Grape

claiming for the final time for week 1/30 - 2/5

get out of here!

I will say, way back to when I first joined nearly 4 years ago, nobody ever told me how to do point tasks. I was moreorless just a welfare player and the GMs I had just kind of accepted that that was how it would always be. Eventually I found out how to actually do point tasks and here I am now. While it is true that some GMs fall short on educating new and returning members alike in regards to claiming, it isn't super difficult to figure out how to do them. The forum is laid out somewhat decently enough to find where they are and there's guides pinned on all of them.

Claiming again for week 1/23-1/29

Should just rename it to the Big Boga award since they're a lock for it every season at this point

Real life work is gonna be ramping up a bit for me now so I'd appreciate a helping hand with the ole Lynx. Responsibilities are as followed: - Weekly pressers - Spitting some rizz on the players (just be active and engaging in the LR I guess) - Stop me from making stupid trades - Help with lines, scouting, drafting, etc. No experience is required, as this is moreorless like a learning role. Everything you need to know will be taught. Reply to this thread if interested.

Accidentally put Halifax's numbers under Miami. Should be fixed now

With the draft being complete and free agency kicking off, it is time once again for my usual preseason rankings. This season was particularly difficult due to each team being extremely mixed and jumbled up in terms of balance. Teams with a good forward core may be lacking in defense, or goaltending, and that goes in every such way as well; however, I tried my damndest to assemble at least a competent ranking. I do apologize to anyone who actually likes reading these (probably only like 5 people max, but hats off to you guys), as I was unable to push out the end of season rankings, despite having it like half-done for multiple weeks. I’ll do my best not to miss out on that again, as I am a fan of that extra 2 TPE. Please note that these rankings are done with all inactives removed from each team. Also let it be known that players on the edge of inactivity were still included, as this is done as if the season was starting today, and I should not predict whether or not a player goes inactive. 10. Las Vegas Aces Forward Ranking: 10th (Avg TPA: 59.2) Defensemen Ranking: 8th (Avg TPA: 79) Goaltender Ranking: T-10th (No Goalie) Finishing last in the previous season, this team lines up in last place coming into this season as well. I will say, they had a very solid draft. The picks made were moreoreless setting up the team for next season, not this one, as they went with mostly some lower TPE players that should be playing in the M for a couple seasons. Overall, expect this team to be at the bottom of the league for a good bit, prioritizing player growth over being competitive. 9. Philadelphia Reapers Forward Ranking: 3rd (Avg TPA: 155.5) Defensemen Ranking: 6th (Avg TPA: 80.5) Goaltender Ranking: T-10th (No Goalie) The Reapers did not have a very good draft, which is understandable, since they lacked a good amount of early picks in a relatively weak draft. The main thing that is going to hurt them is the lack of a goalie. This is a problem Vegas faced last season, where, despite having an okay squad, the lack of a “real” goaltender basically killed their season. Unless that problem is resolved, they are going to struggle throughout this season. 8. Saskatoon Wild Forward Ranking: 8th (Avg TPA: 90.67) Defensemen Ranking: 10th (Avg TPA: 57) Goaltender Ranking: T-1st (200 TPA) While goaltending is a major factor in a team’s success, you still actually, y’know, need a team. Even with the team sporting a max TPA goaltender, they only have 2 active forwards on the roster (since I’ve last checked), hurting them massively. The defensemen they have rostered also are not very high TPEwise. Unless some attributions are made, this team is going to struggle due to bots eating up ice-time over players. 7. Halifax 21st Forward Ranking: 9th (Avg TPA: 96.4) Defensemen Ranking: 4th (Avg TPA: 133.33) Goaltender Ranking: 7th (52 TPA) Halifax is a bit of a mixed bag. Their defense looks pretty solid, picking up a couple high end defensemen in the draft, but their forward core and goaltending could definitely use some work. While they should get a bit better as the season progresses, I don’t feel that their forwards or goaltender will get to a competitive enough level, and this team is likely to be a seller, maximizing draft picks to make them a more legitimate contender in season 88. 6. Miami Marauders Forward Ranking: 6th (Avg TPA: 134) Defensemen Ranking: 9th (Avg TPA: 75.33) Goaltender Ranking: T-1st (200 TPA) An okay draft has given this team the pieces to be an okay squad going into the season. Their early season struggles due to lower TPA defensemen and forwards should be buoyed somewhat by their max TPA goaltender. If all goes right, they should jump above a couple teams; however, that is heavily reliant on their players staying active and continuing to claim. Are they a legitimate contender right now? Definitely not. Will they be later in the season? Still, probably not. But, nonetheless, they’ll likely be better. 5. San Diego Marlins Forward Ranking: 7th (Avg TPA: 124) Defensemen Ranking: 1st (Avg TPA: 151.8) Goaltender Ranking: 8th (43 TPA) First off, congrats to San Diego for their championship run. They put together a great squad, ranking 1st in both forwards and defensemen last season, and now come into this season, noticeably weaker, but should still be competitive. They’re coming into this season with an already very strong defensive group and their forwards, while low TPE, are plentiful and should get better over the course of the season. The biggest concern of this team is their goaltender. While I would have removed them due to being an inactive, the GM is confident that they can get Fonzi to actually have an active player for once. I guess we'll just have to wait and see 4. Mississauga Hounds Forward Ranking: 1st (Avg TPA: 150.8) Defensemen Ranking: 5th (Avg TPA: 92.5) Goaltender Ranking: 6th (96 TPA) Mississauga is coming into the start of the season with the top ranked forward core in the league, with practically all their forwards being in the mid to high 100 TPA area. Their weakness comes in on the defensive side. The team is only rostering a single defenseman, which is going to lead to some struggles, especially with a lower end goaltender stopping the pucks. Perhaps a trade between this team and Halifax may occur sometime during the season to bring in a defenseman to boot out the bot from the roster, but that’s just speculation. While they should be an okay team at the start, they will be in trouble if they don’t make some additions on the blueline. 3. Mexico City Kings Forward Ranking: 4th (Avg TPA: 141.8) Defensemen Ranking: 7th (Avg TPA: 70) Goaltender Ranking: T-4th (137 TPA) Mexico City is actually a team that I’m predicting will drop down the rankings as the season progresses. They did go out and acquire a good defenseman and some complementary pieces for the forward core during the draft; however, it is likely that their goaltender does go inactive (still included in the rankings because, hey, maybe they’ll change their mind). If they are forced to downgrade on their goaltender and not make any additions to help out their singular defenseman, this team is gonna struggle to keep pucks out of the net. Goals for likely won’t be a problem, but goals against probably will be. 2. Ottawa Lynx Forward Ranking: 5th (Avg TPA: 142.6) Defensemen Ranking: 3rd (Avg TPA: 134.67) Goaltender Ranking: T-1st (200 TPA) This team is gearing up to make another push after coming up short in the finals against San Diego. Both the forward and defenseman groups are alright, but will likely need a bit of help if they want to make a major push. They’ll likely get a lot of help from their goaltender, and a little bit of growth from their team should keep them at least in the conversation. This team should be solid throughout the season. 1. Houston Bulls Forward Ranking: 2nd (Avg TPA: 143.17) Defensemen Ranking: 2nd (Avg TPA: 161) Goaltender Ranking: T-4th (137 TPA) This team is looking like it will be an absolute unit this season. All players above 100 TPA with most well into 100. So long as growth continues, they should turn out to be the best team this season. Of course, that’s always the big question for the M: Are players going to stay active? There’s always a few that fizzle out, even high TPA ones, but I’m getting into the realm of speculation, which contributes nothing. All in all, this is the team to beat coming into this season. Conclusion And there you have it, my objectively correct preseason rankings. It feels weird since I could see any team outside of Vegas and Houston fitting in literally anywhere else. Every team is so jumbled up, missing like one or two pieces, or are just banking for some growth. It was really confusing placing them all into places that felt right, and even then, some teams I’m kinda questioning on where I placed them. I actually moved a few around as I was writing this because I took a look at some teams and was like “nah that team should be better” or “the numbers don’t really capture the whole picture.” This is probably the first time since being in the VHL that I can say I have no idea how this season will turn out. I guess a somewhat weak draft class will do that to ya. There’s a ton of lower TPA guys in the league right now, most of which are purely welfare or welfare+ players, which should mean that, on top of new recruits and recreates for the S88 draft, next season should be much more competitive; but, that’s not the focus right now. Let’s get ready and excited for season 87! (1523 words)

My UFA rights are more valuable than my player ongod

This is definitely one of the trades of all time.

Keita was complaining in the airport on his layover to Ottawa about how cold it was. Despite my lobbying, the league wouldn't allow Keita to wear a winter coat on the ice so it was deemed too cold for him and thus needed to go somewhere that could match the Mali heat.

