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FHM 9
FHM9 Manual
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Welcome to the user manual for Franchise Hockey Manager 9!

Franchise Hockey Manager 9 is the newest version of hockey management game that has now been in development for over a decade. We continue to build the series with FHM9, bringing new features and innovations to build on a successful foundation.

FHM9 has many options designed to allow you to create your ideal hockey simulation, and this manual will illustrate and explain how to go about doing that.

You can navigate sequentially through the manual by using the "Next Page" and "Previous Page" links at the bottom of the page. If you enjoy reading manuals, the manual is designed to gradually build your understanding of the game in a naturally flowing order. You can also click on the headings along the left if you wish to jump to a particular section of the manual.

You can use also the search function in the top right to search by keyword.

We hope you enjoy FHM9 as much as we enjoyed making it for you!

-The OOTP Developments FHM9 team

What's New in FHM9

  • US College Hockey is now playable. Since college hockey has some unique challenges, we've added a number of special mechanics to college team management, including a unique player recruitment system, details like managing scholarships and academic eligibility, qualification for the postseason tournament, etc.
  • Injury Deferral: you can now choose to defer injury treatment for some types of injuries until after the season ends. That will let you keep the injured player in the lineup with reduced performance and a risk of making the injury worse. That will allow you to keep the player in the lineup for key games at the end of the year or in the playoffs, but you'll need to balance that against the possibility of getting the player healthy as soon as possible
  • the Team Harmony system has been completely redesigned: "problem" players will now potentially create many more headaches for their General Manager, who'll have to keep a careful eye on their team as off-ice incidents can lead to the formation of divisive cliques and inter-player conflicts that can send player morale plummeting
  • All-star games (in multiple formats) have been added to leagues outside the NHL, and can be added (via league edit) to existing leagues.
  • the World Junior Championships tournaments are now available in historical mode, going back to 1974
  • Bonuses can now be included in player contracts, using the the real NHL bonus mechanics (also works in historical after 2004)
  • KHL players can now buy out their own contracts if they get an NHL offer, making them easier - but potentially more expensive - for the NHL teams to sign
  • historical mode now includes pre-set injuries and suspensions, so players who were injured or suspended at the beginning of your first season will begin the game like that
  • new Player screen: made a number of interface changes, to make data easier to find with fewer clicks, and fix some omissions, redundancies, and inconsistencies.
  • the Tactics screen will now provide much better feedback on whether or not the players in your lineup are a good fit for your chosen tactics, showing which players are particularly good or bad with each tactical option
  • trading now includes a "Make this Work" option that will instantly tell you which player(s) you can add to a deal to get the opposing general manager to accept it
  • players with No Trade and No Movement clauses now have individualized lists, displayed with their contract data, of which teams they're willing to waive their clause for, allowing them to be traded
  • traded draft picks can now be given Protected status, which will defer the pick to the following season if it's higher than a specified level - so you can trade away your first rounder but be secure in the knowledge that you won't have thrown away the #1 overall pick if your season ends in disaster
  • owner expectations and feedback have been overhauled; in addition to telling you where in the league they expect to finish in this season, they'll also tell you what they anticipate next season's outlook will be.
  • player histories now include seasonal averages over the course of the player's career
  • player popups now show stat projections for the current season
  • added league Notes, which provide a text description of the league's background and unique rules

Along with the usual long list of smaller improvements, fixes, additions, and changes.

Manual Contents: