Going 82-0 in NHL 82-0 is genuinely rare. The game's random spin mechanic means you can't control which eras or franchises you get — but you can absolutely control how well you draft from whatever comes up. After thousands of simulated runs, here's what actually separates a Dynasty from a Rebuilding squad.
Understanding how your score is calculated is the foundation of every good decision in the game. Your final score is based on projected wins over an 82-game season — not just raw points per game.
Each player contributes wins to your total based on two things:
This matters because a player who averages 90 points per 82 games in the high-scoring 1980s doesn't necessarily outscore a player who averaged 75 points in the defensive 1990s. The game accounts for era context — what those numbers meant relative to the competition at the time.
This sounds obvious, but it's the single most costly mistake in the game. An empty roster slot isn't just worth zero — it actively kills your win total. A six-slot roster with one empty position is heavily penalized compared to the same five players with even a mediocre sixth.
The math is unforgiving. Here's the rough grade threshold reality:
| 🏆 PERFECTION (82-0) | Requires elite players in all six slots — the hardest outcome in the game |
| DYNASTY (70+ wins) | Achievable with 4–5 elite players and one solid pick in the remaining slots |
| CUP CONTENDER (58–69) | Two or three elite picks, rest are solid — very attainable |
| PLAYOFF TEAM (44–57) | Mixed quality across all six filled slots |
| REBUILDING (<44) | Often caused by weak late picks or — critically — an empty slot |
When you're in round five or six and your last open position is looking desperate, resist the urge to hold out for the perfect pick. A mediocre player in the slot beats an empty slot every time.
You start with one team skip and one decade skip. Most players burn them early. Most players regret it.
Average players in open slots are fine, especially in early rounds. The question isn't "is this the best possible pick?" — it's "is there a legal pick here that fills a slot I need?" If the answer is yes, you almost always take it and save the skip.
If you only need a Goalie and the spin gives you a team with no goalies who are eligible, that's a perfect team skip. You stay in the same era — which might still have good goalies on other franchises — and get a fresh team.
The decade skip is nuclear — it resets both the era and the franchise. Hold it until round four or later if possible. In the final two rounds with specific position needs, a decade skip that opens up a completely new pool of players can be the difference between a Dynasty and a Playoff Team.
Not all positions are created equal in terms of how hard they are to fill and how much they contribute to your win total.
Goalies are the scarcest position in the game. There are far fewer elite goalies in the database than elite forwards or defencemen, and a bad goalie tanks your win total. If you get a spin that includes an elite goalie option and your goalie slot is still open — take them. Don't wait. Elite goalie draws are rare and you may not see another one.
The best goalie picks in the game: Patrick Roy (multiple decades), Martin Brodeur (New Jersey), Ken Dryden (Montreal), Dominik Hašek (Buffalo), Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay).
Centres generally contribute the most points per 82 games of any position, which translates directly to wins. Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, and Peter Forsberg are all centres and all among the top overall picks in the game. If your centre slot is open and one of these names appears, it's almost always a pick-up.
The gap between an elite offensive defenceman and a shutdown defender is enormous in terms of win contribution. Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Nicklas Lidström, and Erik Karlsson provide forward-level point production from the blue line. Filling a defence slot with a pure defensive player when an offensive option was available is one of the most common ways to miss a Dynasty grade.
Left wing and right wing have the most players in the database, meaning you're most likely to see good options here across any draw. Because of this depth, wings are the safest position to be flexible on. If you need to take a slightly weaker wing pick to save a skip for a more critical position, that's usually the right call.
Playing IceIQ — blind draft with no stats — requires a different approach. Without numbers to lean on, here's what to use as your mental framework:
The Daily Challenge removes skips entirely, which fundamentally changes the strategy. Without the safety net of a skip, every draw is final. A few adjustments:
Flexibility. The best NHL 82-0 players aren't necessarily the ones who know the most players — they're the ones who think two rounds ahead. Every pick should be evaluated not just on "is this a good player?" but on "does picking this player make my remaining position needs easier or harder to fill?"
A player who can fill two different positions is worth more than their stats alone suggest. A pick that fills your rarest open slot is more valuable than a slightly better player who competes for a slot you could fill easily later. Think about the full six-slot picture on every single turn, and your scores will climb.