In Season 40, four teams were stocking up the draft picks. Four-time finalists Davos, underwhelming Seattle and Vasteras still competed in Season 39, while Toronto, three-time finalists themselves, decided to pack in in after Season 38. Yet despite the headstart, they have now gone into a new rebuild, having watched the Bears sweep them and win a cup, while Davos and now Stockholm are poised for several seasons at the top.
Where did it all go wrong? Well, the S41 VHL Entry Draft for example: http://www.vhlforum.com/index.php?/topic/14877-s41-vhl-entry-draft/
The four teams had 16 of the first 17 picks, yet while Seattle got Mikaelson, Rhinehart, Samuelsson, and Karlsson (and then Pajodcast), Toronto ended up with Okranitz, Firkley, and Pettyfer. The last of these is the best player but is peaking elsewhere.
To get Okranitz, Toronto gave up on the S42 draft too (another example of Seattle getting quality over Stockholm's quantity) and then had to start competing to keep the S40 core of Zoidberg, Cote, and Poole happy. The trade for Mike was necessary but they shouldn't have been in that position. Even more importantly, this trade... http://www.vhlforum.com/index.php?/topic/17014-rigtor-s41-off-season/
The reasoning for giving up a S44 first >
Not that S44 was any good.
And then finally, maybe the Legion still should have beaten Cologne to Waldron or maybe even Quebec to Mikaelson. The team's still decent and not excessively old and I'm guessing Seattle's lines got the better of them last season despite, imo, a better roster. Anyway, hopefully the next cycle is less underwhelming.