Matt_O

Love this idea. I’m so thankful DC didn’t get put on the list at all!

this is a conspiracy to avoid putting Moscow lowest on the index

Great achievement in any sport must come at the expense of others. Alec Martinez just scored the goal of his life, and the Kings are Stanley cup champions. On the other end? The Rangers suffer bitter defeat, and Lundqvist can only hang his head in misery. The only way to fully understand is by experiencing the epic highs and lows of VHL sim hockey. On the other side of every win, celebration, comeback, or upset, there is defeat, frustration, and disappointment. In S66, I created the VHL Misery Index, an arbitrary system I used to calculate how miserable each VHL team has been over the past fifteen seasons, dating back to S51. Almost ten seasons later, I've decided to bring it back to see how much has changed over the past eight seasons. If you want to see the results from S66, click here. If you want to see how the point system works, click here.
 
In case you don't feel like reading how the point system works, I will just quickly sum it up. It is split up into three parts; the previous five seasons, seasons 6-10, and then season 11-15. The most recent years carry the most weight in the index, and as we get further removed from the present, the point totals lessen. For example, an S73 cup win would be -40, but a S62 cup win would be -10. The lower the point total, the better. This list will not included any of the four newest expansion teams for obvious reasons, and it also won't include Prague or DC. I wanted to put Malmo and Moscow in, but they just didn't have enough seasons. Perhaps in the next edition, they will both be included. I also included each teams worst moment from the last 15 seasons, as well as how much their ranked changed since the last edition.
 
8. Seattle Bears 
Previous rank: 2 (310)
Misery score: 45
 
How did the Bears turn their score around so much in eight seasons? Well, it's a pretty easy explanation. The previous edition cut off at S66, only two seasons prior to the beginning of the Bears dynasty. Since then, they have four continental cups, the primary reason for their low score. The score of only 45 is absolutely insane. In the last edition, Helsinki's score of 95 was the lowest and it was so insane I had to redo the numbers to make sure I didn't do anything wrong. This is half that score. It's hard to be miserable as a Bears fan when you won four cups in recent memory, forming one of the greatest dynasties of all time. Just imagine if the S63-S65 Bears teams didn't underperform in the playoffs. Those teams won back to back victory cups, and this misery score could be nearly at 0 or even in the negatives if they had played up to their skill level during those years.
 
Worst moment: Back to back semi finals upsets in S64 and S65
 
7. Riga Reign 
Previous rank: 7 (152)
Misery score: 110
 
The Reign are another one of those teams that are always good. S75 has not been the case, but luckily for them this season is not counted. They brought their misery score down by 30 points since the last version, mostly due to their championship in S72, as well as a finals appearance in S69. They have made the playoffs every year since S63, and have made it to at least the semi-finals in all but two of those seasons. In the Podrick Cast era, they only won one cup (S63), and often times disappointed, notably in S64 against Helsinki in the semi finals and in S65 against the Legion. Despite those tough losses, the Reign were still one of the most consistent franchises in the past 15 seasons, and this misery score reflects that.
 
Worst moment: Getting destroyed by Toronto and Davos in S65 and S66
 
6. Vancouver Wolves 
Previous rank: 4 (268)
Misery score: 150
 
The big improvement in score for the Wolves is a result of two things. Firstly, their cup wins in S67 and S74. Secondly, their worst stretch as a franchise in the original misery index came during S58-S60, which isn't included in our updated version. Those two factors combined really swung in the Wolves favor, who have had good fortune as of late. When I come back to this in 5-10 seasons, I wouldn't be surprised to see Vancouver in last place. They have a really bright future that has a cup win before they even truly hit their prime; sounds an awful lot like the recent Bears dynasty. Vancouver has had some rough moments, such as getting swept in S66 in the finals, losing in the S62 finals against Keaton Louth and the Wranglers, or even when they were forced to play a computer goalie in the playoffs because they broke the Louth rule. The Wolves are in a much better spot now then they were ten seasons ago. If you are a Wolves fan, this score reflects how it's hard to forget the tough losses of the past, but you still can't be too upset because of your more recent success.
 
Worst moment: Being forced to play a CPU goalie in the playoffs in S64
 
5. Helsinki Titans 
Previous rank: 8 (95)
Misery score: 160
 
The Titans had their best stretch of hockey from S64-S67, with four straight finals appearance, but only one cup.  This is the key reason for their very low score in the previous misery index. Eight seasons later, that success is less weighted, and their lack of more recent success really brings on the points. The past two seasons they have made it to the finals, but the three seasons before that saw two wild card eliminations as well as missing the playoffs altogether in S71. The back to back losses to the Legion in the finals were tough for Titans fan, especially in S65 when it went the distance before Toronto won game seven. S67 was also tough, since the Wolves got their revenge in the rematch against Helsinki, but at least that loss could be soothed by the cup win the year prior. The Titans have had a lot of recent success, but their mini stretch of mediocrity from S70-S72 is what hurts them.
 
Worst moment: Losing back to back finals to Toronto in S64 and S65
 
4. Calgary Wranglers
Previous rank: 5 (230)
Misery score: 200
 
The Wranglers have been a pretty consistent franchise over the past 15 seasons. They haven't gone any extended stretches of being bad, which helps their score out by avoiding the playoff drought multiplier. However, besides an S62 cup, they haven't won anything else. They had a finals appearance in S63, S70, and S72, but lost all three of those appearances. Recently, the Wranglers have elevated their level of play with Jacques Lafontaine in net, but it wasn't enough to make a serious dent in their score from the last version. Overall, the Wranglers can be described in a way that's very similar to how I described them eight seasons ago. I said they were a consistent playoff team, but never did enough in the playoffs. An S73 finals appearance and possible cup win would have changed this score tremendously, but blowing a 3-1 lead in the semi finals to the rival Seattle Bears was an agonizing way to go down.
 
Worst moment: Blowing a 3-1 lead to Seattle in the semi finals in S73
 
3. Toronto Legion 
Previous rank: 6 (227)
Misery score: 290
 
The Legion began their first rebuild in a long time in S70 after a long run of being a consistent playoff team and also having no draft picks. The rebuild has been starting to turn the corner, but unfortunately their three playoff misses and wild card loss from S70 to S73 cost them 180 total points on the misery index. Their back to back cups in S64 and S65 are also weighted much less now that they aren't in recent memory, which hurts their score. S67 was the last prime chance for Toronto to win another continental cup, as they completely ran through the regular season, finishing well in first place, with 13 more wins than second place. The regular season dominance didn't end up mattering though, as they got smoked by the Wolves in the semi finals and only won a single game. Since that point, they have been on the decline. They are on the rise, but their lack of recent success is what drives this score to where it is.
 
Worst moment: Getting upset in the S67 semi finals by Vancouver
 
2. New York Americans 
Previous rank: 3 (290)
Misery score: 375
 
It's tough to be an Americans fan right now. They are the only team that hasn't won a cup in the past 15 seasons, not including any expansion teams. They had to rebuild from S62 to S64, and then the team had tremendous promise. They looked like a great young team on the rise, but everything changed so quickly. The Americans lost young pieces to expansion teams and by trade, the GM went inactive, and the team fell into shambles. A once promising team was practically left for dead. Esso became the new GM and had to tear everything down, causing the Americans to miss the playoffs and pick up even more misery points. From S67 to S71, they had only one playoff appearance, which was a wild card round loss in S69. They had some success after that rebuild, including reaching the semi finals in S72, but after a couple of seasons of success they had to tear it down again. The Americans missed the playoffs in S74 and are on track to miss it again this year. Maybe after another rebuild, they will be able to truly contend for a title.
 