My bad I was on my NHL Franchise Mode arc

claiming once again

Claiming again

10. Mississauga Hounds (Last Week: 9th) Forward Ranking: 9th (Last Week: 9th) Defensemen Ranking: 9th (Last Week: 8th) Goaltender Ranking: 7th (98 TPA) (Last Week: 7th (98 TPA)) Season Standing: 3rd 9th. Houston Bulls (Last week: 10th) Forward Ranking: 10th (Last Week: 10th) Defensemen Ranking: 8th (Last Week: 9th) Goaltender Ranking: 5th (113 TPA) (Last Week: 5th (107 TPA)) Season Standing: 9th 8. Mexico City Kings (Last week: 8th) Forward Ranking: 7th (Last Week: 7th) Defensemen Ranking: 10th (Last Week: 10th) Goaltender Ranking: 4th (119 TPA) (Last Week: 4th (119 TPA)) Season Standing: 5th 7. Miami Marauders (Last week: 7th) Forward Ranking: 8th (Last Week: 8th) Defensemen Ranking: 2nd (Last Week: 2nd) Goaltender Ranking: 8th (93 TPA) (Last Week: 8th (93 TPA)) Season Standing: 6th 6. Las Vegas Aces (Last week: 6th) Forward Ranking: 5th (Last Week: 5th) Defensemen Ranking: 3rd (Last Week: 3rd) Goaltender Ranking: 10th (20 TPA) (Last Week: 10th (20 TPA)) Season Standing: 8th 5. Saskatoon Wild (Last week: 5th) Forward Ranking: 6th (Last Week: 6th) Defensemen Ranking: 6th (Last Week: 7th) Goaltender Ranking: 9th (84 TPA) (Last Week: 9th (84 TPA)) Season Standing: 10th 4. Halifax 21st (Last week: 4th) Forward Ranking: 4th (Last Week: 3rd) Defensemen Ranking: 4th (Last Week: 4th) Goaltender Ranking: 6th (100 TPA) (Last Week: 6th (100 TPA)) Season Standing: 7th 3. Philadelphia Reapers (Last week: 3rd) Forward Ranking: 3rd (Last Week: 4th) Defensemen Ranking: 7th (Last Week: 5th) Goaltender Ranking: 1st (200 TPA) (Last Week: 1st (198 TPA)) Season Standing: 2nd 2. Ottawa Lynx (Last week: 2nd) Forward Ranking: 2nd (Last Week: 1st) Defensemen Ranking: 5th (Last Week: 6th) Goaltender Ranking: 3rd (148 TPA) (Last Week: 3rd (141 TPA)) Season Standing: 4th 1. San Diego Marlins (Last week: 1st) Forward Ranking: 1st (Last Week: 2nd) Defensemen Ranking: 1st (Last Week: 1st) Goaltender Ranking: 2nd (166 TPA) (Last Week: 2nd (162 TPA)) Season Standing: 1st

