Victor

Mats Johnsson and Norris Stopko @DollarAndADream

I don't know if you're trying to bait me into actually putting effort into explaining why he's not even on the ballot but I won't give you the satisfaction either way.

Hotline Bling

No one cares about your past, there's like 5 people left who even vaguely remember it. SWC3 is your best player though, I'll give you that, so maybe Hall of Robbie Fame.

Unsung heroes

need more other awards than a Virkkunen

Just checked and I forgot to come back to you. I would be surprised if saw much ice time together this season, as the only two centers on the teams it makes sense for at least but also no more than 1 of us to be on the ice at the same time to maximise that faceoff winning potential. Depending on how the team makeup changes after S64, it is possible we end up on the PP together - especially if you become one of the team's TPE leaders - but sadly not for a while. Just gonna have to be the best 1-2 center duo in the league I guess.

I wrote capped. In my head. My fingers typed fake news.

Hello VHL and merry Christmas to you all. I once brought VHL trivia to the league probably around 20 seasons ago but as I went on hiatus it was then capably led by @TheLastOlympian07 and @Bushito. Now I'm back and putting a slight twist on trivia, to reinvigorate the concept a bit. So, using a great suggestion by my #1 linemate @Tagger I bring you an enhanced version of trivia. Simply fill out the Google form below for 1 capped TPE per correct answer, as well as joining the S64 uncapped TPE leaderboard. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeb-N8Tudx1g3qIYwaMxuIM8zymIHCyhcLTKSgcR6Rg6vt3Og/viewform?usp=sf_link A couple of ground rules: 1. Don't post the answers below - your post will be deleted and you will be disqualified from TPE this week. 2. Just to clarify, you don't need to PM me anything - it's the same 2 questions for everyone. What you can do though, is PM me any questions which can be asked in the same format and when I use those questions, you will earn uncapped TPE for it! Wins all around. And just to make everyone aware of the new format (I won't do this after this week), MASS TAG! @Members

Trifecta is my one man hype machine. If only I could get El Capitano Thomas Landry back, we could convince the league it was the greatest dynasty of all time. And GMing comeback?

The greatest rookie of all time.

Mad disrespect

It truly is the season of giving as Devise gifts us a FOUR paragraph retort. You making the league more interesting is great but it's not your responsibility as Toronto GM to be bothered by what would have happened to Calgary if you don't buy their players. Who are the players you might have lost if you didn't try to compete? Lew Bronstein? Everyone else is on entry level contracts. Yes the situation wasn't ideal but I feel like you overthought it. There was no irreversible path until you made the Davos trade last season (out of which you now have just Warlock left). I think Toronto would be back sooner if you had tanked even without your S64 first (not like it was a one round draft) than whenever it'll be good again now. but anyway that's just my opinion, at least one franchise is a bit different lol.

Did I just stumble into the BLUNDERdome AMIRITE

Don't worry Seattle will still win top GM.

But will we finally see a Robbie player in the Hall of Fame?

Probably not by Toronto though let's be real.

Had to idea that was stevo, I was wondering where he went after the threepeat.

You are right in a way, don't think I'd stick around if the league didn't look like it was picking up right after S61. I was still on and off throughout much S60 and S61. That said, for me S62 was also a big motivating factor - kind of need to make a great player. Also that was very much a Scotty type season.

Note: Wrote this a couple days ago for next week but now seems like an opportune moment to post it. RIP You may have noticed I've been on a bit of a crusade against the management of the Toronto Legion. Be it in responses to Devise's Media Spots or in comments on trade threads, I think I've been pretty scathing in my review of Toronto's strategy. Here's why. For context, I think Devise is one of the best GMs in VHL history. He's done it 3 times before and won cups each time, but there is one caveat. Both New York teams and the Cologne team he picked up and led to championships (in S32, S42, S52, and S53) had already gone through rebuilds – Devise just needed to make some final adjustments to push them over the edge. Each time he also left before the next rebuild had to begin. So this, his fourth GM stint, now in Toronto, is unique in that the Legion were more than a few tweaks away from the cup. However, the approach hasn't changed and that is the concern. Devise has sold the farm yet again but for why? Toronto is probably now the fourth favourite (or not) for the cup this season, and then will lose Ironside, Stopko, Louth (Editor's note: LOOOOOL), and Kane (not even confirmed coming back) – basically all its stars and half its core. At that point, Toronto will have to decide whether to buy even more or sell what's left. There's a problem with buying – the Legion now have very little to offer and no one is expected to rebuild soon. But if they sell, they're then back to what Devise has been trying to avoid: tanking without having their own (S66 in this case) draft picks. I understand the Legion has horrific luck in recent seasons. They lost the lottery twice when they had their own pick (missing out on Twinger and Kastelic), but their pick won it both times they didn't have it (Thompson and Sullivan Jr.). Dollar also complicated matters by trading Davis and Malenko before stepping down. But did they need to give up so much for Davos leftovers last off-season? Did they need to go for broke this off-season? I don't think so. I may be proven wrong – unfancied teams have won the cup before. But you can't say the odds are not very much against Toronto.

I don't think we've had a bad logo since everyone rebranded tbf, but definitely think the vintage Toronto look they went with for the threepeat is much slicker.

This is a cool podcast concept actually, glad I've come across this even via blatant advertising. Also have no idea if Toronto or Helsinki would have offered you the best stats (probs not Riga tbh), but this decision definitely tickles me more.

1. It may or may not surprise you that is something I have given some thought - not a lot of thought mind because it's still speculation and I've got a couple other projects going on. Nothing jumps out at me immediately and it's certainly unique for a cup winner to have such a diverse prospect pool. We've just never had so many consecutive deep drafts so it might become the new norm. 2. Having participated in the discussion, neither surprised me that much, although both weren't what I voted for. I think Ironside is more understandable, while a team improving less than the other and paying a higher price for that.... that's just not right. 3. Sort of expected. It reminds me of the Super Cup and maybe points to there being a limit to how much people want out of the VHL. I do think it should be an indication to those passionate about brands to make some changes otherwise I think we'll have to cut the cord within 6-8 seasons. 4. I'm still trying to adapt to this new world and grasp how much TPE there is in a season. I'm still stuck in the mindset that a season is about 100 TPE, in which case I don't have a chance, but obviously that's not right so I don't know. What I should note is the TPE record is not my aim - I don't want to max out every attribute therefore I don't really need that much now other than to fight off depreciation. So I think I'll slow down within the next couple of seasons and start recharging for the recreate.

Fitting, cuz two of those logos are from way back then too.