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I only play NHL/AHL/ECHL with current rosters so the suggestions reflect that game type:
* Differences in how coaches distribute ice time between different lines / special team units, and overall 4th lines that play a bit more on even strength
* IR (7 days, no cap relief) and LTIR (24 days + cap relief) separated
* Trade logic that takes into account team needs. Will they be over the cap once players return from Injury List? Are they looking for high-end players or depth in a particular position? Youth, veterans or draft picks? Do they have room in their roster or will they have to waive other players to fit the new guy in? Most NHL/AHL tweeners on close-to-minimum contracts should have practically no value and little reason to return a 4th round pick in a trade.
* To retain RFA rights, you have to submit an actual offer above the minimum value, not just to decide not to release a player's rights when his contract ends.
* Absolute ordering in draft picks once the lottery has been held. I need to know which of the 3rd round picks is 68th overall and which is 88th.
* More unpredictable career arcs. Now the attributes stay at their peak until the player hits his decline phase, which may begin as early as age 25 or a decade later. It's too straightforward to mentally classify players as trade bait at that point once you see that first "Checking -1" in the monthly report, since the decline is only going to accelerate from there onwards. Overall, players' physical attributes could start seeing some decline already in their mid 20s while mental attributes could be more resistant to decline, or even continue improving throughout their careers.
* More buzz around the trade deadline week and free agency. These are the big days when every team has some roster churn going on. I tried out a mobile hockey management game called Hockey Legacy Manager, which was overall too simple for my tastes, but it had a nice implementation for these events with multiple timed negotiation rounds, teams throwing out counteroffers, and a (maybe only partly reliable) trade ticker keeping up with what's happening around the rest of the league.
* More flexible contract negotiations. If the player's initial ask is for a 2 year bridge deal, we should be able to ask his agent how high the demands are for a longer-term deal, or vice versa. A 30-year old veteran wants the maximum 8 years. How high should the yearly salary be on a shorter deal for him to accept? Or maybe these things would be non-negotiable for him. The players could have requirements, like a power play role or captaincy in their contracts. Or a certain role from X years onwards
* Power play lines should reflect their current 1D-4F strategy.
* Different player roles for special teams. Maybe I want my backchecking forward as a screener on my 2nd power play.
* Salary arbitration for eligible RFAs
* Some interaction with AHL affiliates. Do I want them to play my raw youngsters more or go for the Calder Cup with their own roster preferences?
* More interaction with the Head Coach when playing as GM. I want more playing time for the hotshot rookies, while he would use them as 4th line checkers if left to his own devices.
* More detailed contract discussions for myself. What are the team's aims for the duration of what they're offering me? What metrics am I being measured on? Get rid of the auto-renewed contract too.
* Fix low ratings for RD players in classic sim.
* Dynamic salary cap that rises over time (maybe there would be some semi-reliable projections for this, such as "expected rise low for the next 2 years, high for the next 2").
* As much improvement in the AI team construction as possible. Prioritize high-earning underperforming players in salary dumps instead of waiving high-potential youngsters. Avoid offering multi-million contract extensions for declining players who have already been demoted to AHL at some point.
* I'd like to see a revamp of the players' Game Rating system. Now it is mostly a cumulative measurement. A player with lots of ice time and lots of offensive events will tend to get a high score whereas a player in a defensive role or limited minutes will have a lower score even if he excels in his time on ice. I don't know how this could be improved, though. The first-liners will have more effect in how the game plays out so the score reflects that. I'd like to see the defensemen contributions valued more heavily in the score at least. Maybe successful puck retrievals / zone exits should have some value, or something like that.
* Select multiple rows in a list, and perform the same action on that. For example, select 15 players in my watchlist, click "Remove from Watch List" --> all players removed.
* When playing as a farm team, do not autoshuffle my roster when the parent club makes a player transaction! The daily roster goes over the limit, so what? I will sort it out myself.
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