Renomitsu

With 52 points through 38 games, the VHL's leading scorer in Ambrose Stark is on pace for 98.5 points - the third season since Matt Thompson's 122-point scoring party, and the third consecutive one since the league has seen a 100-point scorer. In that time, the Season 66 and 67 draftees - each leaders in their own rights by sheer volume of members - have come into their peaks. A plethora of $4-5.5M/season players that have stretched the salary cap for some teams to its limits, and the lines between first and eighth -- our top playoff seed to the very last -- are demonstrating a degree of parity almost never seen in the league previously. Naturally, the increase in number of quality players has come with an overall decrease in scoring; after all, if your 80-overall forward line is being run ragged, why not give them some off-time with a 76-overall second forward line? These sorts of numbers were unheard of in decades' worth of seasons past -- but guess what? They're a reality for teams like the Calgary Wranglers, Seattle Bears, Moscow Menace, and Vancouver Wolves, each of which is in the thick of the playoff race. With fourteen forwards, the same number of defensemen (no, seriously), and seven goalies over 800 TPA, we're also in a golden age of defense and goalie optimization. And with two pairs among the top five defensemen covering some of the younger offenses, there are few whipping boys among all twelve teams in the league. It's certainly within the realm of error for Stark (and possibly HHH, among others) to crest 100 points. But if you're hoping for a freak 174 point S62 Podrick Cast-like season... well, it's probably not going to happen any time soon.

1. The top seven or eight teams are extremely close (~5 points apart as of writing). Who are your top four when the dust settles at the end of the season? 2. One of our rookies (Kyl Oferson) is within striking distance of the rookie points lead. Who's his strongest competition for Rookie of the Year? 3. What team do you like playing against the least? 4. What's your most memorable fan interaction? 5. Let's say you're commish for the day. What do you do in your 24 hours? 6. Thanos has crash-landed on earth and is looking for Infinity Stones. What super power would you choose to stop him from doing that? 7. What are your thoughts about Animal Crossing? 8. Boss says he's at home doing "absolutely nothing." What hobby do you think he should pick up?

EFL +6

Riga, Latvia - As any player approaches the back nine of their career, it becomes more obvious as to exactly what kind of legacy they'll leave. For some players, the Hall of Fame is an inevitability: take Matt Thompson and Julian Borwinn at the ends of their respective careers, or Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen as he's in hot pursuit of another potential Best Defenseman award. For others, it's clearly the opposite: no awards or notable stats to their name, no career-defining season, and a minimal overall impact on the league in retrospect. As Apollo Hackett continues through his sixth season, he finds himself rapidly occupying the latter of these categories: no individual awards to speak of, and a few close-but-no-cigar playoff finishes. "I think we've some promise for this season," Hackett remarked in a presser following Riga's two recent wins, "but I think ultimately my legacy will have to be retiring when I know Riga is in a good position - if that means going out on top, then great; if not, then what can I do in the interim to set them up to be the best in the league?" "Another important facet of this is: how can I help prepare a member of the future classes of the VHL? We have a number of programs that engage us with youth hockey leagues around the world, but I'd like at least one player to say in the future, 'I'm here because of Apollo,' be it in terms of play style or motivation. Once I'm confident both of those are in place, I'll feel some sense of pride in my career. "But right now, I can't be confident in the quality of my career."

1. Big trade! What do you have to say to our new netminder Greg Eagles? 2. Aside from Riga, which team's FA/early season moves have you liked? 3. What's one thing your teammates might be surprised to know about you? 4. Alright, let's say you couldn't have gone into professional hockey. What would you have done instead? 5. (IRL) How have you been affected in the real world by the current pandemic? Are you keeping busy in spite of the quarantines/isolation around the globe? 6. Which one of your teammates is probably the most hardcore gamer? 7. D'aww, one of your teammates was seen on a ritzy romantic date with a local Latvian. Who's the team paramour? 8. Hey, sorry. Arrived a little late to the team potluck - which dish did you bring?