Hello and welcome to the beginning of a brand new season for the VHLM. As I typically do, I will be ranking and going over each team at the start. This season is pretty unique in that the defensemen rankings are actually extremely close together (<10% difference between 2nd and 7th), meaning that the defense rankings aren’t going to necessarily correlate well with the overall rankings. Another unique aspect for this season is that IA goalies are allowed to be rostered for some teams, meaning every team has a goalie, however most will not improve over the season, which, while not having an impact now, will have an impact during and at the end of the season and should be interesting to watch as the season progresses. Please note that I last updated my spreadsheet on Monday and therefore some numbers may be slightly off, although that shouldn’t change very much. Also note that any player with 0 TPA was removed from my spreadsheet, as they have no impact. If they do eventually apply their TP, they’ll be factored in later. Without further adieu, let’s get into the rankings. 10. Houston Bulls Forward Ranking: 10th Defensemen Ranking: 9th Goaltender Ranking: 5th (107 TPA) Houston comes into this season with a very sizable and young forward core, with only one of their forwards being over 100 TPE. Their weakness is in defensemen, where they only have one player. The plus side for this team is that they boast an active goalie. While this team should see plenty of growth in their forwards and likely surpass other teams, I feel that their defensive situation will hold them back from truly competing, leaving this team near the bottom of the league for the majority of the season. 9. Mississauga Hounds Forward Ranking: 9th Defensemen Ranking: 8th Goaltender Ranking: 7th (98 TPA) At the very least, I can safely say that Mississauga will be better than last season. They have a similar look to Houston, with a good group of low to mid TPE forwards, but only a singular defenseman. This team also has an inactive goalie, which means the goaltending they’re getting now will be what they’re getting for the whole season, pending any new created goalies. I feel that this team and Houston will be pretty closely tied together, maybe flip-flopping a few times with Houston taking over down the stretch. Growth is the focus this season, so don’t be hoping for this team to be a top contender this season. I’d say that’s more so next season’s goal. 8. Mexico City Kings Forward Ranking: 7th Defensemen Ranking: 10th Goaltender Ranking: 4th (119 TPA) This team surprised me a bit. I knew they were going to fall back from how they were last season, but I didn’t think they’d rank this low. Their forward core looks pretty damn good, with a good range of players TPE-wise. The lack of defensemen really hurts the team though. Having to roll out bots is going to make this team struggle and unless they can address that, expect this team to be hurting. With the pieces they have at forward, I wouldn’t be shocked to see a trade happen; however, few teams are necessarily rich at the defenseman position, so it’ll cost them. 7. Miami Marauders Forward Ranking: 8th Defensemen Ranking: 2nd Goaltender Ranking: 8th (93 TPA) Crazy how the team with the 2nd ranked defenseman group would be so low, but it’s like I stated: very little difference from 2nd to 7th in that area. This team is very rich at the forward positions, but the variations between those players in regards to their TPE lead to their ranking being hurt. This is another team with an inactive goalie, which will hurt them down the stretch, however, I believe that this team will be better than this initial ranking suggests. With good and steady growth from their forwards, that ranking will snowball and push them above other teams, but as of now, they don’t look so hot. 6. Las Vegas Aces Forward Ranking: 5th Defensemen Ranking: 3rd Goaltender Ranking: 10th (20 TPA) 20 TPA goaltender. That’s not very good. Granted, they have a good amount of TPE, they need to apply that for this team to be able to compete. This team went hard on defensemen in the draft, and now have one of the strongest defensemen groups in the league. This team is at a really good spot when looking at their roster and should be competitive, if their players keep growing and their goaltender actually improves themself. As of now, however, I cannot overlook that major flaw and so they’ll sit at 6th as of now. 5. Saskatoon Wild Forward Ranking: 6th Defensemen Ranking: 7th Goaltender Ranking: 9th (84 TPA) Looking at Saskatoon, they look like one of the teams that will eventually drop from this spot. While their forward core should grow and become pretty damn good, and their defensemen should be able to hold down the fort, the inactive goalie hurts them, plus I feel that other rosters are just a step ahead growthwise. They should still be an okay team, but I just have this hunch that they’ll struggle. 4. Halifax 21st Forward Ranking: 3rd Defensemen Ranking: 4th Goaltender Ranking: 6th (100 TPA) Halifax looks like a team that should do very well right out of the gate. Their forwards are all in the mid to high TPE range which definitely gives them a big boost at the start. They went out and drafted arguably the best defenseman in the class which, paired with a guy a good 100+ TPE lower than him, should provide some stability on the blue line. Their goalie may be going inactive, which could hurt the team later on, but as of now still qualifies as an active player. This team should be one of the few that has it all together early on and ride that early momentum to the playoffs. 3. Philadelphia Reapers Forward Ranking: 4th Defensemen Ranking: 5th Goaltender Ranking: 1st (198 TPA) This is another very well put together team. They’re tied for the largest forward group, with all but one being in that mid to high TPE range. They have (basically) a maxed player in each group already and, at least for the forwards, should be adding to that not too much longer. Their goaltender is far ahead of all the other goalies in the league at this moment and should definitely play a large impact early on, while every other team is focused on catching up. This should be another good season for Philly. 2. Ottawa Lynx Forward Ranking: 1st Defensemen Ranking: 6th Goaltender Ranking: 3rd (141 TPA) This team boasts the strongest forward group right from the start of the season, with two players being maxed and a couple more somewhat close behind. While defensively they could use some growth, the team is one of the few with an active goaltender, which should play a sizable role at the beginning of the season. This team should be pretty much fully fleshed out by playoffs time, which there’s little doubt as to them making it or not. Expect this team to have a good season. 1. San Diego Marlins Forward Ranking: 2nd Defensemen Ranking: 1st Goaltender Ranking: 2nd (162 TPA) This team is by far the best in the league at this point in the season. Their forwards group is very strong and is statistically neck and neck with Ottawa, and will likely overtake them soon. Their defense is also stellar, being statistically about 20% better than 2nd ranked Miami, while also being another team with an active goalie. This is going to be the team to beat this season so long as their players keep claiming. There really isn’t much else to say about them. You can already pencil this team into the top 3 by the end of the season. This is shaping up to be a very interesting season for the VHLM. I feel that goaltending is going to play a major role throughout the year, with teams with an active goalie playing exponentially better than those forced to roll out an inactive one. This is another season of the league being very forward heavy, and those teams blessed enough to roster the higher end defensemen should perform much better. I should say that there looks to be a bit more parity this season than last season, mainly because Mississauga actually has a team, but also, looking at all the teams, while some are definitely much better than others and look to already be fully pieced together, it's hard for me to pinpoint the team who’ll actually be the worst in the league. As of now, it appears to be one or two, maybe three, depending on growth, teams at the top, and everyone else fighting it out, whereas last season, it was pretty clear who was going to be at the top and who was gonna be in the basement, even at the beginning. With all that being said, I wish everyone in the VHLM luck this season, and hope it’s a good one! (1529 words )

Just need to wait 3 days

Thanks for this opportunity! Time to get some work done!

Applying