2018 EHE Playoffs Begin May 15 & Draft Lottery

[Kevin]

The regular season concludes on Saturday and the playoffs are rolling right up! It's kind of weird because for the first time ever, the 16 NHL playoff teams were decided with several days left in the regular season.

Playoffs games at the NHL-level will begin on Tuesday, May 15 at 10:00pm EDT. Meanwhile, the AHL playoffs will likely begin on Thursday, May 17.

As every year, teams in the playoffs are expected to always have valid lineups, since this is the reason you are playing sim hockey! You will have one warning for the entire playoffs if your lineups are out of compliance. Anything more than that will result in a fine, which will be double the regular season amount.

Teams also have the ability to call up as many players as they want for the NHL playoffs -- However, the simulator still requires you to dress a 20-man team at both levels, even if you no longer have games, so be careful with this.

Only players who met the AHL Clear Day requirements are permitted to play in the Calder Cup playoffs. Attempts to assign any other players will be rejected and do count towards the one lineup warning in the playoffs, so if you are not sure of a player's eligibility, look it up or ask first!

Also a reminder that the AHL playoff format is based on geographics and does not necessarily follow a 2-2-1 or 2-2-2-1 schedule. Because of this, our website can have trouble showing who is actually leading a series while it is being played. Please closely follow your game results to verify whether you have won or lost a series!


The hope is that the 2018 EHE Entry Draft lottery will be filmed and posted on Wednesday, May 23. I cannot confirm that date yet though. Like last year's lottery, three numbers will be randomly drawn (1st, 2nd, then 3rd) and matched up to the list of numbers that teams will be assigned to, based on their odds of winning, to determine which teams will own the first three picks in the draft. From there, the draft order from 15 to 1 will be announced. The lottery odds will be posted on Sunday after the regular season has concluded, although we've known for weeks that the Calgary Flames have the highest chance of winning.


It took a long while to get here but at last, the playoffs are beginning! Congratulations to Florida, Philadelphia, Columbus, and Vegas, who are all making their first-ever EHE Stanley Cup playoffs appearances! Whose banner will show the Cups next year?

[BlackhawksGM]

This being my first season in the Elite Hockey Experience, I'd again like to thank Kevin and all the GM's for making this league so awesome. The work and dedication here is akin to the good old days of sim hockey. So many other leagues today just skimp and burn through seasons with no real thought or care, and Kevin and many of the GM's here put in the daily work to keep this thing interesting, engaging, and fun.

Looking forward to the playoffs and gunning for my first ever Cup. Keep up the great work sir!

[SharksGM]

So playoffs start Tuesday you say...

[Kevin]

The odds of winning the EHE draft lottery are exactly the same as how they are determined in the real NHL:

CGY: 18.5%
BUF: 13.5%
VGK*: 11.5%
MTL: 9.5%
SJ: 8.5%
AZ: 7.5%
TOR: 6.5%
TB: 6.0%
NSH: 5.0%
FLA^: 3.5%
NYI: 3.0%
NJ: 2.5%
DET: 2.0%
VAN`: 1.5%
WPG: 1.0%

* from St. Louis
^ from Vancouver
` from NY Rangers


Here is the list of everyone's randomly-assigned "lottery balls" for the upcoming draft lottery. I hope to be able to film the event this weekend!

[tonychiupsy]

wish i had more balls

[Sweet_Doug]

Dear Calvin Pickard,

I know you will never read this. But. Thank you.

Godspeed,
Doug

[blues_shaun]

Dear Calvin Pickard,

I know you will never read this. But. Thank you.

Godspeed,
Doug

Dear Douglas Waite,

Fuck you

[Kevin]

There is a decent chance that I will be able to hold the draft lottery on Wednesday night! Obviously if that happens, the video will be posted very late. Just wanted to let you guys know!

[phoenix30]

There is a decent chance that I will be able to hold the draft lottery on Wednesday night! Obviously if that happens, the video will be posted very late. Just wanted to let you guys know!

Thanks for the heads up. As management is supporting the Stockton Heat with their playoff run, Harvey the Hound will attend the draft lottery on behalf of Management in the event they can’t get to HQ in time.

[Kevin]

In order to keep things moving along and for logistical reasons, Game 7 between Columbus & Florida will be played on Monday afternoon at 5pm EDT.

Additionally, Game 7 between Dallas & Chicago will be also played on Monday in the evening, some time between the 7-8pm EDT time frame. Schedule-wise, this game will still be considered as played on "Tuesday (Day 15)."

The AHL second-round will also begin on Tuesday (sim time to likely be late) with Reading vs. Bridgeport. Game 1 of Laval's series may also begin this night but that is TBD. This will be considered as "Day 17" on the schedule. (Update: Surprisingly, the sim actually let this be placed corrected on Day 15.)

The second round of the NHL playoffs will begin Wednesday with Carolina vs. Philadelphia and Vegas vs. Anaheim. The remaining two series-to-be-decided will begin Thursday.