Worst moment: GM Spade goes inactive, team falls into chaos
 
1. HC Davos Dynamo 
Previous rank: 1 (367)
Misery score: 395
 
This franchise is truly an enigma. Davos seemed like a mess when I wrote the first misery index, but they somehow have gotten even worse. Even though it seems like they have a really solid young team and a direction now, they have just been so inept on the ice. The last continental cup for Davos was all the way back in S61, seemingly a lifetime ago in VHL time. It doesn't seem like they will be able to turn the corner and win one again soon, despite actually having a pretty solid roster. They had to rebuild after a finals loss in S62, and managed to become competitive again in S66, despite having awful lottery luck during their rebuild. They had a star studded team, and even swept the Reign in S66 before getting handled easily by the Titans. They missed the playoffs the next year, lost in the first round the year after, before going on a three season stretch of missing the postseason. A wild card exit in S72 and then a first round loss in S73 continued to pummel this franchise into the ground. S74 seemed like it could be a good year though. Their young additions from the S72 draft were becoming truly elite now, and younger prospects were becoming good players as well. That wasn't enough for Davos, as they missed the playoffs in S74 because of a tiebreaker. I've come to the conclusion this franchise is cursed. Eight seasons have gone by and they are still the most miserable franchise in the VHL. You can't even really blame the GMs either, since they had really solid teams that just struggled to put it together. Hopefully in the next edition of the misery index, they won't be first place. Who am I kidding, they probably will be.
 
Worst moment: Missing the playoffs in S67 after it seemed they were turning the corner
 
Since the last misery index, the VHL landscape has changed drastically. Six new teams were added to the league, resulting in multiple different playoff format changes. The Bears went from one of the most miserable teams in the league to by far the least. The Wolves have gone from a team that seemed cursed at times to a two time champion and the team with the brighest future. The Legion went from back to back championships to third place on the misery chart. However, throughout all of this, some teams stay consistent. The Reign stayed in second to last, showing how consistently strong they are. The Titans may have moved up in the rankings, but they still are a great franchise with a pretty low score. The Americans struggles have still continued. Even with all this change, and the handful of teams that haven't changed much, one team rises above them all in terms of consistency. HC Davos remains the most miserable team, a true achievement for their consistency. In life, there are three certainties: Death, taxes, and Davos being the most miserable franchise in the VHL.
 
The full data table is here:
 
 
2,185 words

Great achievement in any sport must come at the expense of others. Alec Martinez just scored the goal of his life, and the Kings are Stanley cup champions. On the other end? The Rangers suffer bitter defeat, and Lundqvist can only hang his head in misery. The only way to fully understand is by experiencing the epic highs and lows of VHL sim hockey. On the other side of every win, celebration, comeback, or upset, there is defeat, frustration, and disappointment. In S66, I created the VHL Misery Index, an arbitrary system I used to calculate how miserable each VHL team has been over the past fifteen seasons, dating back to S51. Almost ten seasons later, I've decided to bring it back to see how much has changed over the past eight seasons. If you want to see the results from S66, click here. If you want to see how the point system works, click here.
 
In case you don't feel like reading how the point system works, I will just quickly sum it up. It is split up into three parts; the previous five seasons, seasons 6-10, and then season 11-15. The most recent years carry the most weight in the index, and as we get further removed from the present, the point totals lessen. For example, an S73 cup win would be -40, but a S62 cup win would be -10. The lower the point total, the better. This list will not included any of the four newest expansion teams for obvious reasons, and it also won't include Prague or DC. I wanted to put Malmo and Moscow in, but they just didn't have enough seasons. Perhaps in the next edition, they will both be included. I also included each teams worst moment from the last 15 seasons, as well as how much their ranked changed since the last edition.
 
8. Seattle Bears 
Previous rank: 2 (310)
Misery score: 45
 
How did the Bears turn their score around so much in eight seasons? Well, it's a pretty easy explanation. The previous edition cut off at S66, only two seasons prior to the beginning of the Bears dynasty. Since then, they have four continental cups, the primary reason for their low score. The score of only 45 is absolutely insane. In the last edition, Helsinki's score of 95 was the lowest and it was so insane I had to redo the numbers to make sure I didn't do anything wrong. This is half that score. It's hard to be miserable as a Bears fan when you won four cups in recent memory, forming one of the greatest dynasties of all time. Just imagine if the S63-S65 Bears teams didn't underperform in the playoffs. Those teams won back to back victory cups, and this misery score could be nearly at 0 or even in the negatives if they had played up to their skill level during those years.
 
Worst moment: Back to back semi finals upsets in S64 and S65
 
7. Riga Reign 
Previous rank: 7 (152)
Misery score: 110
 
The Reign are another one of those teams that are always good. S75 has not been the case, but luckily for them this season is not counted. They brought their misery score down by 30 points since the last version, mostly due to their championship in S72, as well as a finals appearance in S69. They have made the playoffs every year since S63, and have made it to at least the semi-finals in all but two of those seasons. In the Podrick Cast era, they only won one cup (S63), and often times disappointed, notably in S64 against Helsinki in the semi finals and in S65 against the Legion. Despite those tough losses, the Reign were still one of the most consistent franchises in the past 15 seasons, and this misery score reflects that.
 
Worst moment: Getting destroyed by Toronto and Davos in S65 and S66
 
6. Vancouver Wolves 
Previous rank: 4 (268)
Misery score: 150
 
The big improvement in score for the Wolves is a result of two things. Firstly, their cup wins in S67 and S74. Secondly, their worst stretch as a franchise in the original misery index came during S58-S60, which isn't included in our updated version. Those two factors combined really swung in the Wolves favor, who have had good fortune as of late. When I come back to this in 5-10 seasons, I wouldn't be surprised to see Vancouver in last place. They have a really bright future that has a cup win before they even truly hit their prime; sounds an awful lot like the recent Bears dynasty. Vancouver has had some rough moments, such as getting swept in S66 in the finals, losing in the S62 finals against Keaton Louth and the Wranglers, or even when they were forced to play a computer goalie in the playoffs because they broke the Louth rule. The Wolves are in a much better spot now then they were ten seasons ago. If you are a Wolves fan, this score reflects how it's hard to forget the tough losses of the past, but you still can't be too upset because of your more recent success.
 
Worst moment: Being forced to play a CPU goalie in the playoffs in S64
 
5. Helsinki Titans 
Previous rank: 8 (95)
Misery score: 160
 
The Titans had their best stretch of hockey from S64-S67, with four straight finals appearance, but only one cup.  This is the key reason for their very low score in the previous misery index. Eight seasons later, that success is less weighted, and their lack of more recent success really brings on the points. The past two seasons they have made it to the finals, but the three seasons before that saw two wild card eliminations as well as missing the playoffs altogether in S71. The back to back losses to the Legion in the finals were tough for Titans fan, especially in S65 when it went the distance before Toronto won game seven. S67 was also tough, since the Wolves got their revenge in the rematch against Helsinki, but at least that loss could be soothed by the cup win the year prior. The Titans have had a lot of recent success, but their mini stretch of mediocrity from S70-S72 is what hurts them.
 
Worst moment: Losing back to back finals to Toronto in S64 and S65
 
4. Calgary Wranglers
Previous rank: 5 (230)
Misery score: 200
 
The Wranglers have been a pretty consistent franchise over the past 15 seasons. They haven't gone any extended stretches of being bad, which helps their score out by avoiding the playoff drought multiplier. However, besides an S62 cup, they haven't won anything else. They had a finals appearance in S63, S70, and S72, but lost all three of those appearances. Recently, the Wranglers have elevated their level of play with Jacques Lafontaine in net, but it wasn't enough to make a serious dent in their score from the last version. Overall, the Wranglers can be described in a way that's very similar to how I described them eight seasons ago. I said they were a consistent playoff team, but never did enough in the playoffs. An S73 finals appearance and possible cup win would have changed this score tremendously, but blowing a 3-1 lead in the semi finals to the rival Seattle Bears was an agonizing way to go down.
 
Worst moment: Blowing a 3-1 lead to Seattle in the semi finals in S73
 
3. Toronto Legion 
Previous rank: 6 (227)
Misery score: 290
 
The Legion began their first rebuild in a long time in S70 after a long run of being a consistent playoff team and also having no draft picks. The rebuild has been starting to turn the corner, but unfortunately their three playoff misses and wild card loss from S70 to S73 cost them 180 total points on the misery index. Their back to back cups in S64 and S65 are also weighted much less now that they aren't in recent memory, which hurts their score. S67 was the last prime chance for Toronto to win another continental cup, as they completely ran through the regular season, finishing well in first place, with 13 more wins than second place. The regular season dominance didn't end up mattering though, as they got smoked by the Wolves in the semi finals and only won a single game. Since that point, they have been on the decline. They are on the rise, but their lack of recent success is what drives this score to where it is.
 
Worst moment: Getting upset in the S67 semi finals by Vancouver
 
2. New York Americans 
Previous rank: 3 (290)
Misery score: 375
 
It's tough to be an Americans fan right now. They are the only team that hasn't won a cup in the past 15 seasons, not including any expansion teams. They had to rebuild from S62 to S64, and then the team had tremendous promise. They looked like a great young team on the rise, but everything changed so quickly. The Americans lost young pieces to expansion teams and by trade, the GM went inactive, and the team fell into shambles. A once promising team was practically left for dead. Esso became the new GM and had to tear everything down, causing the Americans to miss the playoffs and pick up even more misery points. From S67 to S71, they had only one playoff appearance, which was a wild card round loss in S69. They had some success after that rebuild, including reaching the semi finals in S72, but after a couple of seasons of success they had to tear it down again. The Americans missed the playoffs in S74 and are on track to miss it again this year. Maybe after another rebuild, they will be able to truly contend for a title.
 
Worst moment: GM Spade goes inactive, team falls into chaos
 
1. HC Davos Dynamo 
Previous rank: 1 (367)
Misery score: 395
 
This franchise is truly an enigma. Davos seemed like a mess when I wrote the first misery index, but they somehow have gotten even worse. Even though it seems like they have a really solid young team and a direction now, they have just been so inept on the ice. The last continental cup for Davos was all the way back in S61, seemingly a lifetime ago in VHL time. It doesn't seem like they will be able to turn the corner and win one again soon, despite actually having a pretty solid roster. They had to rebuild after a finals loss in S62, and managed to become competitive again in S66, despite having awful lottery luck during their rebuild. They had a star studded team, and even swept the Reign in S66 before getting handled easily by the Titans. They missed the playoffs the next year, lost in the first round the year after, before going on a three season stretch of missing the postseason. A wild card exit in S72 and then a first round loss in S73 continued to pummel this franchise into the ground. S74 seemed like it could be a good year though. Their young additions from the S72 draft were becoming truly elite now, and younger prospects were becoming good players as well. That wasn't enough for Davos, as they missed the playoffs in S74 because of a tiebreaker. I've come to the conclusion this franchise is cursed. Eight seasons have gone by and they are still the most miserable franchise in the VHL. You can't even really blame the GMs either, since they had really solid teams that just struggled to put it together. Hopefully in the next edition of the misery index, they won't be first place. Who am I kidding, they probably will be.
 
Worst moment: Missing the playoffs in S67 after it seemed they were turning the corner
 
Since the last misery index, the VHL landscape has changed drastically. Six new teams were added to the league, resulting in multiple different playoff format changes. The Bears went from one of the most miserable teams in the league to by far the least. The Wolves have gone from a team that seemed cursed at times to a two time champion and the team with the brighest future. The Legion went from back to back championships to third place on the misery chart. However, throughout all of this, some teams stay consistent. The Reign stayed in second to last, showing how consistently strong they are. The Titans may have moved up in the rankings, but they still are a great franchise with a pretty low score. The Americans struggles have still continued. Even with all this change, and the handful of teams that haven't changed much, one team rises above them all in terms of consistency. HC Davos remains the most miserable team, a true achievement for their consistency. In life, there are three certainties: Death, taxes, and Davos being the most miserable franchise in the VHL.
 
The full data table is here:
 
 
2,185 words

Great achievement in any sport must come at the expense of others. Alec Martinez just scored the goal of his life, and the Kings are Stanley cup champions. On the other end? The Rangers suffer bitter defeat, and Lundqvist can only hang his head in misery. The only way to fully understand is by experiencing the epic highs and lows of VHL sim hockey. On the other side of every win, celebration, comeback, or upset, there is defeat, frustration, and disappointment. In S66, I created the VHL Misery Index, an arbitrary system I used to calculate how miserable each VHL team has been over the past fifteen seasons, dating back to S51. Almost ten seasons later, I've decided to bring it back to see how much has changed over the past eight seasons. If you want to see the results from S66, click here. If you want to see how the point system works, click here.
 
In case you don't feel like reading how the point system works, I will just quickly sum it up. It is split up into three parts; the previous five seasons, seasons 6-10, and then season 11-15. The most recent years carry the most weight in the index, and as we get further removed from the present, the point totals lessen. For example, an S73 cup win would be -40, but a S62 cup win would be -10. The lower the point total, the better. This list will not included any of the four newest expansion teams for obvious reasons, and it also won't include Prague or DC. I wanted to put Malmo and Moscow in, but they just didn't have enough seasons. Perhaps in the next edition, they will both be included. I also included each teams worst moment from the last 15 seasons, as well as how much their ranked changed since the last edition.
 
8. Seattle Bears 
Previous rank: 2 (310)
Misery score: 45
 
How did the Bears turn their score around so much in eight seasons? Well, it's a pretty easy explanation. The previous edition cut off at S66, only two seasons prior to the beginning of the Bears dynasty. Since then, they have four continental cups, the primary reason for their low score. The score of only 45 is absolutely insane. In the last edition, Helsinki's score of 95 was the lowest and it was so insane I had to redo the numbers to make sure I didn't do anything wrong. This is half that score. It's hard to be miserable as a Bears fan when you won four cups in recent memory, forming one of the greatest dynasties of all time. Just imagine if the S63-S65 Bears teams didn't underperform in the playoffs. Those teams won back to back victory cups, and this misery score could be nearly at 0 or even in the negatives if they had played up to their skill level during those years.
 
Worst moment: Back to back semi finals upsets in S64 and S65
 
7. Riga Reign 
Previous rank: 7 (152)
Misery score: 110
 
The Reign are another one of those teams that are always good. S75 has not been the case, but luckily for them this season is not counted. They brought their misery score down by 30 points since the last version, mostly due to their championship in S72, as well as a finals appearance in S69. They have made the playoffs every year since S63, and have made it to at least the semi-finals in all but two of those seasons. In the Podrick Cast era, they only won one cup (S63), and often times disappointed, notably in S64 against Helsinki in the semi finals and in S65 against the Legion. Despite those tough losses, the Reign were still one of the most consistent franchises in the past 15 seasons, and this misery score reflects that.
 
Worst moment: Getting destroyed by Toronto and Davos in S65 and S66
 
6. Vancouver Wolves 
Previous rank: 4 (268)
Misery score: 150
 
The big improvement in score for the Wolves is a result of two things. Firstly, their cup wins in S67 and S74. Secondly, their worst stretch as a franchise in the original misery index came during S58-S60, which isn't included in our updated version. Those two factors combined really swung in the Wolves favor, who have had good fortune as of late. When I come back to this in 5-10 seasons, I wouldn't be surprised to see Vancouver in last place. They have a really bright future that has a cup win before they even truly hit their prime; sounds an awful lot like the recent Bears dynasty. Vancouver has had some rough moments, such as getting swept in S66 in the finals, losing in the S62 finals against Keaton Louth and the Wranglers, or even when they were forced to play a computer goalie in the playoffs because they broke the Louth rule. The Wolves are in a much better spot now then they were ten seasons ago. If you are a Wolves fan, this score reflects how it's hard to forget the tough losses of the past, but you still can't be too upset because of your more recent success.
 
Worst moment: Being forced to play a CPU goalie in the playoffs in S64
 
5. Helsinki Titans 
Previous rank: 8 (95)
Misery score: 160
 
The Titans had their best stretch of hockey from S64-S67, with four straight finals appearance, but only one cup.  This is the key reason for their very low score in the previous misery index. Eight seasons later, that success is less weighted, and their lack of more recent success really brings on the points. The past two seasons they have made it to the finals, but the three seasons before that saw two wild card eliminations as well as missing the playoffs altogether in S71. The back to back losses to the Legion in the finals were tough for Titans fan, especially in S65 when it went the distance before Toronto won game seven. S67 was also tough, since the Wolves got their revenge in the rematch against Helsinki, but at least that loss could be soothed by the cup win the year prior. The Titans have had a lot of recent success, but their mini stretch of mediocrity from S70-S72 is what hurts them.
 
