Trade AI vulnerability

LetsGoPreds · 11-01-2017, 05:26 PM

I'm in the offseason of a sim after my 10th year as GM of the Nashville Predators and I think I've found a vulnerability in the trade AI.

My character has 20 points in Negotiation so I understand that some deals I'm going to be able to make will favor me a bit over the other party. I also understand that different scouts evaluate prospects differently so the other side might value a prospect more than I do. Even given all that it seems like the AI is vastly underrating draft picks and vastly overrating prospects immediately following the draft and during the summer free agnecy period. Last night I made a prospect-for-pick trade after the 2027 Draft that seemed a little off to me, but it didn't show up in my transaction log so I just duplicated my save to do a test. (The prospect-for-pick trades not showing up in the transaction log is something I reported last week.)

In the test, I select Anton Toom, an injury-prone 21-year-old with a 0.5 ability and 1.5 potential picked 180th overall in 2024. Anton is the worst skater in my system. The only way he should ever make it to the NHL is if somebody uses commissioner mode to edit him into usefulness. I choose bottom-feeding Anaheim (the first team in the list) and ask for their 1st round pick. "We're not willing to move a high draft pick that cheaply," they say. All right then, what about their 3rd, 4th, and 5th round picks for Anton? "I think they'll probably accept this offer," says my assistant. So I make the offer, wait a few days, and Anton is now a Duck.

Just in case this is going through because Anaheim's GM is underqualified for his job, I offer a trade to perennial Eastern Conference powerhouse Columbus. Same drill as before, this time asking for a 1st round pick for Roope Virpi, an injury-prone 20-year-old with a 0.5 ability and 1.5 potential who went 155th overall in 2025. My assistant says he thinks this is "a well-balanced offer" - he says the same about a potential offer of a 2nd, a 3rd, and a 4th for Roope. I settled on a 2nd and a 3rd and made the offer. I wait a few days and Roope is now a Blue Jacket.

I haven't tried this at other parts of the season. I just noticed it last night after the playoffs and the draft ended and I began rearranging my roster for the next season.

JeffR · 11-02-2017, 12:03 AM

I'll see if I can replicate it. There's an issue we're currently looking into that allows several low-rated players to be piled into an obviously-uneven deal to get the AI to accept it, this sounds like it may be related.

LetsGoPreds · 11-02-2017, 03:39 AM

I still have the separate save that I created for my testing run. I can upload it if necessary.

JeffR · 11-02-2017, 03:49 AM

Yeah, please do, that'll be useful.

LetsGoPreds · 11-02-2017, 04:58 AM

It's uploading now - filename is Trade AI test.rar

11-01-2017, 05:26 PM	#1
LetsGoPreds Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Washington State Posts: 38	Trade AI vulnerability I'm in the offseason of a sim after my 10th year as GM of the Nashville Predators and I think I've found a vulnerability in the trade AI. My character has 20 points in Negotiation so I understand that some deals I'm going to be able to make will favor me a bit over the other party. I also understand that different scouts evaluate prospects differently so the other side might value a prospect more than I do. Even given all that it seems like the AI is vastly underrating draft picks and vastly overrating prospects immediately following the draft and during the summer free agnecy period. Last night I made a prospect-for-pick trade after the 2027 Draft that seemed a little off to me, but it didn't show up in my transaction log so I just duplicated my save to do a test. (The prospect-for-pick trades not showing up in the transaction log is something I reported last week.) In the test, I select Anton Toom, an injury-prone 21-year-old with a 0.5 ability and 1.5 potential picked 180th overall in 2024. Anton is the worst skater in my system. The only way he should ever make it to the NHL is if somebody uses commissioner mode to edit him into usefulness. I choose bottom-feeding Anaheim (the first team in the list) and ask for their 1st round pick. "We're not willing to move a high draft pick that cheaply," they say. All right then, what about their 3rd, 4th, and 5th round picks for Anton? "I think they'll probably accept this offer," says my assistant. So I make the offer, wait a few days, and Anton is now a Duck. Just in case this is going through because Anaheim's GM is underqualified for his job, I offer a trade to perennial Eastern Conference powerhouse Columbus. Same drill as before, this time asking for a 1st round pick for Roope Virpi, an injury-prone 20-year-old with a 0.5 ability and 1.5 potential who went 155th overall in 2025. My assistant says he thinks this is "a well-balanced offer" - he says the same about a potential offer of a 2nd, a 3rd, and a 4th for Roope. I settled on a 2nd and a 3rd and made the offer. I wait a few days and Roope is now a Blue Jacket. I haven't tried this at other parts of the season. I just noticed it last night after the playoffs and the draft ended and I began rearranging my roster for the next season.

11-02-2017, 12:03 AM	#2
JeffR FHM Producer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Kelowna, BC Posts: 17,394	I'll see if I can replicate it. There's an issue we're currently looking into that allows several low-rated players to be piled into an obviously-uneven deal to get the AI to accept it, this sounds like it may be related.

11-02-2017, 03:39 AM	#3
LetsGoPreds Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Washington State Posts: 38	I still have the separate save that I created for my testing run. I can upload it if necessary.

11-02-2017, 03:49 AM	#4
JeffR FHM Producer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Kelowna, BC Posts: 17,394	Yeah, please do, that'll be useful.

11-02-2017, 04:58 AM	#5
LetsGoPreds Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: Washington State Posts: 38	It's uploading now - filename is Trade AI test.rar