Claim #2, week ending 04/05/2020

Vancouver 4-2

109 Malmo Nighthawks @ Vancouver Wolves 110 Toronto Legion @ Prague Phantoms 112 Helsinki Titans @ HC Davos Dynamo 113 Riga Reign @ Moscow Menace

Riga, Latvia - The Reign, a perennial playoff contender over the last ten-plus seasons, is in a bit of a tricky position. Well, multiple tricky positions: they're currently in tenth place - second to last in the conference next to the intensely-rebuilding Davos Dynamo - already a game behind playoff pace in the beleaguered European Conference, and terrifyingly have yet to score a single power play goal through ten games. They fought Malmo to a 0-0 tie through three periods, mercifully bailed from a slow-scoring game by promising young forward Patrik Tallinder. But the point still stands: Riga needs change, else they're bound for long-term mediocrity. "Well, we're coming up on the power play drought record," spoke grizzled veteran Apollo Hackett after their game against Malmo, "though often 'record' carries a different connotation, don't you think? Our young players still have a lot to learn, and it's up to Tate and I to teach them a thing or two - even our forwards." The Reign are clearly a roster in transition, a squad built in the 60s on strong forward play and burgeoning talent on defense. But the script seems to have flipped itself - and in the meantime has seen its goalie play on the precipice, particularly with Finn Davison's imminent retirement this up-coming offseason. Admittedly this roster dynamic is not terribly uncommon across the league, as few teams have managed to move players or assets from one team to another: recall the trade deadline last season was remarkably uneventful, with a single inconsequential trade for picks being made at the buzzer without any real notice. Some have clamored that the structure of the league simply must change in some way, but the form that change takes - or if it's even necessary - has yet to be solidified.

1. Looks like we're having a tough time in the standings. What's going on? 2. What do you like about the direction the league is going? 3. If anything, what haven't you liked about the league's changes so far? 4. Which musical artist/group is your guilty pleasure? 5. For those of you on the Discord, who has your favorite avatar (profile picture)? 6. Which non-sim sports league is most likely to re-open first? 7. I heard a pitch-perfect rendition of "Funkytown," with someone accompanying on synth. Which two of your teammates was up to it? 8. Some reporter told me the boss was shown corralling hedgehogs into the practice facility. Illegal fighting ring or hush-hush hedgehog hockey huddle?

Transaction ID 27650391TD4936212 ($15) 3LG313837E9847517 ($5) Forgot that the change starts next season. Claiming Now: Doubles Week (Week Ending 3/29/20) 5 TPE 1M Player Store Claiming Later: Doubles Week

Claim 4 of 4, week ending 03/29/20

We're all wrapped up here. Reminder that the complete team rosters are in the third post in this group.

Review I always give love to the writers that are brave enough to pen an article about "top" picks in this day and age - especially if they don't religiously follow an absolute TPE listing. It's also tougher to judge VHLM talent because they'll likely only be in the M for another season at most, so "value" of picks is a little distorted. Anyways, a couple of small things. In your Zyrok entry: the main thing here is that your "I think the need for xyz" refers to a plural, so making sure your noun agrees with that is important; in this case, your verb "give(s)" refers to "the need," which is singular. Otherwise your article has small typos that a few more seconds of proofreading will get rid of. I enjoyed the selections and your justifications for them! In particular, it's interesting how you noted the importance of position (e.g. need for defenders for Zyrok) and last season's stats. I would consider formatting the player name next to the username in each of your selections.

What's this? A TAGGER article? ? Review Well thought-through and covers a lot of the points actually discussed in BoG, and I do certainly agree that GMs guaranteeing a player goes to the ASG (and therefore gets TPE) was absurd. One thing I'll point out is the use of "its" vs. "it's," which is in contrast to typical possessives: "its" is the possessive form, e.g. "the shirt hardly fit me, as its shoulders were much too narrow," while "it's" is the contracted form of "it is" - in this article, "it's" was used for both. Otherwise, my only criticism would be an occasional run-on, which I'm definitely guilty of on a regular basis. For example, your last sentence: can be ended after the parentheses; adding the second clause makes it a run on. You can just put a period there instead of the comma. Nit-picky stuff. Anyhow, great work - hope to see you leave more commentary, as I always appreciate the insight from a member who's been here continuously far longer than I have.

1. Who would you like to have make your next sig? 2. Which user currently has the best signature on the site? 3. What sport would you like to see receive a sim league of its own? 4. Who's your favorite super hero? 5. What's one weird habit one of your teammates has? 6. Okay, so sometimes the team budget gets a little thin (too many snacks for boss). What's the highest number of players Riga has crammed into one hotel room during an away game? 7. Aw, man. You got pretty drunk at the team party last night. Who drew on your face, and what do you see when you look in the mirror? 8. You're trying to go out to a party (shame on you, corona is scary) during a nationwide lock down and a police officer stops you on your way out of the house to see where you're going. What do you say?

F - Boris the Forest Finish the group off @Patrik Tallinder!