Worst moment: Losing back to back finals to Toronto in S64 and S65
 
4. Calgary Wranglers
Previous rank: 5 (230)
Misery score: 200
 
The Wranglers have been a pretty consistent franchise over the past 15 seasons. They haven't gone any extended stretches of being bad, which helps their score out by avoiding the playoff drought multiplier. However, besides an S62 cup, they haven't won anything else. They had a finals appearance in S63, S70, and S72, but lost all three of those appearances. Recently, the Wranglers have elevated their level of play with Jacques Lafontaine in net, but it wasn't enough to make a serious dent in their score from the last version. Overall, the Wranglers can be described in a way that's very similar to how I described them eight seasons ago. I said they were a consistent playoff team, but never did enough in the playoffs. An S73 finals appearance and possible cup win would have changed this score tremendously, but blowing a 3-1 lead in the semi finals to the rival Seattle Bears was an agonizing way to go down.
 
Worst moment: Blowing a 3-1 lead to Seattle in the semi finals in S73
 
3. Toronto Legion 
Previous rank: 6 (227)
Misery score: 290
 
The Legion began their first rebuild in a long time in S70 after a long run of being a consistent playoff team and also having no draft picks. The rebuild has been starting to turn the corner, but unfortunately their three playoff misses and wild card loss from S70 to S73 cost them 180 total points on the misery index. Their back to back cups in S64 and S65 are also weighted much less now that they aren't in recent memory, which hurts their score. S67 was the last prime chance for Toronto to win another continental cup, as they completely ran through the regular season, finishing well in first place, with 13 more wins than second place. The regular season dominance didn't end up mattering though, as they got smoked by the Wolves in the semi finals and only won a single game. Since that point, they have been on the decline. They are on the rise, but their lack of recent success is what drives this score to where it is.
 
Worst moment: Getting upset in the S67 semi finals by Vancouver
 
2. New York Americans 
Previous rank: 3 (290)
Misery score: 375
 
It's tough to be an Americans fan right now. They are the only team that hasn't won a cup in the past 15 seasons, not including any expansion teams. They had to rebuild from S62 to S64, and then the team had tremendous promise. They looked like a great young team on the rise, but everything changed so quickly. The Americans lost young pieces to expansion teams and by trade, the GM went inactive, and the team fell into shambles. A once promising team was practically left for dead. Esso became the new GM and had to tear everything down, causing the Americans to miss the playoffs and pick up even more misery points. From S67 to S71, they had only one playoff appearance, which was a wild card round loss in S69. They had some success after that rebuild, including reaching the semi finals in S72, but after a couple of seasons of success they had to tear it down again. The Americans missed the playoffs in S74 and are on track to miss it again this year. Maybe after another rebuild, they will be able to truly contend for a title.
 
Worst moment: GM Spade goes inactive, team falls into chaos
 
1. HC Davos Dynamo 
Previous rank: 1 (367)
Misery score: 395
 
This franchise is truly an enigma. Davos seemed like a mess when I wrote the first misery index, but they somehow have gotten even worse. Even though it seems like they have a really solid young team and a direction now, they have just been so inept on the ice. The last continental cup for Davos was all the way back in S61, seemingly a lifetime ago in VHL time. It doesn't seem like they will be able to turn the corner and win one again soon, despite actually having a pretty solid roster. They had to rebuild after a finals loss in S62, and managed to become competitive again in S66, despite having awful lottery luck during their rebuild. They had a star studded team, and even swept the Reign in S66 before getting handled easily by the Titans. They missed the playoffs the next year, lost in the first round the year after, before going on a three season stretch of missing the postseason. A wild card exit in S72 and then a first round loss in S73 continued to pummel this franchise into the ground. S74 seemed like it could be a good year though. Their young additions from the S72 draft were becoming truly elite now, and younger prospects were becoming good players as well. That wasn't enough for Davos, as they missed the playoffs in S74 because of a tiebreaker. I've come to the conclusion this franchise is cursed. Eight seasons have gone by and they are still the most miserable franchise in the VHL. You can't even really blame the GMs either, since they had really solid teams that just struggled to put it together. Hopefully in the next edition of the misery index, they won't be first place. Who am I kidding, they probably will be.
 
Worst moment: Missing the playoffs in S67 after it seemed they were turning the corner
 
Since the last misery index, the VHL landscape has changed drastically. Six new teams were added to the league, resulting in multiple different playoff format changes. The Bears went from one of the most miserable teams in the league to by far the least. The Wolves have gone from a team that seemed cursed at times to a two time champion and the team with the brighest future. The Legion went from back to back championships to third place on the misery chart. However, throughout all of this, some teams stay consistent. The Reign stayed in second to last, showing how consistently strong they are. The Titans may have moved up in the rankings, but they still are a great franchise with a pretty low score. The Americans struggles have still continued. Even with all this change, and the handful of teams that haven't changed much, one team rises above them all in terms of consistency. HC Davos remains the most miserable team, a true achievement for their consistency. In life, there are three certainties: Death, taxes, and Davos being the most miserable franchise in the VHL.
 
The full data table is here:
 
 
2,185 words

Great achievement in any sport must come at the expense of others. Alec Martinez just scored the goal of his life, and the Kings are Stanley cup champions. On the other end? The Rangers suffer bitter defeat, and Lundqvist can only hang his head in misery. The only way to fully understand is by experiencing the epic highs and lows of VHL sim hockey. On the other side of every win, celebration, comeback, or upset, there is defeat, frustration, and disappointment. In S66, I created the VHL Misery Index, an arbitrary system I used to calculate how miserable each VHL team has been over the past fifteen seasons, dating back to S51. Almost ten seasons later, I've decided to bring it back to see how much has changed over the past eight seasons. If you want to see the results from S66, click here. If you want to see how the point system works, click here.
 
In case you don't feel like reading how the point system works, I will just quickly sum it up. It is split up into three parts; the previous five seasons, seasons 6-10, and then season 11-15. The most recent years carry the most weight in the index, and as we get further removed from the present, the point totals lessen. For example, an S73 cup win would be -40, but a S62 cup win would be -10. The lower the point total, the better. This list will not included any of the four newest expansion teams for obvious reasons, and it also won't include Prague or DC. I wanted to put Malmo and Moscow in, but they just didn't have enough seasons. Perhaps in the next edition, they will both be included. I also included each teams worst moment from the last 15 seasons, as well as how much their ranked changed since the last edition.
 
8. Seattle Bears 
Previous rank: 2 (310)
Misery score: 45
 
How did the Bears turn their score around so much in eight seasons? Well, it's a pretty easy explanation. The previous edition cut off at S66, only two seasons prior to the beginning of the Bears dynasty. Since then, they have four continental cups, the primary reason for their low score. The score of only 45 is absolutely insane. In the last edition, Helsinki's score of 95 was the lowest and it was so insane I had to redo the numbers to make sure I didn't do anything wrong. This is half that score. It's hard to be miserable as a Bears fan when you won four cups in recent memory, forming one of the greatest dynasties of all time. Just imagine if the S63-S65 Bears teams didn't underperform in the playoffs. Those teams won back to back victory cups, and this misery score could be nearly at 0 or even in the negatives if they had played up to their skill level during those years.
 
Worst moment: Back to back semi finals upsets in S64 and S65
 
7. Riga Reign 
Previous rank: 7 (152)
Misery score: 110
 
The Reign are another one of those teams that are always good. S75 has not been the case, but luckily for them this season is not counted. They brought their misery score down by 30 points since the last version, mostly due to their championship in S72, as well as a finals appearance in S69. They have made the playoffs every year since S63, and have made it to at least the semi-finals in all but two of those seasons. In the Podrick Cast era, they only won one cup (S63), and often times disappointed, notably in S64 against Helsinki in the semi finals and in S65 against the Legion. Despite those tough losses, the Reign were still one of the most consistent franchises in the past 15 seasons, and this misery score reflects that.
 
