The National Sim League (NSL) is a modern day era sim league that uses up to date rosters to simulate through hockey’s future. 32 teams compete to build the best rosters, with the goal of winning with both the stars of today and tomorrow! Take a team and call the shots, discuss moves with our other GMs to make your team the best in the league. We are currently at the end of the 2026-27 season, having just finished the draft, and while the Dallas Stars just won their 2nd straight Stanley Cup, competition around the league is stiff.
NSL is a league built on the love of the challenge, and our goal to create the most immersive irl-like GM experience you’ll find, with HLM operating as our simulation engine. While it might be easy for any of us to win multiple cups in a single-player game against computer GMs, doing the same against other human GMs separates the ok from the good, and the good from the great.
We also are proud of our innovative nature, as our background in other hockey simulation video games means we bring a lot to the table that may seem unorthodox to HLM Sim Leagues veterans. We have several features using spreadsheets and code which prioritize statistical performance when judging both player progression and regression, as well as re-sign restrictions designed to create more realistic contract extensions as the salary cap increases.
We may not be for you, and that’s ok! However, if you love NHL hockey, but might be new to HLM, or have been in HLM sim leagues before and want something a little different, we might just be the perfect place for you. We prioritize activity, punctuality, and healthy competition, with plenty of jokes along the way. Our minimum recommended time commitment is roughly ~20 minutes/day, and you will need to own HLM either on mobile with premium or on PC.
Link to our Discord server below
We have several openings we are looking to fill at the moment, so here’s some of the available teams you can look to manage in NSL:
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Boston Bruins: Boston is a top team in the Atlantic Division, and they only got stronger after acquiring Adrian Kempe midway through the first season. His chemistry with David Pastrnak on the top line has been seamless, and it helped Boston finish with the 3rd best record in the NHL last year. Playoff success has been harder to come by however, with the Atlantic being the most overpowered division in the league. Can you put the finishing pieces in place to overcome Florida, Tampa, and Buffalo and reach the Conference Finals, and maybe more?
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St. Louis Blues: Despite an awful first season, the Blues stormed back to make the playoffs in 2027 off the back of an incredible tandem season from Joel Hofer and Jordan Binnington. However, both are free agents, and you’ll have to decide where to go from here with them. They added Trevor Moore at the trade deadline for secondary scoring and despite losing in round 2 to Dallas, optimism is much higher than you’d expect for the Blues at a time like this. A lot of players need contract extensions, so tough decisions might need to get made.
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Tampa Bay Lightning: Another team like Boston dealing with a stacked Atlantic, its hard to be in the same division as the Florida Panthers, who I forgot to mention have now made 5 Straight Cup Finals. This is mostly the Tampa roster as you know it today, so what will you do to push them over the edge against the other incredible teams the Atlantic has to offer.
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Vancouver Canucks: The first team I mentioned that didn’t make the playoffs last year, that certainly wasn’t for lack of trying, as the Canucks improved to 91 points and were actually in the race for the final wild card spot until the very end, finishing just 3 points behind WC2 Utah. However, the success might be a mirage as their leading scorer only had 62 points, 80% of their roster were minus players, and the team seemed to be mostly carried by a heroic season from Thatcher Demko. There’s two ways you can play it, either improve the roster and use Demko’s ability to steal games to push the team into the playoffs, or decide last year is the best it could get and sell off whatever you can.
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Washington Capitals: Despite the Metro being one of the worst divisions ever, Washington opted to pull the plug and sell off whatever they could while out of the playoffs. Jakob Chychrun, Logan Thompson, Alexei Protas, Dylan Strome, Tom Wilson, and Martin Fehervary have all been dealt, and the Caps are in full on rebuild mode. This brought the Caps Caleb Desnoyers, and 3 first round picks in the upcoming draft. If you love to help develop prospects into NHL players, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.
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Winnipeg Jets: The Jets made the playoffs in 2026 but suffered through aloof management in 2027 as their organizational depth was beyond disrepair. Several non-nhl level players played on an everyday basis, which led to a drop of 10 standings points, and right out of the playoff picture. There’s currently only 3 NHL caliber defensemen in the entire organization after trading Demelo and Pionk, and that’s your first task. Rebuilding might be the best option, but if you do, you have plenty of top players available to get some incredible trade returns back.