Contracts in Franchise Mode (1/2 Way Contracts and IR) - Partial Solution Found
Two major issues with gameplay I found in Franchise Mode:
#1: For some players, when you sign them to a 2 Way contract during the resign phase they transform to 1 Way contracts after Free Agency starts. I have not checked if this actually affects your players costs when they are in the AHL (doing some experimentation now). While not a game stopper, this is annoying and lowers the playing value.
#2: Even more importantly, the game does not properly account for players on the IR. In a recent season, I had three players injured, two of them defensemen. Because the game doesn't temporarily remove the players from your contract numbers in the NHL nor account for their budget (should of had somewhere around 12 Mil in cap space but only had .760 Mil), you can't bring up a replacement from the AHL or sign a free agent, forcing me to play a forward as a defenseman. Furthermore, I could see a situation where you could have four injured players and not be able to ice an entire team. This is a serious issue and could force you to abandon a franchise.
Has anyone found a workaround for any of these problems or solutions?
I have found a workaround for the 2 Way vs 1 Way issue.
When you offer a contract, go to the 2 Way/1 Way toggle and toggle to 1 Way and then back to 2 Way. It will drop the years to one and the salary to the league minimum so you will need to retoggle these (but should be easy since 2 Ways are generally cheap/short).
Done this now about ten times and it has worked every time. Also, to make sure it wasn't a patch and for a control, I just accepted a contract without doing the above and it changed from a 2 Way to 1 Way after signing, proving the problem is still there.
Let me know if this does/doesn't work for you.