Worst moment: Getting destroyed by Toronto and Davos in S65 and S66
 
6. Vancouver Wolves 
Previous rank: 4 (268)
Misery score: 150
 
The big improvement in score for the Wolves is a result of two things. Firstly, their cup wins in S67 and S74. Secondly, their worst stretch as a franchise in the original misery index came during S58-S60, which isn't included in our updated version. Those two factors combined really swung in the Wolves favor, who have had good fortune as of late. When I come back to this in 5-10 seasons, I wouldn't be surprised to see Vancouver in last place. They have a really bright future that has a cup win before they even truly hit their prime; sounds an awful lot like the recent Bears dynasty. Vancouver has had some rough moments, such as getting swept in S66 in the finals, losing in the S62 finals against Keaton Louth and the Wranglers, or even when they were forced to play a computer goalie in the playoffs because they broke the Louth rule. The Wolves are in a much better spot now then they were ten seasons ago. If you are a Wolves fan, this score reflects how it's hard to forget the tough losses of the past, but you still can't be too upset because of your more recent success.
 
Worst moment: Being forced to play a CPU goalie in the playoffs in S64
 
5. Helsinki Titans 
Previous rank: 8 (95)
Misery score: 160
 
The Titans had their best stretch of hockey from S64-S67, with four straight finals appearance, but only one cup.  This is the key reason for their very low score in the previous misery index. Eight seasons later, that success is less weighted, and their lack of more recent success really brings on the points. The past two seasons they have made it to the finals, but the three seasons before that saw two wild card eliminations as well as missing the playoffs altogether in S71. The back to back losses to the Legion in the finals were tough for Titans fan, especially in S65 when it went the distance before Toronto won game seven. S67 was also tough, since the Wolves got their revenge in the rematch against Helsinki, but at least that loss could be soothed by the cup win the year prior. The Titans have had a lot of recent success, but their mini stretch of mediocrity from S70-S72 is what hurts them.
 
Worst moment: Losing back to back finals to Toronto in S64 and S65
 
4. Calgary Wranglers
Previous rank: 5 (230)
Misery score: 200
 
The Wranglers have been a pretty consistent franchise over the past 15 seasons. They haven't gone any extended stretches of being bad, which helps their score out by avoiding the playoff drought multiplier. However, besides an S62 cup, they haven't won anything else. They had a finals appearance in S63, S70, and S72, but lost all three of those appearances. Recently, the Wranglers have elevated their level of play with Jacques Lafontaine in net, but it wasn't enough to make a serious dent in their score from the last version. Overall, the Wranglers can be described in a way that's very similar to how I described them eight seasons ago. I said they were a consistent playoff team, but never did enough in the playoffs. An S73 finals appearance and possible cup win would have changed this score tremendously, but blowing a 3-1 lead in the semi finals to the rival Seattle Bears was an agonizing way to go down.
 
Worst moment: Blowing a 3-1 lead to Seattle in the semi finals in S73
 
3. Toronto Legion 
Previous rank: 6 (227)
Misery score: 290
 
The Legion began their first rebuild in a long time in S70 after a long run of being a consistent playoff team and also having no draft picks. The rebuild has been starting to turn the corner, but unfortunately their three playoff misses and wild card loss from S70 to S73 cost them 180 total points on the misery index. Their back to back cups in S64 and S65 are also weighted much less now that they aren't in recent memory, which hurts their score. S67 was the last prime chance for Toronto to win another continental cup, as they completely ran through the regular season, finishing well in first place, with 13 more wins than second place. The regular season dominance didn't end up mattering though, as they got smoked by the Wolves in the semi finals and only won a single game. Since that point, they have been on the decline. They are on the rise, but their lack of recent success is what drives this score to where it is.
 
Worst moment: Getting upset in the S67 semi finals by Vancouver
 
2. New York Americans 
Previous rank: 3 (290)
Misery score: 375
 
It's tough to be an Americans fan right now. They are the only team that hasn't won a cup in the past 15 seasons, not including any expansion teams. They had to rebuild from S62 to S64, and then the team had tremendous promise. They looked like a great young team on the rise, but everything changed so quickly. The Americans lost young pieces to expansion teams and by trade, the GM went inactive, and the team fell into shambles. A once promising team was practically left for dead. Esso became the new GM and had to tear everything down, causing the Americans to miss the playoffs and pick up even more misery points. From S67 to S71, they had only one playoff appearance, which was a wild card round loss in S69. They had some success after that rebuild, including reaching the semi finals in S72, but after a couple of seasons of success they had to tear it down again. The Americans missed the playoffs in S74 and are on track to miss it again this year. Maybe after another rebuild, they will be able to truly contend for a title.
 
Worst moment: GM Spade goes inactive, team falls into chaos
 
1. HC Davos Dynamo 
Previous rank: 1 (367)
Misery score: 395
 
This franchise is truly an enigma. Davos seemed like a mess when I wrote the first misery index, but they somehow have gotten even worse. Even though it seems like they have a really solid young team and a direction now, they have just been so inept on the ice. The last continental cup for Davos was all the way back in S61, seemingly a lifetime ago in VHL time. It doesn't seem like they will be able to turn the corner and win one again soon, despite actually having a pretty solid roster. They had to rebuild after a finals loss in S62, and managed to become competitive again in S66, despite having awful lottery luck during their rebuild. They had a star studded team, and even swept the Reign in S66 before getting handled easily by the Titans. They missed the playoffs the next year, lost in the first round the year after, before going on a three season stretch of missing the postseason. A wild card exit in S72 and then a first round loss in S73 continued to pummel this franchise into the ground. S74 seemed like it could be a good year though. Their young additions from the S72 draft were becoming truly elite now, and younger prospects were becoming good players as well. That wasn't enough for Davos, as they missed the playoffs in S74 because of a tiebreaker. I've come to the conclusion this franchise is cursed. Eight seasons have gone by and they are still the most miserable franchise in the VHL. You can't even really blame the GMs either, since they had really solid teams that just struggled to put it together. Hopefully in the next edition of the misery index, they won't be first place. Who am I kidding, they probably will be.
 
Worst moment: Missing the playoffs in S67 after it seemed they were turning the corner
 
Since the last misery index, the VHL landscape has changed drastically. Six new teams were added to the league, resulting in multiple different playoff format changes. The Bears went from one of the most miserable teams in the league to by far the least. The Wolves have gone from a team that seemed cursed at times to a two time champion and the team with the brighest future. The Legion went from back to back championships to third place on the misery chart. However, throughout all of this, some teams stay consistent. The Reign stayed in second to last, showing how consistently strong they are. The Titans may have moved up in the rankings, but they still are a great franchise with a pretty low score. The Americans struggles have still continued. Even with all this change, and the handful of teams that haven't changed much, one team rises above them all in terms of consistency. HC Davos remains the most miserable team, a true achievement for their consistency. In life, there are three certainties: Death, taxes, and Davos being the most miserable franchise in the VHL.
 
The full data table is here:
 
 
2,185 words

Great achievement in any sport must come at the expense of others. Alec Martinez just scored the goal of his life, and the Kings are Stanley cup champions. On the other end? The Rangers suffer bitter defeat, and Lundqvist can only hang his head in misery. The only way to fully understand is by experiencing the epic highs and lows of VHL sim hockey. On the other side of every win, celebration, comeback, or upset, there is defeat, frustration, and disappointment. In S66, I created the VHL Misery Index, an arbitrary system I used to calculate how miserable each VHL team has been over the past fifteen seasons, dating back to S51. Almost ten seasons later, I've decided to bring it back to see how much has changed over the past eight seasons. If you want to see the results from S66, click here. If you want to see how the point system works, click here.
 
