Hockey GM guide: how to build a contender
RetroGM Hockey GM is a free online hockey general manager game: a 32-team league, an 82-game season with live play-by-play, four lines, special teams, a hard salary cap and a 16-team playoff. You can play a whole season in an evening. This guide covers what wins in the game and the rules that trip up new GMs.
Your first season: read the desk
The GM desk is your home screen. Now lists what needs you (contracts, injuries, the trade deadline, the draft), the season challenge gives you three goals from your owner, and the play button sims to the next game. Anything you leave alone, the assistant handles, so you can start by just playing and take over one job at a time.
Ratings run from 0 to 100. OVR is how good a player is now at his position: around 55 is a depth player, 65 a regular and 70 or more a star. POT is what he may reach at his peak; young players grow and veterans decline.
Lines and special teams
You dress four forward lines (a center and two wingers), three defense pairs and two goalies, plus two power-play and two penalty-kill units. The coach sets all of it by himself; what you set by hand stays. The first line plays the most (about 20 minutes a night), the fourth about 9.
- Keep trios together. A line that plays 8 games together gets +1 on its attacking ratings, and +2 after 20. Breaking it up loses that.
- Rest the starting goalie. The backup plays the second night of back-to-backs and after 4 games in 8 days, so a good backup is worth real money.
- Special teams matter. Teams get about three power plays a game; your best shooters on the PP and your best defenders on the PK swing close games.
The game plan: styles that meet
Choose a style (protect the net, balanced or push the attack) and how physical to play. The styles beat each other: pushing the attack beats a balanced team, but runs into the trap of a team that protects the net, which takes the pucks away and counterattacks. Two attacking teams make an open game. A physical game wins the battles against a soft opponent but gives up power plays against a skilled one.
Tip: Turn on "the assistant picks the plan" and read the scouting report of the next opponent: it says how they play and what works against them.
Practice also counts: a focus (attack, defense, special teams or conditioning) gives +2 on that part of the game and -1 on the rest, and hard practice gives +1 to everyone with 30% more injuries.
The hard cap and contracts
The salary cap is hard: nobody can go over it, not even to re-sign their own stars. Plan two seasons ahead, because good young players get expensive fast.
- Entry-level contracts last three years and are the best value in the game.
- Restricted free agents: until 27 years old or 7 seasons, a player is restricted, and a qualifying offer keeps his rights.
- Max contract: 20% of the cap, up to 8 years (7 with another team).
- Buyouts cost two thirds of the remaining salary (one third under 26), spread over twice the years left.
- The farm: salaries above $1.15M sent to the minors still count against the cap.
Trades, the deadline and free agency
In Trades, put players and picks from both sides on the table; the bar shows whether the other GM would accept, and Proposals asks the league for offers. The trade deadline is the first Friday of March, and after it nothing moves until the season is over. Free agency opens on July 1: players want money and years, and answer within days. Your facilities and training center weigh in their choice.
The draft and the farm
The worst teams enter the draft lottery: two draws, and no team can jump more than 10 places. The seven-round draft is on the last Friday of June. Your chief scout reveals prospects' true ratings (a better scout gives 2 to 5 scouting trips), and most draftees start on the farm, where they keep developing until you call them up.
Money that changes the team
Your staff has ratings from 25 to 95: a development coach (young players grow faster), a conditioning coach (fewer and shorter injuries) and a chief scout. Hire better ones from the staff market under Finances. The training center, built in three levels, adds growth every season and attracts free agents. Winning fills the arena, and the arena pays for all of it.
Keeping your job
Your owner judges each season on wins, the playoff run, profit and the season goals. Eight teams per conference reach the playoffs: the top three of each division and two wild cards. A rebuild is fine if the goals say so; a run of bad seasons gets you fired.
More to try
- Promotion and relegation: a league option with two divisions, two up and two down.
- The Nations Cup: every four years, in February, your players represent their countries.
- God Mode and league files: edit any player or team, or start a league of your own.
Play it now
RetroGM Hockey GM is free in your browser, on a phone or a computer, with no account and no download. Your save stays on your device and the game works offline.