So, this chemistry system

I finally got around to starting an NHL22 franchise with a Kraken expansion draft, and the line chemistry is one of the most poorly designed systems I've ever seen in any video game.  The concept is good, but the implementation is a total failure.

The first big problem is that the system isn't documented at all so the only way I was able to figure anything out was via some youtube videos.

The next major issue is that you often don't get the information you need to make roster decisions for the purposes of line chemistry.  When doing an expansion franchise, you don't get access to the edit lines screen until the season starts.  This means you have to go through the expansion draft, entry draft, and free agency without ever being able to see what your line chemistry is.

But the real game breaking problem is the randomized nature of the system combined with the number of degrees of freedom and possible combinations of preferences. It's very easy to get into a state where it is literally impossible to build lines with any chemistry at all.  In my first expansion franchise, there is not a single forward rated above 84 that matches my coach's line 1 or line 2 strategy.  I tried firing the coach, but there weren't very many coaches available to hire and none of them were matches either.

So I started a second franchise and none of top free agent forwards matched any of my line strategies.  The fact that there is no way to adjust the strategies makes no sense whatsoever.  In real life, a coach will adjust their strategies based on the players available, or the players may adjust their playstyle to fit a coach.

All of this wasted hours of my time and was not fun at all.   Bottom line is, the system is not explained, inflexible, and very frustrating to try and use.