In case you don't feel like reading how the point system works, I will just quickly sum it up. It is split up into three parts; the previous five seasons, seasons 6-10, and then season 11-15. The most recent years carry the most weight in the index, and as we get further removed from the present, the point totals lessen. For example, an S73 cup win would be -40, but a S62 cup win would be -10. The lower the point total, the better. This list will not included any of the four newest expansion teams for obvious reasons, and it also won't include Prague or DC. I wanted to put Malmo and Moscow in, but they just didn't have enough seasons. Perhaps in the next edition, they will both be included. I also included each teams worst moment from the last 15 seasons, as well as how much their ranked changed since the last edition.
 
8. Seattle Bears 
Previous rank: 2 (310)
Misery score: 45
 
How did the Bears turn their score around so much in eight seasons? Well, it's a pretty easy explanation. The previous edition cut off at S66, only two seasons prior to the beginning of the Bears dynasty. Since then, they have four continental cups, the primary reason for their low score. The score of only 45 is absolutely insane. In the last edition, Helsinki's score of 95 was the lowest and it was so insane I had to redo the numbers to make sure I didn't do anything wrong. This is half that score. It's hard to be miserable as a Bears fan when you won four cups in recent memory, forming one of the greatest dynasties of all time. Just imagine if the S63-S65 Bears teams didn't underperform in the playoffs. Those teams won back to back victory cups, and this misery score could be nearly at 0 or even in the negatives if they had played up to their skill level during those years.
 
Worst moment: Back to back semi finals upsets in S64 and S65
 
7. Riga Reign 
Previous rank: 7 (152)
Misery score: 110
 
The Reign are another one of those teams that are always good. S75 has not been the case, but luckily for them this season is not counted. They brought their misery score down by 30 points since the last version, mostly due to their championship in S72, as well as a finals appearance in S69. They have made the playoffs every year since S63, and have made it to at least the semi-finals in all but two of those seasons. In the Podrick Cast era, they only won one cup (S63), and often times disappointed, notably in S64 against Helsinki in the semi finals and in S65 against the Legion. Despite those tough losses, the Reign were still one of the most consistent franchises in the past 15 seasons, and this misery score reflects that.
 
Worst moment: Getting destroyed by Toronto and Davos in S65 and S66
 
6. Vancouver Wolves 
Previous rank: 4 (268)
Misery score: 150
 
The big improvement in score for the Wolves is a result of two things. Firstly, their cup wins in S67 and S74. Secondly, their worst stretch as a franchise in the original misery index came during S58-S60, which isn't included in our updated version. Those two factors combined really swung in the Wolves favor, who have had good fortune as of late. When I come back to this in 5-10 seasons, I wouldn't be surprised to see Vancouver in last place. They have a really bright future that has a cup win before they even truly hit their prime; sounds an awful lot like the recent Bears dynasty. Vancouver has had some rough moments, such as getting swept in S66 in the finals, losing in the S62 finals against Keaton Louth and the Wranglers, or even when they were forced to play a computer goalie in the playoffs because they broke the Louth rule. The Wolves are in a much better spot now then they were ten seasons ago. If you are a Wolves fan, this score reflects how it's hard to forget the tough losses of the past, but you still can't be too upset because of your more recent success.
 
Worst moment: Being forced to play a CPU goalie in the playoffs in S64
 
5. Helsinki Titans 
Previous rank: 8 (95)
Misery score: 160
 
The Titans had their best stretch of hockey from S64-S67, with four straight finals appearance, but only one cup.  This is the key reason for their very low score in the previous misery index. Eight seasons later, that success is less weighted, and their lack of more recent success really brings on the points. The past two seasons they have made it to the finals, but the three seasons before that saw two wild card eliminations as well as missing the playoffs altogether in S71. The back to back losses to the Legion in the finals were tough for Titans fan, especially in S65 when it went the distance before Toronto won game seven. S67 was also tough, since the Wolves got their revenge in the rematch against Helsinki, but at least that loss could be soothed by the cup win the year prior. The Titans have had a lot of recent success, but their mini stretch of mediocrity from S70-S72 is what hurts them.
 
Worst moment: Losing back to back finals to Toronto in S64 and S65
 
4. Calgary Wranglers
Previous rank: 5 (230)
Misery score: 200
 
The Wranglers have been a pretty consistent franchise over the past 15 seasons. They haven't gone any extended stretches of being bad, which helps their score out by avoiding the playoff drought multiplier. However, besides an S62 cup, they haven't won anything else. They had a finals appearance in S63, S70, and S72, but lost all three of those appearances. Recently, the Wranglers have elevated their level of play with Jacques Lafontaine in net, but it wasn't enough to make a serious dent in their score from the last version. Overall, the Wranglers can be described in a way that's very similar to how I described them eight seasons ago. I said they were a consistent playoff team, but never did enough in the playoffs. An S73 finals appearance and possible cup win would have changed this score tremendously, but blowing a 3-1 lead in the semi finals to the rival Seattle Bears was an agonizing way to go down.
 
Worst moment: Blowing a 3-1 lead to Seattle in the semi finals in S73
 
3. Toronto Legion 
Previous rank: 6 (227)
Misery score: 290
 
The Legion began their first rebuild in a long time in S70 after a long run of being a consistent playoff team and also having no draft picks. The rebuild has been starting to turn the corner, but unfortunately their three playoff misses and wild card loss from S70 to S73 cost them 180 total points on the misery index. Their back to back cups in S64 and S65 are also weighted much less now that they aren't in recent memory, which hurts their score. S67 was the last prime chance for Toronto to win another continental cup, as they completely ran through the regular season, finishing well in first place, with 13 more wins than second place. The regular season dominance didn't end up mattering though, as they got smoked by the Wolves in the semi finals and only won a single game. Since that point, they have been on the decline. They are on the rise, but their lack of recent success is what drives this score to where it is.
 
Worst moment: Getting upset in the S67 semi finals by Vancouver
 
2. New York Americans 
Previous rank: 3 (290)
Misery score: 375
 
It's tough to be an Americans fan right now. They are the only team that hasn't won a cup in the past 15 seasons, not including any expansion teams. They had to rebuild from S62 to S64, and then the team had tremendous promise. They looked like a great young team on the rise, but everything changed so quickly. The Americans lost young pieces to expansion teams and by trade, the GM went inactive, and the team fell into shambles. A once promising team was practically left for dead. Esso became the new GM and had to tear everything down, causing the Americans to miss the playoffs and pick up even more misery points. From S67 to S71, they had only one playoff appearance, which was a wild card round loss in S69. They had some success after that rebuild, including reaching the semi finals in S72, but after a couple of seasons of success they had to tear it down again. The Americans missed the playoffs in S74 and are on track to miss it again this year. Maybe after another rebuild, they will be able to truly contend for a title.
 
Worst moment: GM Spade goes inactive, team falls into chaos
 
1. HC Davos Dynamo 
Previous rank: 1 (367)
Misery score: 395
 
This franchise is truly an enigma. Davos seemed like a mess when I wrote the first misery index, but they somehow have gotten even worse. Even though it seems like they have a really solid young team and a direction now, they have just been so inept on the ice. The last continental cup for Davos was all the way back in S61, seemingly a lifetime ago in VHL time. It doesn't seem like they will be able to turn the corner and win one again soon, despite actually having a pretty solid roster. They had to rebuild after a finals loss in S62, and managed to become competitive again in S66, despite having awful lottery luck during their rebuild. They had a star studded team, and even swept the Reign in S66 before getting handled easily by the Titans. They missed the playoffs the next year, lost in the first round the year after, before going on a three season stretch of missing the postseason. A wild card exit in S72 and then a first round loss in S73 continued to pummel this franchise into the ground. S74 seemed like it could be a good year though. Their young additions from the S72 draft were becoming truly elite now, and younger prospects were becoming good players as well. That wasn't enough for Davos, as they missed the playoffs in S74 because of a tiebreaker. I've come to the conclusion this franchise is cursed. Eight seasons have gone by and they are still the most miserable franchise in the VHL. You can't even really blame the GMs either, since they had really solid teams that just struggled to put it together. Hopefully in the next edition of the misery index, they won't be first place. Who am I kidding, they probably will be.
 
