes including Sundstrom and Hakan Loob, who will both be very good in the future.
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