Hello BOG,
I am writing to you today so you don't make a weird mistake like one of those seasons past. I can't remember which it was, but it was a feeling of snubbery I remember oh so well! When the results came out, I released an article that had some BOG members commenting on it, notably @Advantage. They admitted to not being hugely involved in the conversations, that someone made a huge argument for one member and that's kind of how it ended up going. Once the target was set, it was all too easy to convince and prove why that target was the deserving one. All eyes were already on it! I'm here to make a case to make the right choice in choosing the right target this year. Some research has been done for you this year. There's probably some I'm missing but that's okay. You'll get the idea behind it.
Why Blake Campbell for GMOTY?
BOG Material: VSN Presents: S93 VHL Preview
Free Agency
Let's start with the quick and easy one. Anyone remember? A certain big fish, or should we say Eagle, signed with the Seattle Bears this off-season and left everyone surprised. Yep, the Seattle Bears once again define the word magical during Free Agency and manage to pick up the biggest Free Agent in the off-season, Henry Eagles @Greg_Di. This move left a lot of people surprised. Why on earth would Eagles, a player as good as them who is about to retire following the season, choose to play for the Seattle Bears who were picked to finish 7th out of 8 teams in North America? It simply doesn't make sense. Why would the best free agent sign with a team that was going to suck? The only team worse in North America was dubbed to be LA and we all know how that ended up. Do you remember some of the salt that seeped out of the cracks of the VHL that day and for the days to follow? Boy, being an experienced, 45 season tenured GM, you can add it to my little trophy case of memories for moments that I will cherish but likely forget because it's been so long. Seattle also signed some other lower FA's like Thor Odinsson, Sigma Freud etc.
Trades
Once again, the Seattle Bears were one of the more active teams this season. 9 trades this off-season. I know there's a spreadsheet somewhere for it that shows all the trades and such that managers have made since the beginning of time. However, like most, I'm just going to tag @Victor and ask him where that lands for most trades in a season? In fact, I took the liberty of finding that easily accessible piece of history here and while 9 is not top of the list (even for Blake Campbell), it's up there and a shit ton of moves that proves this old GM still has a lot left in the tank. Now, with that said, let's take a look at the trades..
1. Seattle Acquires Sadie St. Louis @sadie from Calgary for a S95 3rd and 4th.
This trade is pretty significant to Seattle. Not only did Sadie make a return to activity after kicking some ass in school, but she's been an absolute monster for the Seattle Bears this seasons. She currently stands at 827 TPE, hit 30 goals and finished with 67 points in 72 games. While this number might not excite some, their build isn't exactly ELITE and when you look at the roster, they fit in incredibly well to the team. That's not to mention how awesome it is to have her pop into the LR from time to time when she catches a break. While playoffs also don't count for this award (which is somewhat dumb imo - have said it for 45 seasons and will say it for 45 more that it should hold SOME weight).. She has 13 points in 16 games. Pretty nice trade, hey?
2. Seattle Acquires Oreo McFleury @JB123 and two 2nd round picks in S93 for two 2nd round picks in S93
Another easy, quick deal done with @leandrofg. Super pleasant talks and Seattle adds some more talent. Essentially, these deals were Seattle adding cheaper talent that would assist the roster and Eagles at squeaking into the playoffs. Fairly cheap deal. S87 player, 757 TPA with almost 100 banked, career high this season in points (93), Goals (40), Assists (52), shots (477), shots blocked (38) and PPG (7). In fact, his point total smashed his other career high by a total of 25! That's pretty insane and speaks to just how much McFleury helped the Seattle Bears this season. Always been a member I've liked from their early days. While I didn't expect 93 points, I'm very happy with the end result. AND, again, while playoffs don't matter, 19 points in 16 games. Pretty nice trade, hey?
3. Calgary acquires a S93 3rd from Seattle for a 93 3rd and 4th
Minor trade, the trend continues with Calgary. Lots of easy, quick fun between us two teams this off-season. Pretending to be Leandro all these seasons really turned into something good. Never thought I'd ever be able to GM one of our biggest rivals of all time Calgary, but now I'm double dipping VHL teams and setting Seattle up for a hell of a season? DAMN! I knew taking Melatonin Magnesium would eventually pay off!
4. Seattle trades S94 WAR 1st and 92 CGY 2nd for S93 1st (Nathan Ecker) and a 93 3rd
This trade was a frantic one but I HAD to get it done. @Nathan_8 had been a strong up and coming member and we had spoken lots throughout the weeks of him joining to the draft day. He REALLY wanted to come to Seattle. A lot of players did! However, we just didn't have all the picks in the world to make it happen and while you know how good they are, they just aren't at the height of others who have had more time to develop or have been in the league longer. HOWEVER, I made a massive push to try and get a pick until he was drafted and ended up getting a deal done with Spartan. Nathan has been a great addition to the team and locker room. They're looking to come up next season and if I can hold on as GM, I look forward to hoisting a cup with them in the future.
5. Seattle trades a bunch of 3rds and 4ths to Davos for 3rds and 4ths
Another one of these deals. Davos wanted picks, Seattle said "sure, what the hell is the harm". At this point in the draft, sometimes quantity is better than quality when it comes to 3rd and 4th round picks.
