Please Review! Roadmap for the LGHL - Major Changes for NHL 23

Roadmap for the LGHL - NHL 23 Major Changes​

• All LG Leagues will be on next-gen [Xbox Series X|S | PS5].
• LGHL will now increase to 4 seasons per year instead of 3.
  • The seasonal length will decrease from 9 weeks to 6 weeks.
• For the first 3 seasons of NHL 23 - The NHL (level league) will be split with 16 teams from Xbox & 16 teams from PS5.
  • One console will be the Eastern Conference, the other will be the Western Conference.
• For the final season, LG will introduce the “Leaguegaming Elite League” level above the NHL. Full details are below.
  • The NHL level will return to try to also return to 32 teams on each console for the summer season.
• All 3 leagues will have an extra week where the winners will play in a Cross-Play Final. LGHL Xbox vs LGHL PSN, LGAHL Xbox vs LGAHL PSN & LGCHL Xbox vs LGCHL PSN.
  • This will be done during the league’s off-season period.
  • There will NOT be any cross-over games DURING the season!
• All New Discord synchronization.
  • LG will maintain 2 automated Discords for the LGHL (One Discord for the Elite/NHL/AHL and another for the CHL).
  • Two channels are needed because of Discord's limited # of roles.
  • Players will automatically be given private team/organization channels.
  • Managers will automatically be given access to manager channels.
  • Staff will NOT have access to the team channels!
• Training Camp Revamp - More details to come.
  • {Considering making the TC, the NCAA, with support from our CHL Owners].

Season 43 Xbox / Season 21 PS5 - Fall Season​

• Complete Roster Reset
• NHL on each console is 16 teams. 32 combined
• The finals for each level (NHL/AHL/CHL) will play a super final using Cross-Play.
• 6 Week regular season, 4-week playoffs, 1-week super final.
• To sign up for the league, a Discord account linked to your LG account will be recommended.

NHL 23 Fall Season (Oct 21-Jan 25)
Oct 21-Nov 05 - Offseason (N/A/C)
Oct 27 - Draft - Players will be grandfathered in as Amateurs
Oct 29-31 - NHL Bidding
Oct 31-Nov 02 - AHL Bidding
Nov 02-04 - CHL Bidding
Nov 06-08 - Week 1 (N/A/C)
Nov 13-15 - Week 2 (N/A/C)
Nov 20-22 - Week 3 (N/A/C)
Nov 27-29 - Week 4 (N/A/C)
Dec 04-06 - Week 5 (N/A/C) * Deadline week
Dec 11-13 - Week 6 (N/A/C)
Dec 18-20 - Playoffs Round 1 (N/A/C)
Dec 21-Jan 01 - Holiday Break
Jan 02-04 - Playoffs Round 2 (N/A/C)
Jan 08-10 - Playoffs Round 3 (N/A/C)
Jan 15-17 - Playoffs Cross-Console Finals (N) | Playoffs Finals (A/C)
Jan 22-26 - Playoffs Cross-Console Finals (A/C)
Jan 29-31 - Playoffs Cross-Console Finals (C)

Updated for Winter thru Summer, January 16, 2023​

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Season 44 Xbox / Season 22 PS5 - Winter Season

• NHL on each console is 16 teams. 32 combined
• The finals for each level (NHL/AHL/CHL) will play a super final using Cross-Play.
• 7 Week regular season, 4-week playoffs, 1-week super final
• *NHL is three weeks of playoffs then a crossover final
• The NHL and AHL will run six weeks of 12 games per week [4-4-4] and one week of 10 games [3-3-4]. The season will be 82 games long.
• The CHL schedule will mix and match 9 game weeks and 12 game weeks for a total of 72 games.
  • Weeks with nine games require players to give a MIN availability of 5/9 and play three games a week
  • Weeks with twelve games require players to give a MIN availability of 7/12 and player four games

