Quote:
Originally Posted by AEWHistory
I want to digest your message and type a longer reply later, but something you said hit me as being very important. I always assumed that the "reserve" was the invisible minor league, albeit as an abstraction and not a functioning league, so I never considered leaving picks unsigned. Of course, the other issue is that since I usually start in the early '70s leaving your picks unsigned often means losing them to the WHA. I think what you're saying though is that, except for the relatively short period the WHA is around, it is safe to leave players unsigned and they'll develop on their own better than in the reserves. Is that right?
I think this will change how I play the game quite a bit.
|
Don't think of the Historical Mode as "only" having the NHL/WHA. Just think of it as only having to deal with the top teams.
Since I came on at the start of the year, I know one of first things I mentioned to Jeff I would love to see in the future is the inclusion of minor leagues in Historical Mode, but not even talking about players, getting league history (with full schedules), how trades can happen in between leagues, shared minor teams, bought out leagues/shut down mid-season teams, figuring out how to properly implement minor league A, B, and C contracts is incredibly daunting to even think about, let alone get working in Historical Mode. But that's a discussion for another time.
The main thing you need to think of it is like this:
When you draft a player, his league rights are yours. They can eventually expire, and you can see this in the "Unsigned Draftees" under the Team + League Controls Tab.
Your players are typically going to be in 1 of 3 spaces
1 - NHL/WHA team
2 - Minor League aka "Reserve" List - This functions like a minor league. Players stats don't show, but they are gaining experience by being there.
3 - Unsigned (but drafted) - Think of it as the equivalent of still being in like the CHL or NCAA. Players are still playing and gaining experience there as well, even if the stats don't show. You have their rights, you just simply are wasting a contract year on them.
Players develop at different rates, so you may be best to leave them in a variety of spots. Typically though, if you have a guy with 4 or 5 star potential, you don't want him wasting time unsigned or even in the minors. It may be worth biting the bullet on that.
Regardless (with the happiness factor), players can still become upset about being somewhere. Johnny D got upset when you kept him in the minors when he was still 18. Years later, Johnny D is upset about playing 4th line minutes, he's still going to be upset when you send him down to the minors to improve his game and play more because he thinks he should be top 6 on the big club.
But again, addressing how/how long some players are staying angry is something that we were definitely looking at trying to address.