F - Julius Freeman F - Acyd Burn F - D - Victor Pavlov D - Brock Louth G - Rayz Funk @hedgehog337

F - Julius Freeman F - Acyd Burn F - D - Victor Pavlov D - G - Rayz Funk @Patrik Tallinder

F - Julius Freeman F - Acyd Burn F - D - Victor Pavlov D - G - @hedgehog337

F - Julius Freeman F - F - D - Victor Pavlov D - G - @Patrik Tallinder

No clickbait title here. I am stepping down from the Board of Governors (BoG) effective today, something I've discussed at length with few and briefly or more tangentially with others. I made a post last offseason about some surface-level insight I'd had after a season or two as part of the board, noting that I'm (even now) new relative to other members. As a result, a decision to step down does not come lightly; I understand I was incredibly fortunate to have even been considered for a position in the first place, and some had questions about how long I'd actually be on the site in the first place after taking Seasons 44-64 off. Though I've wavered from this decision throughout the season and disclosed to some that I was considering it, the finality of the decision has become gradually more concrete as the weeks have gone by. My final choice to step down is multifactorial, though is solidified most by events from the last few weeks. Many of them are from local circumstances, while others are site-specific. The first is the obvious: 2019-nCoV. As I've expressed publicly and privately across multiple sim leagues and as a trainee entering the healthcare work force in the next couple of years, this is a cause for significant uncertainty in my future. At present, it seems as though many of the events that need to happen for trainees in my position are being delayed, and we're unfortunately going to be burned from both ends of the wick: we're presently not allowed to participate in clinical rotations, and while my fourth-year medical student colleagues prepare to enter their residency -- possibly early to supplement the current crisis -- we may be asked to graduate on the original schedule. This means we lose valuable time on service as students. While this is not an immediate problem for me, I think it best to hand off any leadership role I have should things suddenly change. The appropriate time is now, in a comfortable and controlled environment, rather than abruptly and suddenly when we're asked to go on service with lifted hour limits (currently capped at 80/wk), which we have been made aware is a real possibility and was originally our schedule mid last week when expecting massively increased hospital volume. Unfortunately, my next few reasons are more amorphous, and I've voiced them to only a few others. There were severally eventually-uneventful decisions I disagreed with on principle -- one of which was my position on the board being heralded by the unbanning of a particular member -- to the debacle a season or two ago with one of our affiliates that left a sour taste in my mouth. But as I'd highlighted in my previous post, I haven't agreed with, nor should I agree with, every decision from a collective intelligence. It's the same deal with awards: I see some selections one way, while the majority see them differently. But these were not major contributors to my decision to leave. On some important issues I found myself disengaged or disenfranchised with the issue at hand, while in others I felt impassioned but unheard: these two issues combined were a minority of cases, but my frustration with them were concerning enough to me that at this stage, the site would be better served if I did not have a hand in them. That's the crux of it, really. I hope that vacating my position will motivate and open up the way for a different member who is, idealistic, intelligent, and passionate about improving this site to join the Board. I don't plan on going away any time soon, and I'll still continue to earn at my current rate as I have for the last year. I'll still be on for HotS and LoL LFG and that D&D campaign is still definitely in the works - don't you guys worry. My parting from the Board of Governors is one hopefully met amicably by my fellow board members and administrators. I've made no bad blood with anyone in the group to my knowledge, and I pray they all feel the same way. Thanks for humoring me by taking the time to read this. @Beketov

Going to convert my previous post to an up-to-date roster for ease of use. Quoting here for posterity.

Rosters: @Patrik Tallinder F - Jet Jaguar F - Mikko Aaltonen F - Benny Graves D - Apollo Hackett D - Berocka Sundqvist G - A Red Guy @Renomitsu F - Julius Freeman F - Acyd Burn F - Boris the Forest D - Victor Pavlov D - Brock Louth G - Rayz Funk @hedgehog337 F - Hunter Hearst Helmsley F - John Frostbeard F - Mat Tocco D - Guy Sasakamoose D - Guillaume Fontenette G - Finn Davison @jacobaa19 F - Shawnomir Jagr F - Dan Baillie F - Jeff Downey D - Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen D - Charlie Paddywagon G - Greg Eagles @Ricer13 F - Ambrose Stark F - Tyler Barabash Jr F - Henrik Zoiderberg D - Micheal Gary Scott D - Condor Adrienne G - Raymond Bernard @Proto F - Scott Greene F - Guy LeGrande F - Phil Marleau D - Lincoln Tate D - Jerry Garcia G - Michael Johnson

Claim 3 of 4, week ending 03/22/20