NHL 23 Winter Season (Jan 18-Apr 18)
Jan 18-28 - Offseason (N/A/C)
Jan 28-30 - NHL Bidding
Jan 30-Feb 01 - AHL Bidding
Feb 01-03 - CHL Bidding
Feb 05-07 - Week 1 (N/A/C)
Feb 12 - Super Bowl Sunday (No Games)
Feb 13-15 - Week 2 (N/A/C)
Feb 19-21 - Week 3 (N/A/C)
Feb 26-28 - Week 4 (N/A/C)
Mar 05-07 - Week 5 (N/A/C) * Deadline week
Mar 12-14 - Week 6 (N/A/C) *CHL Trade deadline
Mar 19-21 - Week 7 (N/A/C) *CHL Waiver deadline
Mar 26-28 - Playoffs Round 1 (N/A/C)
Apr 02-04 - Playoffs Round 2 (N/A/C)
Apr 09-11 - Playoffs Round 3 (N/A/C)
Apr 16-18 - Playoffs Cross-Console Finals (N) | Playoff Finals (A/C)
Apr 23-27 - Playoffs Cross-Console Finals (A/C)
Season 45 Xbox / Season 23 PS5 - Spring Season

• NHL on each console is 16 teams. 32 combined
• The finals for each level (NHL/AHL/CHL) will play a super final using Cross-Play.
• 7 Week regular season, 4-week playoffs, 1-week super final
• *NHL is three weeks of playoffs then a crossover final
• The NHL and AHL will run six weeks of 12 games per week [4-4-4] and one week of 10 games [3-3-4]. The season will be 82 games long.
• The CHL schedule will mix and match 9 game weeks and 12 game weeks for a total of 72 games.
  • Weeks with nine games require players to give a MIN availability of 5/9 and play three games a week
  • Weeks with twelve games require players to give a MIN availability of 7/12 and player four games

NHL 23 Spring Season (Apr 19-Jul 18)
Apr 18-22 - Offseason (N/A/C)
Apr 22-24 - NHL Bidding
Apr 24-26 - AHL Bidding
Apr 28-30 - CHL Bidding
Apr 30-May 02 - Week 1 (N/A/C)
May 07-09 - Week 2 (N/A/C)
May 14-16 - Week 3 (N/A/C)
May 21, 23-24 - Week 4 (N/A/C)
May 28, 30-31 - Week 5 (N/A/C) * Deadline week
Jun 04-06 - Week 6 (N/A/C) * CHL Trade Deadline
Jun 11-13 - Week 7 (N/A/C) *CHL Waiver Deadline
Jun 18-20 - Playoffs Round 1 (N/A/C)
Jun 25-27 - Playoffs Round 2 (N/A/C)
Jul 02-04 - Holiday Break
Jul 09-11 - Playoffs Round 3 (N/A/C)
Jul 16-18 - Playoffs Cross-Console Finals (N) | Playoffs Finals (A/C)
Jul 23-27 - Playoffs Cross-Console Finals (A/C)
Season 46 Xbox / Season 24 PS5 - Summer Season

• NHL on each console is 16 teams. 32 combined
• The finals for each level (NHL/AHL/CHL) will play a super final using Cross-Play.
• 7 Week regular season, 4-week playoffs, 1-week super final
• *NHL is three weeks of playoffs then a crossover final
• The NHL and AHL will run six weeks of 12 games per week [4-4-4] and one week of 10 games [3-3-4]. The season will be 82 games long.
• The CHL schedule will mix and match 9 game weeks and 12 game weeks for a total of 72 games.
  • Weeks with nine games require players to give a MIN availability of 5/9 and play three games a week
  • Weeks with twelve games require players to give a MIN availability of 7/12 and player four games

NHL 23 Summer Season (Jul 19-Oct 03)
Jul 19-22 - Offseason (N/A/C)
Jul 22-24 - NHL Bidding
Jul 24-26 - AHL Bidding
Jul 26-28 - CHL Bidding
Jul 31-Aug 01 - Week 1 (N/A/C)
Aug 06-08 - Week 2 (N/A/C)
Aug 13-15 - Week 3 (N/A/C)
Aug 20-22 - Week 4 (N/A/C) * Deadline week
Aug 27-29 - Week 5 (N/A/C) * CHL Trade Deadline
Sep 03-05 - Week 6 (N/A/C) * CHL Waiver Deadline
Sep 10-17 - Playoffs Round 1 (N/A/C)
Sep 17-19 - Playoffs Round 2 (N/A/C)
Sep 24-26 - Playoffs Round 3 (N/A/C)
Oct 01-03 - Playoffs Cross-Console Finals (N) | Playoffs Finals (A/C)
Oct 08-12 - Playoffs Cross-Console Finals (A/C)

