The NHL Trade Deadline is a big of a deal in Eastside Hockey Manager as it is in real life. Ahead of the February deadline, I’ve seen Dion Phaneuf and Tyler Ennis moved; Buffalo basically selling off; and teams not respecting Bobby Ryan’s value. As for the New Jersey Devils, well, it has not been a good month ahead of the deadline. The games were split and two games against Our Hated Rivals did not turn out the way we would want.
For more details on that, please watch the video and find out. Please watch the following video in full screen and in 1080p if you can. My commentary is as expected:
The Devils went 5-5 in the month with three games still remaining after the trade deadline. All suggested moves were rejected. The game, or at least our assistant GM, definitely regards Pavel Zacha highly. However, other teams have not been so quick to pick them up. I thank advisors Loryder711, LedHotZeplinPepr, EliasStillRocks, norton-nemesis, Chris Calabrese, and NJ77 for what they added. The A.I. in the game just did not agree.
I will say that ahead of the EHM-NHL Trade Deadline, the Devils’ needs are clear. Offense. They’re 29th in average shots for per game and they’re 20th (from the lowest) in average shots against per game. As great as Cory Schneider has been is along with the team’s 8-4 shootout record, they could use some real help. I mention one player whose contract is pricey but would be a great fit. I throw out some other names from teams that may be available.
As I have been, I will leave it up to you to define specific deals you want to me to try to improve this Devils squad. As before, whatever I see first will be tried first. If a deal actually does happen and that would negate a later suggestion, then that later suggestion gets skipped (but will be mentioned in the video). Should the A.I. make me an offer, I will use my best judgment to reject, modify, or accept it. I’m not sure if someone will make the EHM-Devils an offer, though. Once the deadline ends, I will be simulating the last three games of February and all of March. So the next video will go a long way in determining whether the Devils will seal a playoff spot, fight for one, or be desperate on the outside looking in. I plan on simulating all this by around the end of the coming week. In the meantime, please leave your thoughts, reactions, questions (I’ll boot up the game to answer anything you may want to know), and roster suggestions in the comments. I’ll leave a comment summarizing what I plan to do ahead of it, so look for that. Thank you for watching, listening, and reading.