Worst moment: Missing the playoffs in S67 after it seemed they were turning the corner
 
Since the last misery index, the VHL landscape has changed drastically. Six new teams were added to the league, resulting in multiple different playoff format changes. The Bears went from one of the most miserable teams in the league to by far the least. The Wolves have gone from a team that seemed cursed at times to a two time champion and the team with the brighest future. The Legion went from back to back championships to third place on the misery chart. However, throughout all of this, some teams stay consistent. The Reign stayed in second to last, showing how consistently strong they are. The Titans may have moved up in the rankings, but they still are a great franchise with a pretty low score. The Americans struggles have still continued. Even with all this change, and the handful of teams that haven't changed much, one team rises above them all in terms of consistency. HC Davos remains the most miserable team, a true achievement for their consistency. In life, there are three certainties: Death, taxes, and Davos being the most miserable franchise in the VHL.
 
The full data table is here:
 
 
2,185 words

Hello, VHL. Usually with my VHL.com articles I spend my time doing a quick little blab about random things throughout the league or something silly to get people talking.. HOWEVER.. this week we’re going to go the personal route and let the members in on some things going on in Bana’s life. As I’ve always tried to tell people, the world is different and at times difficult but there’s a lot of positivity left in it and things will only get better. Now, let’s dip into things... because they’re pretty damn big! Let’s start with the biggest???
 
1. As a lot know, my girlfriend was diagnosed with a tumor in May, and did a biopsy in June and July (the first one they fucked up the sample). In august we learned she had diffuse large b-cell lymphoma which is an aggressive form of cancer of the blood etc. It was also a good sized tumor.. Pretty scary, difficult times... especially because she can’t get sick and we’re finding our way each day through a pandemic full of anti-mask wearers and angry people lol.. she lost her hair and chemo took a pretty strong hit to her... there was some very rough days for her especially as it went on (and me too, but she’s the one who has it).. but this is not about those bad days, sleepless/sick nights etc.. 
 
HOWEVER, oct 31 was their final planned chemo cycle (#4) and then we waited until December 9th for a PET scan etc to see how things are... and based off their findings... 
 
SHES 100% clear.. just needs to check up every 3 months as it could come back etc.. woo hoo! 


 
2. I’ve quit smoking. Both things. Nah, not crack. Mariguana in September and I quit smoking cigarettes 31 days ago some time today.. I’ve done it once before with Champex (a pill everyday that makes smoking garbage) but this time was cold turkey and I haven’t struggled near as bad as last time.. I’m using money as my main thing but of course health too. Still grumpy days and moments and a few triggers and such for good cravings but I’ve battled through it all so far. 
 
 
3. It’s fitting that this is #3 because there’s 3 of them.. but we have 3 Xmas trees up this year. We normally have two. One in the living room area, one in our bedroom... but this year we expanded to the guest bed room.. just in time for more albertan Covid restrictions haha...
 
Keep doing good things VHL. Stay strong, stay smart and stay safe out there.. remember - it’s not just you going through it all. We’re all on this planet doing what we can to live the lives we want. 🤘🏻

Malmo from S66-S69 was really active 

1. Our offensive depth is great and we definitely can finish first in the NA with the talent we have.
2. We currently are in first place, and I see no reason why that would change by the end of the year and I can only hope we keep this up come playoff time.
3. Probably Lafontaine as the best goaltender.
4. I'm happy with it, 23 points in 26 games is pretty solid. I want to finish with 70 points this year and I'm on pace for 64, so I'm hoping I can maybe pick up the pace a little.
5. Probably Nathan N from my Vegas days with my previous player back in S64. He had 113 points, barely beating Dil for most points in the league which made everyone happy.
6. Probably Bergeron since his defense rating would be high

Screw archetypes. That is all.

Review: I love this, looking at both sides of the argument, and I agree with you that the TPE scale should be changed for the people who are dedicated enough. I like the paragraphs, and my one recommendation for next time is to throw some bold and italics in there.\
9/10

You were able to present multiple angles to a proposed problem. You did so in a way that was succinct, organized, and presented well. I would personally add some headlines or a graphic or two, but that's just me. Overall, well done! 9/10

Happy you found the league 2 years ago @Matt_O thanks for what you bring to the league  

My two year anniversary on VHL just went by and I didn't even realize. I can't believe I have been on this site for two years already. I remember when I first joined, my cousin @TrevorC11 told me he found this cool league and we checked it out. He wasn't as interested and never earned any TPE, but I took a liking to it. At first I felt obligated to earn TPE, but eventually it became easy. I became a pretty prominent member throughout 2019, as I was with VSN, a VHLM GM, and even in the BOG. How did I get into the BOG? Your guess is as good as mine. Eventually I stepped away from the VHL in late 2019 because I actually got a life, pretty shocking. I started dating this girl and we still are dating now a year later. Can you guys believe this? The S+ tier clown actually got a girl- hulk hogan wishes he could be on my level. Hogan, I know you are reading this because you search up your player name. The VHL was super important to me in 2019, and even though it is less important to me now it still is something fun that I am really glad my cousin told me about.
 
215 words

I've seemingly completely run out of media spot ideas, so I've decided to come back to everyone favorite topic of discussion; TPE. Does TPE inflation exist? The answer to that question is obviously yes, and at this point it's hard to deny it. We just saw Ryan Kastelic a few seasons back hit the 2000 TPE mark. When I first joined the league towards the end of S63, the highest all time TPE earner was Gabriel McCallister, with 1613. Mats Johnsson overtook McCallister with 1674 not too long after that, so the highest TPE earner of all time up to when I joined was 1674 TPE. Not even a full player career later, we saw a 2000 TPE earner. How did so much extra TPE just appear so fast? Alex Pepper sits in 30th place all time with 1390 TPE. If you take that amount and rank him based on when I first joined, he jumps from 30th place all the way to 6th place. How did that big of a difference happen in such a short amount of time? I don't have an answer to that question, but TPE inflation is clearly real. However, the question isn't about whether it's real or not. The question is, is it even a problem?
 
People who believe TPE inflation is a problem likely believe that the VHL should implement some sort of player archetype system. To me, the most valid argument that says TPE inflation is a problem is that every player is pretty much the same. When you have enough TPE, why not max out everything you can? If you had less TPE, you would be forced to be more specialized, and maybe hit 99 in one, maybe two categories rather than four or five. If you are a forward that consistently hits the cap and take advantage of most uncapped TPE opportunities, you probably can get a 99 in defense, scoring, skating, and then your choice between puck handling or passing, but you can get both if you really grind for the TPE. Once you reach a certain TPE threshold, every player is practically the same. All the useful stats maxed out, all the useless ones not touched, and then strength and checking might have some TPE into it. This was a big reason why the idea of a new TPE scale was being tested out, but it quickly died alongside Higgins.
 
On the other side of the coin, people say TPE inflation doesn't matter. The most frequent argument I remember seeing was that the majority of VHL players were not reaching those absurd levels of TPE, and only the highest earners could reach it. They believed that the problem was only present in the few highest TPE players, and they deserve their TPE if they worked hard for it. While I am team TPE inflation is a problem, the idea that it isn't a problem since barely anyone actually reaches that TPE level is valid. I reached the cap nearly every single week and took advantage of nearly every single uncapped TPE chance I got, yet I never even came close to the levels of TPE that some players get. It never made sense to me. Where did these players get this TPE from? I remember writing a media spot a while ago examining how HHH was able to outgain me by 200 TPE in only ten weeks, and in order to actually make up that number I had to make some wild assumptions that definitely didn't happen. I had to say that he won every lottery, every fantasy, and got max offseason TPE gains, and if all that happened, then it would make sense. Obviously, that isn't what happened. How big of a problem is TPE inflation if someone who earns max nearly every week never comes close to reaching the point of having 'too much' TPE?
 
Both arguments have good points, but I believe that player diversity would be good. I'm not suggesting having archetypes, I actually am not a huge fan because it limits what you can do if you change your mind. I think we should try to change the TPE scale, since I believe it was a good idea at the time and it's something worth looking at again.
 