6. Seattle moves Thor Odinsson out for a 3rd, clears cap space for future moves and helps CGY out.
Calgary again! Fuck, maybe I share the GMOTY with my multi @leandrofg?? Seattle signed a bunch of players to bonuses this year. Most of them. Maybe all of them. Multi-million dollars ones! Imagine if we didn't? It wouldn't have even been fair! Seattle needed to clear some cap. I had some talks going on that were lowkey stressful because some GM's take years to do their roles, but we crunched the numbers and made some moves in order to potentially fit those deals in.
7. Seattle trades Highmore, Dew, Lion, two 2nds and two 3rds for Fuukka Rask. @Jubis
We know we have an amazing member and goalie of the future in @Mongoose87 but we also know that sometimes a higher, more elite goalie can steal you games. Look at other teams that aren't as good but have better goalies and do better than they should! Seattle knew, if they wanted to fully contend and not waste all they've done, they'd have to do this deal. It was somewhat of a bidding war and we're VERY happy we beat out malmo @KaleebtheMighty! Rask ended up going from 13-18-0 record with a SV% of .923 and a GAA of 2.81 to a 21-2-3, .933SV% and a 2.21 GAA. Seattle ended the season on something like an 8 game winning streak. They added a 1,000 TPA elite, starting goalie mid-way through the season. Is that not incredible? What a master of the puppets. While it seems like Seattle gave up lots, is a few 2nds and depth, lower pieces "a lot" when it is compared to a team need like a starting goalie and solving it with a 1,000TPA, 21-2-3 answer? I think not.
8. Seattle moves S95 1st, two 3rds, a 4th and 3 prospects for Daryl Dixon @Ricer13
At this point, Seattle was feeling good but not great. We added an elite goalie and the team was looking pretty good. Somehow, we managed to make all the cap work and we knew, with this deal being prior calculated, it could happen too. We once again beat some team out in a little bidding war, added a massive player to the roster and an even bigger presence in the LR. Dixon got 31 points in 18 games for Seattle. That's crazy good. He was one of 3 players to have over 100 points on the team. 1,300 TPA at the Trade Deadline. Add that onto everything else Seattle has added and it's mind blowing. 14 points in 16 games played in the playoffs. Not his usual self, but playing great hockey to have us currently tied 2-2 in the finals..
9. S94 1st and Williams for Mina @Baozi - a final trade of the season and a final trade of the career for @hedgehog337
Wow. Awesome to get a trade done with Riga. Can't believe he actually stepped away. It's been so long. So long in fact, I celebrate 8 years (not seasons, real life years) as Bears GM on May 16th. Anyway, easy trade. Williams was IA, lower D-man, meh build. Mina is fong. Good guy, good player to add to the team to help us win. Williams had 30 points in 52 games. Mina had 13 in 20. They currently have 11 in 16 in the playoffs. Better long term and present day investment for Seattle. Mina also extended their contract with Seattle!
What Seattle added - not including drafted players etc
Fuukka Rask - 1050 TPA
Daryl Dixon - 1332 TPA
Mina - 723 TPA
Sadie St. Louis - 827 TPA
Henry Eagles - 975 TPA
Oreo McFleury - 757 TPA
Sigma Freud (FA) - 447 TPA
S93 1st
S93 2nd
S93 2nd
S93 3rd
S93 3rd
S93 4th
S94 3rd
S94 3rd
S94 4th
S94 4th
S94 3rd
Seattle moved out:
Justin Williams - 541 TPE (retired)
Justin Lion - 453
Matthew Highmore - 306
Tullemore Dew - 597
Aiden Page - 153
Cole Stermer - 154
Filip Zinek - 201
S93 2nd
S93 2nd
S93 2nd (to moscow, acquired in earlier deal from CGY)
S93 3rd
S94 1st
S93 LDN 3rd
S93 TOR 3rd
S94 1st
S94 SEA 2nd
S94 CGY 3rd (acquired in earlier deal with CGY)
S94 SEA 3rd
S94 VAN 4th
S94 SEA 4th
S95 SEA 1st
S95 SEA 2nd
S95 3rd
S95 4th
Lots traded in, lots traded out. At the end of the day, a price was paid. Mostly, it was draft picks. Players were all additions, prospects and all of that. We added a lot. So much so it seen us grow as a team. How much did we grow? Where did all these magical moves take us? Well, shouldn't we take a look?
Standings
We were predicted to finish 7th out of 8 teams in North America. We finished 1st in North America with a record of 48-17-7. This is an improvement of 34 wins and 69 points as Seattle finished 16th in the VHL with a record of 14-52-6 (34 points) in S92. So 16th in S92, 2nd place and 3 points away from a Victory Cup in S93. Surely, with all those trades and such a massive improvement, it's good enough for my "enter large number here" of runner up GMOTY nominations. All season long, "toronto is uncatchable", "no one will catch em", "so hot, so nice". Seattle caught em.
Standings count for playoffs too, so shout out for VSN on getting 1/2 of the finalists correct wooooooooo! and lastly, from 16th in the league, to being predicted 7th out of 8 in North America at the start of the season and making playoffs, to 2nd in the league and having majority of the votes predicting Seattle to win the cup.
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