How to speed up the play-offs and post season.

[Stephen (League Admin)]

For the last three seasons (Last one in GHL and both in GHL Overtime) we've been trying to speed things up so that people dont have to wait around with nothing to do after the regular season has finished.

Right now its the fastest its ever been and the fastest i've ever seen a league do it. However, i'm open to suggestions on how to speed it up. The only thing I can come up with at the moment is to do the pre-season games in two days rather than four.

Can the play-offs series games go faster than games 1&2, 3&4,5&6 and then 7 without making it unfair to a GM who loses a couple of games? I think they deserve the right to change their lines if they are not working.

Should the finals be done in the same way? I prefer 1 game at a time in the finals.

If we speed up the time slots for the draft then its greater emphasis on the GM's to get lists in or be online. It's already finishing before the play-offs are finished, though not by much. Any faster and there is even less for GM's to do once its complete.


Since the last regular season sim and the schedule start of the new regular season it will be 46 days. The play-offs took 23 days, so the off season schedule is taking the same. The play-offs could have gone on a day longer for a game 7, however there were a couple of days I was unavailable to sim as well.

Assuming no delays in simming and all game 7s, the play-offs can be completed in a minimum of 19 days, so 23 isnt bad.
The draft took 19 days.

A future off season schedule could look like this.

Day 01: Sim to win we can enter trades - enter trades - sim up to the draft - enter the draft. - (This was currently done over 3 days) - Also, Provide link to thread for Team Options to be declined.
Day 04: To allow time for people to look over their team as requested and send in offers for boosters. - Sim 3 days.
Day 05: Sim up to day for Team Options. - Sim past team options up to Rollover. (Currently done over 3 days)
Day 06: Sim past Rollover
Day 07: First round of UFA contracts - Sim two days
Day 08: Second round of UFA Contracts - Sim two days
Day 09: Games 1 to 4 of Pre-Season (Currently done over 2 days)
Day 10: Games 5 to 8 of Pre-Season and sim in to new season (Currently done over 3 days)
Day 11: Regular season starts.

Now that reduces the off season schedule alot and assumes that work etc doesnt interfere with me simming, which, given the times I work (often up at 4am or home past midnight) it can do. It also means GM's have to make themselves available every day if they need to manage their teams.

However, 19 days for play-offs & Draft, plus 11 days for the off-season, reduces the whole thing from 46 days to 30.

Discuss.

[dallasgm]

Draft had shorter time slots I think that would help

[Deleted]

I'm fine with the pace it is. I don't want to make the draft any shorter because if it ends 2 weeks before the playoffs end, it will be dead in here. We reduced the time slots for rounds 3-5 this year and it accomplished the goal of being done before the playoffs, but it was a significant change.

If you want to have something to do after the season, make the playoffs and keep your team alive for as long as you can. There's an incentive to not tank. Going any faster just hurts those guys in the playoffs if changes need to be made to their teams.

[atlantagm]

The only thing I can think of is live finals, live draft, live UFAs. My old leagues...and this goes back 10 years...we used to have a chat channel and the finals and draft were live, all completed in one day.

The commish would scroll the scores of the first game, give the guys a few minutes to send in new lines/instructions, do the next game, etc. This way it was a live experience and we would all be in the channel for a few hours, rooting someone on, jeering, basically just having a good time.

I realize we aren't built around that model, but nothing is faster than doing something live.

[SensGM]

Please do not shorten the draft any more. I do think the pace of the off season was fine but if folks want to stream line it more I am ok with that. I like what Stephen has proposed and think that it will help. I hesitate to shorten things even more as people have lives. I agree with the Devils, if you don't like the off season then don't tank your team.

The live thing does not work anymore, there was a time when I was a big fan of it but I no longer believe that it works.

[Philly Pete]

The offseason part, after draft/playoffs, was slow for me this year.

i'd modify the proposed offseason schedule for less time for POT jumpers (13 drafted in 2016). We could even maybe post the contract offers in the draft thread so it's offered in the same sim (but that could be too much work for simmer).

All Team Options should be accepted and the file edited later to release the players you wish to decline.

I'd do UFA offers and 4 preseason sims together... because i always thought preseason games were for prospect development so your shiny new UFA shouldn't play anyway.

Day 01: Offseason - enter trades
Day 02: Enter the draft
Day 03: Last chance for POT jumpers offers
Day 04: Last chance contracts before rollover - Take names for Declined Options
Day 05: Sim past Rollover and File left at 1 or 2 days before Preseason. Junior/ahl callups for preseason.
Day 06: First round of UFA contracts and 2 Preseason games. Edit file for Declined Options
Day 07: Second round of UFA Contracts and 2 Preseason games.
Day 08: 2 Preseason games.
Day 09: 2 Preseason games. Edit file for Underagers
Day 11: Regular season starts.

[lebas]

Draft was perfect. Finals was brutal

[Deleted]

Finals simmed in one day live, then sim where u enter trades and draft all at once, then give a day for everyone to get contract offers in for pot boosters, then sim to the 23rd or 24th, then sim to 29th accept all options and then manually enter the declines then sim roll over

[SensGM]

I am against the finals being simmed one day live. I prefer the way they are being done now as it gives the 2 teams time to make proper adjustments. Speed up the rest of the off season as there have been some good ideas suggested, however, please leave the finals alone. I like the 2 games per day for the rest of the playoffs but the finals need to be done slowly. There is too much of a time zone discrepancy to do the finals live in one day. I think if we make the league too fast we actually run the risk of losing GM's as most of us have lives and can not focus our attention to EHM leagues any more.

I like what Pete proposed but the more I think about it I think we can handle the contract stuff and team options during the playoffs. Contract offers for all GM's would also have to be determined by the end of the finals as well. If the simmer has all of these details it makes it easier to enter them and move on quickly. I don't know about any other GM but I usually have all my contract offers done by the end of the playoffs. I am not going to risk losing a player I want to keep by waiting till the last minute.

Pre finals and draft completion:

1) Team options to decline taking throughout the playoffs and list finalized by the time the draft is entered.
2) Also teams drafting pot boosters can indicate in another thread that they want them signed immediately after the draft. There will not be that many drafted per season and we may even all be able to agree that all pot boosters are immediately signed to the appropriate entry level contract. All would be 3 years, TO, and 2 way, $$ amounts are determined already for first rounders. For the non first rounders just take the default of what they are asking for.

Day 01: Offseason - enter trades.  enter remaining contracts for players teams want to sign or extend. 
Day 02: Enter the draft - Names for Declined Options finalized. 
Day 03: Sim past Rollover and File left at 1 or 2 days before Preseason. Junior/ahl callups for preseason. Edit players with Declined TO's. 
Day 04: First round of UFA contracts and 2 Preseason games. Edit file for Declined Options
Day 05: Second round of UFA Contracts and 2 Preseason games.
Day 06: 4 Preseason games. Edit file for Underagers
Day 08: Regular season starts.

This would cut 3 more days off and we might even be able to cut one more off if Stephen wants to start the regular season on day 8. Preseason game lines should not be a teams regular line and we would all be required to play prospects. 

[lebas]

Make a thread for con booster signings so they can be posted as the draft goes... then there is no need for the 2-3 days halt for that.

1 Week for finals is stupid, simming ahead 300 times to make your lines is pathetic. Maybe 2 games a sim there too? Those lines got you to the finals shouldn't be drastic changes.

Accept all options and make a thread for guys you didn't after, this will save simmer tones of time.