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Considerations & FAQs​

1. Is LG considering making use of Discord MANDATORY?

• Our initial thought was to make Discord use, and have an active Discord account linked to your profile MANDATORY! After further review, we did not want to complicate the signup process further with our newer users who may not be familiar with Discord. Our goal is to utilize Discord as an extension of our platform and our chatboxes to ensure we can better communicate with our players and inform you all of what is coming, and important dates like signups and bidding. Signing up for games, inputting stats, and weekly availability will still be a requirement on the website, but with our integration of Discord, we hope to make navigation of the site more user-friendly.

2. How will the reduction of the NHL [16 teams] change the AHL's role in supporting the NHL?

• One of the more popular requests over the last few years has been a separation of the NHL and AHL, meaning the NHL Owners would not have the responsibility to oversee the AHL anymore. This would also give the AHL freedom and allow Staff to select the GMs at that tier. With a move towards 16 NHL teams per console, our idea is to still have a complete 32-team AHL supporting the NHL on each console. This should also reduce our forfeit rates in the NHL which over the last few years have increased. At this time we don't have all the ideas worked out, but the basic concept of having an NHL TC which is made up of randomly assigned AHL players is an option. This would be exactly how the CHL is assigned rights to the AHL TC in completely random order. Other options could be double affiliation whereby TWO teams make up an NHL TC. Either way, our goal is to reduce the responsibilities an NHL owner has so the focus can be complete on his or her team.

3. What factors were taken into consideration to reduce the NHL to 16 teams per console?

• Over the last 4 to 6 seasons the quality of NHL Owners continues to diminish. We are constantly having to fill positions with less qualified players leading to a poor experience at this tier. With the introduction of Cross-Play, we hope to see the game one day allow us to mix our players regardless of the console which would allow the ultimate experience at the NHL tier. In my opinion, by combining the Xbox and PSN Owners, the ability to find 32 competitive, confident, and skilled Owners would be easier than it has ever been before. One request we have seen before was to reduce the number of teams in the NHL. This idea would ensure each conference is extremely competitive, but also allow a bragging rights final where the two console conference champions can face off at every tier to decide what community is more skilled.

4. What are the projections for the PS5 leagues considering the change to Next Gen?

• At the end of S20, based on the signup numbers we had 1565 players currently listed as they signed up with a PS5. With our early announcement that we are moving to PS5 for NHL 23, we would hope to see 2000 signups minimum for the fall season and over 3400 players by our Summer season. We understand getting a PS5 is more expensive, and also more difficult at this time, so I would anticipate some lower numbers than what Xbox projected last year during NHL 22. I do also want to mention that we are aware of how some players may be left behind who currently do not have a PS5. We anticipate in the future, NHL 24 won't be offered on PS4 therefore we want to get a headstart now on moving all our leagues and events in the Next Gen direction.

5. What is the League's Plan to scale the league in case of a signup number increase?

• On Xbox, our goal is to start with 16 NHL, 32 AHL, and 60 CHL teams. From there we could scale the Xbox league to reintroduce the 28 ECHL teams as well. We are exploring the ideas of what the NCAA could look like as our TC tier. Currently, there are 64 NCAA division one teams, that could make their debut in LG in the coming season.
• With our PSN leagues, I would ideally like to start with 16 NHL teams, and 32 AHL teams, and have 28-32 ECHL teams as their CHL tier. With the CHL currently made up of 22 WHL, 18 QMJHL, and 20 OHL teams, the possibilities to scale out of the PSN side are endless. I've currently estimated low on our numbers to ensure we can have the right number of TC players to support the lowest tier as well. Ideally, we would see between 8-10 TC players per team. As well the idea of having the NCAA on PSN to help grow our TC is also on the table.
• In the summer season, when we introduce Tris' new idea for the LGEL, he hopes to bring back 32 and 32 NHL teams. For this to be possible we would need max participation, as well as use the first three seasons to grow our leagues.

