WP GM Mode · private leagues
A hockey pool where everyone runs a real club
Forget picking a list of players and waiting for April. In this pool each friend takes over a real pro hockey club, with its real roster, real contracts and the real salary cap, and plays one opponent every week. Real NHL games keep score.
One GM Mode pass is USD $5.99 a month and seats eight people: you and seven friends, who play free.
Start a pool in three steps
- Name your leaguePick a name, an emblem and the size: 6, 8, 12, 16 or all 32 clubs. You are the commissioner.
- Invite your friendsShare one link by text, e-mail or group chat, or have us e-mail the invitations. Friends join with a free account.
- Everyone takes a clubEach friend picks a real club, or the league draws them at random. The computer runs any club nobody takes.
How it is different from a regular hockey pool
| A regular hockey pool | A WP GM Mode league | |
|---|---|---|
| What you have | A list of players | A whole club: lines, pairs, goalies, special teams |
| How you win | Most points by the end of the season | One game against one opponent every week, then playoffs |
| Roster moves | Draft once, maybe a few swaps | Trades, waivers, call-ups and contracts, all season |
| Money rules | None | Real salaries and the real salary cap |
| Goalies | Wins and shutouts added to a total | A hot goalie can steal your week, and shutouts take goals off your opponent |
| A busy schedule | More games means more points | Every player's week is scaled to three games, so the schedule does not pick the winner |
| When someone drops out | The pool limps on | The computer runs that club and keeps trading |
Built for a group
Six to thirty-two people, one link in the group chat, and a result to argue about every Monday morning. A second pass seats eight more.
A league of six or eight is a full season with the people you watch hockey with. Small leagues are filled with evenly matched clubs.
The commissioner decides how hard the computer clubs bargain, whether trades need approval, and how much room there is under the cap.
Every club begins 0-0-0, lineups lock every Monday at noon Eastern, and a league can hand out clubs by random draw.
What a week looks like
On Monday your lineup locks. Through the week you follow a running score on the league's live page as real games are played. The next Monday the week is settled: your skaters' real goals, assists and shots, your goalie's real saves, and your special teams become one hockey score against your opponent. Then you make your moves for the week ahead.
Read exactly how scoring works
Questions
How much does a hockey pool cost here?
One GM Mode pass is USD $5.99 a month. A pass seats eight people in a private league: the pass holder and seven friends, who join with a free account. A bigger group needs a second pass in the league, which seats eight more.
Do my friends have to pay or download anything?
No. A friend opens your invitation link, signs in with Google and picks a club. It works in a web browser on a phone or a computer.
How many people can play?
A league has 6, 8, 12, 16 or 32 clubs. The computer runs any club nobody takes, so a league of six works with three friends or with six.
Do we draft players?
No. Each club starts with its real roster and real contracts as they stand today. From there you make trades, claim players on waivers and set your own lines. A league can also hand out the clubs by random draw, so nobody picks first.
How is the winner decided?
Each week every club plays one opponent. The score comes from what the players you dressed did in real games that week. A win is two points in the standings, and the top clubs go on to best-of-five playoff series.
Can we start a pool in the middle of the season?
Yes. A new league starts with every club at 0-0-0 and plays from the following Monday. If friends join late, the commissioner can start the season over so everyone begins level.
Is it fair if my players have fewer games in a week?
Yes. Every player's week is scaled to a three-game week by his real club's schedule, lineups lock every Monday at noon Eastern, and the same scoring applies to every club, whether a person or the computer runs it.
Is this gambling?
No. Nobody stakes money on a result, and private leagues have no prizes. It is a management game scored from real hockey.
Your league is one link away
There is no wagering in WP GM Mode. Private leagues have no prizes.