FHM Ottawa Senators Historical Challenge, March to Playoffs 1999
Can we finish strong?
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 finish the 1999 regular season!
We’re back! This edition is a longer one, so the game recaps are going to be pretty bare bones.
You asked for it, you got it.
Yashin’s getting closer.
3-1 win in Montreal. Anson Carter, Magnus Arvedson, and Dan Boyle had the goals.
4-2 loss on Long Island. Pavel Bure and Daniel Alfredsson.
3-2 win in Philly. Bryan McCabe, Alfredsson, Bure.
2-1 win against the Maple Leafs. Carter and Brett Hedican.
2-1 win against Tampa Bay. John Madden and Alfredsson.
4-3 win against the Rangers. Rob Zamuner, Markus Naslund, Bure, Eric Weinrich.
4-2 win in San Jose. Bure, Madden, Naslund, Hedican.
5-0 loss in LA.
4-2 loss to the Mighty Ducks. Miroslav Šatan and Wade Redden.
4-1 win in Dallas. Jozef Stumpel, Naslund, Bure, Alfie.
Finally. Yashin is back.
3-1 win in St. Louis. Jeff Friesen, Šatan, Alfredsson.
It’s trade deadline day. Given our need for more offence, and support on the left wing, we made a big splash.
Salo never truly panned out for us. We need guys that are ready right now.
Eric Daze is a production machine. Exactly what we need.
4-1 loss against the Bruins. Yashin.
5-2 win against the Sharks. Bure 2G, McCabe, Yashin, Alfredsson.
Unfortunately, John Madden will miss a significant amount of time.
2-1 loss on Long Island. Glen Wesley.
4-0 loss in Pittsburgh.
2-1 win against the Penguins. Yashin and Hedican.
5-3 win in Florida. Bure 2G, Hedican, Chris Phillips, Markus Naslund.
3-0 win in Tampa. Daze 2G, Naslund.
5-1 win in Toronto. Daze 2G, Yashin, Weinrich, Stumpel.
4-3 loss to the Leafs. Boyle, Šatan, Naslund.
3-0 win against the Sabres. Boyle, Zamuner, Naslund.
3-2 win against the Panthers. Yashin 2G, Naslund.
5-4 loss to the Rangers. Bure 2G, McCabe, Zamuner.
2-1 OTL in Carolina. Daze.
That brings an end to the regular season, and Alfie’s been nominated for the Lady Byng!
All told, we finish the season with a record of 44-29-9, and 97 points. Our best season in franchise history so far lands us second in the Northeast, fifth in the East, and eight overall.
It also secures us a first-round date with the fourth-placed New Jersey Devils.
Here’s how the entire playoff picture shakes out.
Round 1 Preview - Ottawa Senators (44-29-9) vs New Jersey Devils (45-25-12):
Season Series: 1-1-2
Lineup - Senators:
Extras: McCabe, Friesen, Sundstrom
Lineup - Devils:
Extras: Chambers, Sekeras, Holik
Top Scorers - Senators:
Top Scorers - Devils:
Goaltending - Senators:
Goaltending - Devils:
Notes:
We’re finally healthy for a playoff series...mostly. Madden is a loss defensively, but having all of our offensive firepower intact for the first time is a recipe for success. It was an evenly-matched regular season, but we also didn’t have Yashin. The Devils have superb goaltending and defensive acumen, though, so it should be close.
Who takes the series?
| Senators in four | 2 |
| Senators in five | 3 |
| Senators in six | 31 |
| Senators in seven | 11 |
| Flyers in four | 1 |
| Flyers in five | 5 |
| Flyers in six | 7 |
| Flyers in seven | 4 |
Check back next week to see if we can win our first ever playoff series!