6. How will Cross Platform play be utilized on LG?

• Currently, with the PSN and Xbox leagues being different League IDs, the possibility of crossover seasonal games isn't possible. There have also been concerns on the PSN side about being able to compete which would be based on the signup numbers and how many of the top PSN players have a PS5 or have already jumped to Xbox. Ideally, with the current 16/16 structure, we can ensure that a lower number of signups and a reduced number of teams at the top tier allow for a more competitive balance on each console at the highest tier. The crossover would allow the Stanley Cup to be played for by matching our Eastern and Western Champions. In the AHL, our goal is to crown two Calder Cup Champions, then have those two teams faceoff to be crowned the best AHL team on our platform. In the CHL, we have in the past used our ECHL, OHL, WHL, and QMJHL winners to faceoff for the Memorial Cup. That would be the direction we head as into the fall season. If we end up with a full 88 teams per console again, I would like to see the OHL v OHL, then our true final four play for the Memorial Cup!
• I think there may be possibilities for the SNP and FNP tiers to cross over, Xbox vs PSN. And this option could also really blow the doors of our NHL Sponsored events if our PSN teams could participate against our Xbox teams.

7. What changes can we expect for the LG TC league?

• Tris and I have challenged ourselves to focus on our TC. Over the next two game cycles, growing the LGHL back to numbers of over 3500 players will be a challenge. Therefore we want to maintain the player we do get every season. Simply sitting on a TC and waiting for an opportunity isn't the answer anymore. We are exploring how a new league format would allow us the best opportunity to keep our members active and continue to see growth season after season. This change will require support from our current CHL, and staff but our expectations are not going to be for those owners to run two teams. We have some ideas we think can reduce the workload but ensure we have players playing games.

8. What is the thought process for adding the LGEL?

• We have received some requests on the Xbox side to create a tier where the 1% can participate. We continued to review in what ways we can run something that has a fresh vibe but does not take away from our core users who enjoy the bread and butter that the LGHL offers. There are some challenges and things we haven't completed worked out yet for this tier which we will be turning to the community, for suggestions. Things like how do we maintain an NHL tier when the best players move up? How do we entice our AHL managers to take the jump and become the future of the NHL? What do ECUs and callups look like? What concerns do send create for the NHL? Is there support from PSN for this idea, or would they rather not play head-to-head with Xbox? This is an idea we want to expand, and grow on, and hear your ideas as a community about what you think could work best.

9. What does staff foresee as some concerns heading into NHL 23 with these new ideas?

• Signup numbers tend to be the biggest factor here. How many teams can we support? What happens if we are below our expectations? How quickly can we scale out to support numbers if we are drastically over our anticipated number? This season I am going to combine our league staff as well, so that consistency can be a real focus. The days of Xbox do it this way, but PSN does it that way and should end soon, especially if NHL 23 is foreshadowing what is coming next.
• We are going to be looking to expand our BOG staff, and bring in a few new faces to help us at the NHL tier.

10. Is LG anticipating ONE league in the future if Cross-Play becomes limitless allowing Xbox and PS5 players to be on the same roster?

• At this time we don't know what the future holds. I think we all could assume EA is not going to stop at Xbox vs PSN crossplay and their goal would be to have everyone on the same team. With how small our community is, it would make sense for competitive balance if we all were blended.
• What does that mean for the LGHL? As a league that once was 9000 players strong, and the possibility of us reaching those goals again in the future once players upgrade their console we need to explore ideas of what we can do. The LGHL is meant to be huge, inclusive, and tired so that you play with and against players of equal skill. Is adding new tiers the answer? Is it possible to still have two NHLs, AHLs, and CHLs? What does a pro club league look like that plays at the same time as the LGHL?
• What we do know is that the future seems bright, and change is on the highrise for us all. We have plenty of time as a community to evaluate what direction would be more beneficial for us all to head to ensure your LG experience whether you are one of the best players in the world, or starting in competitive 6s for the first time is enjoyable. We have prided ourselves on what we offer and how we can appeal to all different player bases and skill sets.

If you have any additional questions about the LGEL, please tag @Tris10 If you have any LGHL-related questions, please tag me, @LG McDonald.
Thanks for your time and continued dedication to LeagueGaming!

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What don't you like about it?

 

Lookin at signup numbers throughout 12 seasons, 4 years, summer season have higher numbers than the fall season when the game launches

 

One thing we have also noticed was when we switch generations of console we usually grow every season. That is the same hope here.

I appreciate your concern and comments.