Like 675 words or so
 
 

@Matt_O did a fantastic article about the S26 Vasteras Baby Eagles team that held the first sixteen picks of the VHLM Draft and still lost the championship.
 
 

I'm honored to be the next Editor-in-Chief, and can't wait to get down to business. More importantly, thank you for all your hard work taking the reigns this past season @Doomsday; I hope I can live up to my predecessors and keep VSN up to the standards that I have inherited it at. Speaking of, I'd like to thank @FrostBeard for hiring me as a VSN writer originally; its been an absolute catalyst for me in the VHL and I can't be more grateful. 

Good evening everyone,
 
It's been another successful season for VSN, in spite of some challenging circumstances. It's a testament to the hard work of all the writers, graphical wizards, contributors, and editors to keep bringing such wonderful content to you, and to continue to innovate and find new ways to do so. They don't get enough credit for that, and you all have my undying gratitude for all of your hard work. 
 
I was floored when Frostbeard handed the reigns of VSN to me upon his stepping down. I had lots of ideas, lots of things I felt I could do to not only keep VSN going strong, but better. With my passion as a writer and overall hype man for VSN, how could it go wrong? Well, as I found out, plenty. As it turns out, being poorly organized is not ideal to managing something like VSN. Combine that with severe anxiety, and I quickly began to realize that as much as I wanted to be, I simply was not suited to this position. At best, I was simply treading water. At worst, I was negatively impacting VSN, and all of those great people deserve more than treading water. I spoke to Beaviss about stepping down, and after confirming that this was indeed what I wanted, and ultimately needed to do, the search for the new Editor-In-Chief of VSN began. 
 
I am here tonight to announce that the Blue Team has completed the search, and that @Mr_Hatter is the new Editor-In-Chief of VSN! Congratulations, I hope that you are more up to this task than I was. I will be doing everything in my ability to make the transition as smooth as possible, including a potential return to the writing ranks of VSN. Part of my discussion with Beaviss was that I did not wish to leave VSN entirely, but would be perfectly happy to resume writing or contributing in any way the new boss found suitable. 
 
Thank you to those who have read this, and keep an eye out for more great VSN content in the days and weeks to come!
 
Love,
 
Dooms
@VSN

So, just today I left VSN for the second time because I am not able to keep up with the workload. This isn't going to be one of those typical articles that bash everyone after leaving, which we have seen with quite a few different jobs or just the site in general as people angrily leave. Seeing VSN where it is today is incredible after seeing how it was in its beginning stages. I was a member of VSN from February of 2019 to November or December, then re-joined in May or June I think but honestly I have no idea when I joined again. All I can say is that the difference in the organization from when I started in February to now is really something that longtime editor @FrostBeard and @Banackock should be proud of.
 
When I joined VSN, I had to think of a series to start. I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I decided I would recap past seasons in the league, starting from S20, the first season that has an archive on the portal. That lasted for only a few season recaps until my new series Deep Rewind took over, which was my main thing for a very long time. I still have no idea why I picked history to write about. When I first joined VSN in February, I had only been on the site for about four months or so, the most history I knew was that Riga won the S63 Continental Cup and the Wranglers lost in the finals. I joined VSN and it was nothing like how it is today. The summer of 2019 was a particularly dead time for VSN, and it pretty much became a platform for me to write stuff and get more publicity than what a typical media spot would. I would post twice a week, and I don't even know how I did that. I can hardly even keep up with posting once every other week now, posting twice a week would be a death sentence for me. That being said, I didn't have much of a life during that summer, but now I actually do so that probably is a factor. I believe during the month of August, there were nine posts and I had seven or eight of them, but I'm not exactly sure. I remember I said something that VSN should have more publicity and thought of ways that we could get that to happen, and the overwhelming response by people was that VSN just kinda sucked. We fixed things for a while, and then it went back to a lack of articles being posted. This is when Frostbeard and Bana took over (I think).
 
I'm doing this whole timeline off the top of my head so it's definitely a little spotty. But, Frostbeard and Bana took over VSN and made it much more organized and complete than at any point in my tenure. We got new writers, I believe this is when we got a graphics department too, it became rejuvenated. After a few months under this new leadership, my life actually got interesting and I wasn't able to keep up with VSN anymore, as I was too busy getting with the ladies ? . But I also wasn't able to keep up with the league in general anymore, I stepped down from my GM job, and then about a month later I think I left VSN and the league as a whole for a few months until I came back in around March. I came back to VSN because I wanted to write for them again and my activity on the site had picked up, but now, I don't know if I can keep up anymore. VSN has grown tremendously, and I also have to mention @Doomsday for his incredible contributions to VSN, as a great history writer and he was definitely the most deserving successor of Frostbeard. I hope VSN can continue to grow and improve and become better than ever before.

I think that VSN is where it is because of you. Because people like you who can create wonderful and truly amazing content for everyone on the site to enjoy. I think that when Bana decided to act and push for change in leadership things changed for the better. It was good that I had contacted Commissioners previously about problems with VSN and Bana knew that. We worked well together but as I knew already at that point that Bana was there only for a part of it as none of us wanted him to burn out. At that point I knew that we need to hire people that are ready to contribute and bring energy and passion to VSN. I have to say that you clearly were that person so question to re-hire you when you decided to back was the easiest decision as Editor-in-chief I ever made. You did amazing job and I hope to see some more amazing articles by Matt at some point  

Awesome to see this. Glad your experience was well with the VSN and some form of improvement was made. Thanks for your contributions to VSN and the VHL.  

So, just today I left VSN for the second time because I am not able to keep up with the workload. This isn't going to be one of those typical articles that bash everyone after leaving, which we have seen with quite a few different jobs or just the site in general as people angrily leave. Seeing VSN where it is today is incredible after seeing how it was in its beginning stages. I was a member of VSN from February of 2019 to November or December, then re-joined in May or June I think but honestly I have no idea when I joined again. All I can say is that the difference in the organization from when I started in February to now is really something that longtime editor @FrostBeard and @Banackock should be proud of.
 
When I joined VSN, I had to think of a series to start. I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I decided I would recap past seasons in the league, starting from S20, the first season that has an archive on the portal. That lasted for only a few season recaps until my new series Deep Rewind took over, which was my main thing for a very long time. I still have no idea why I picked history to write about. When I first joined VSN in February, I had only been on the site for about four months or so, the most history I knew was that Riga won the S63 Continental Cup and the Wranglers lost in the finals. I joined VSN and it was nothing like how it is today. The summer of 2019 was a particularly dead time for VSN, and it pretty much became a platform for me to write stuff and get more publicity than what a typical media spot would. I would post twice a week, and I don't even know how I did that. I can hardly even keep up with posting once every other week now, posting twice a week would be a death sentence for me. That being said, I didn't have much of a life during that summer, but now I actually do so that probably is a factor. I believe during the month of August, there were nine posts and I had seven or eight of them, but I'm not exactly sure. I remember I said something that VSN should have more publicity and thought of ways that we could get that to happen, and the overwhelming response by people was that VSN just kinda sucked. We fixed things for a while, and then it went back to a lack of articles being posted. This is when Frostbeard and Bana took over (I think).
 
I'm doing this whole timeline off the top of my head so it's definitely a little spotty. But, Frostbeard and Bana took over VSN and made it much more organized and complete than at any point in my tenure. We got new writers, I believe this is when we got a graphics department too, it became rejuvenated. After a few months under this new leadership, my life actually got interesting and I wasn't able to keep up with VSN anymore, as I was too busy getting with the ladies ? . But I also wasn't able to keep up with the league in general anymore, I stepped down from my GM job, and then about a month later I think I left VSN and the league as a whole for a few months until I came back in around March. I came back to VSN because I wanted to write for them again and my activity on the site had picked up, but now, I don't know if I can keep up anymore. VSN has grown tremendously, and I also have to mention @Doomsday for his incredible contributions to VSN, as a great history writer and he was definitely the most deserving successor of Frostbeard. I hope VSN can continue to grow and improve and become better than ever before.