FHM Ottawa Senators Historical Challenge, 1999 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Eastern Conference Final:

Franchise Hockey Manager 6 is a text-based hockey management simulation game by Out of the Park Developments. It’s a lot of fun, and I find it super realistic. I recommend checking it out if you’re looking for a good way to kill time while social distancing.

In the game, you take over as GM and/or head coach of pretty much any hockey team on the planet, and make roster moves to bring your team a championship. The CPU plays the games for you, but you craft the team.

One of the coolest game modes is the Historical Challenges, wherein you take over as GM of a team at a particular point in their NHL existence, and attempt to relive or rewrite history. For the purposes of this play-through, we’ll be taking over the Ottawa Senators in the Fall of 1996, and attempting to win a Stanley Cup no later than the spring of 2007.

For the purposes of this little exercise, I’m going to play through this mode, trying to win a Cup for the Sens, with help from you - yes you - the readers! At the end of every edition, I’ll ask you questions about key roster moves, and make it based on how you respond!

We’re going to take this on a month-by-month basis, with a new instalment coming out every week, so make sure you let me know in the comments what you want to see, and any suggestions you have to achieve this goal! I want to make this as interactive an experience as possible, so I really want to hear from you!

Let’s dive into the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals!

It’s time! We’ve made our first Eastern Conference Final, with a chance to advance to our first Stanley Cup Final! Let’s take on the star-studded Pittsburgh Penguins:

You didn’t love our chances, so let’s see what happens.

It’s a tough start to the series, in the form of a 5-2 loss. Alexei Yashin and Rob Zamuner got us on the board.

Penguins lead series 1-0

We got a good response in Game 2, and the series is tied. Pavel Bure scored twice, along with Yashin, Eric Daze, and Eric Weinrich, to give us a 5-3 win and send it back to Ottawa tied.

Series tied 1-1

Even better, the captain has returned. Daniel Alfredsson has recovered, and will suit up on home ice in Game 3.

The Penguins take their lead right back, however. Glen Wesley and Yashin scored, but the Penguins offence overwhelmed us, and they doubled us up for a 4-2 win.

Penguins lead series 2-1

Once again, we get a big response when we need it. Byron Dafoe stopped 20 of 21, while goals came from Zamuner, Daze, Bret Hedican, and Yashin, to smack the Pens around for a 4-1 victory, and series tie. We’ll also see Chris Phillips return from injury.

Series tied 2-2

The swing game goes the wrong way. Despite outshooting the Penguins, we fell by a final score of 4-3. Alfredsson, Daze, and Jozef Stumpel had the goals, but the Pens were one better, and push us to the brink.

Penguins lead series 3-2

Going into our biggest game of the season, though, we get a huge boost. John Madden finally returns for Game 6.

We live to fight another day! In a hard-fought Game 6, Dafoe stymied the Pens, and we force our first ever Game 7 with a 2-1 victory! Daze and Stumpel had the markers, and we send the series back to Pittsburgh, with a chance to advance to the first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history!

In an amazing stroke of luck, the Penguins shoot themselves in the foot. They lose Richard Park and Kevin Hatcher to suspensions. Will it be enough to helps us take the series, and the Eastern Conference Championship?

The Cinderella run continues! For the first time in franchise history, the Ottawa Senators will play for the Stanley Cup! Yashin showed up big-time with a hat trick, while Daze, Miroslav Šatan, and Zamuner chipped in to double up the Pens, and punch our ticket to the Stanley Cup Final!

Stanley Cup Final Preview: Ottawa Senators (44-29-9) vs Detroit Red Wings (51-25-6)

Season Series: 2-0

Lineup - Senators:

Extras: Boyle, Arvedson, Madden (there’s a steady rotation)

Lineup - Red Wings:

Top Scorers - Senators:

Top Scorers - Red Wings:

Goaltending - Senators:

Goaltending - Red Wings:

Notes:

It all comes down to this! After just three seasons, we have a chance to achieve our goal, which would be the fastest I’ve ever done it, personally. On paper, this is a REALLY tough matchup for us. The Red Wings are the class of the league, and they’ve absolutely rolled through the first three rounds, having only lost two games throughout the entire postseason. We have the talent, but it will be a question of if we can come through enough to win the Stanley Cup.

Who takes home the Stanley Cup?