mattyIceman

Interesting take.
 
I'll add that GMs put their team together the way they want and coaches should be feared.  We don't have coaches though.  GM puts the roster together and the coach has to make do if he wants to keep his job or keep a positive reputation. 
 
Also, NTCs seem to be more reserved for elite talent, and with the Cap based on tpe and not market value, GMs can't save cap by offering NTCs, unless there's team/player options.  There's no actual mechanic for Salary vs Contract Conditions/Obligations.
 
Also, you didn't talk about ELCs.  Maybe they're too long?  They account for roughly 1/3rd of a player's career, unlike NHL standards it's more like 1/5th (roughly) of a player career.
 
Interesting read!

@tcookie

This is based off of the time I bought the Las Vegas Aces and moved them to Quebec City. I made this version in French: 

Albeit I don't speak French let alone Quebecois French (ok je parle un peu але моя українська краща. ухххххх слухайте Ana Lua Caiano на Spotify, її музика чудова) so if it translates weirdly my apologies. 
 
idk why i talk so formally on here its really not that serious 😭😭😭😭

  There's Lore I guess? There was an Expansion Draft, but I was too lazy to see how ACTUAL VHL(E/M) expansion drafts work so I just went based off of vibes.

  
QUEBEC TALONS ROSTER - VHL VERSION:
Connor Simard (Halifax 21st) 
Maple Dogwood (Halifax 21st) 
Cole Stermer (Houston Bulls) 
Johnny Tsunami (Houston Bulls)
Nikita Yolishev (Las Vegas Aces)
Eugene Ryanheart (Las Vegas Aces)
Dakota Nachbaur (Mexico City Kings) 
Isaak Robinson (Miami Marauders)
Aiden Paige (Miami Marauders) 
Taylor Swift (Mississauga Hounds) 
Matteo Stefano (Mississauga Hounds) 
Marek Nowaczyk (Ottawa Lynx)
Jillian Woods (Ottawa Lynx)
Staroseltsev Mikhail (Philadelphia Reapers) 
Magni Jinn (Philadelphia Reapers) 
Keith Perry (San Diego Marlins) 
Kevin Johnathen (San Diego Marlins) 
Austin Goulet lll (Saskatoon Wild) 

So. Yeah.

For a future article:

Watch this boy. The Mighty Ice Wizard will answer these questions.
 
1 - Hey folks I'm the new Assistant to McLovin and it's a pleasure to be here.  I'll take some time to get to know you fine people!  Has your season gone as you had thought so far?
I've exceeded expectations on a personal level greatly. Sixteen consecutive shutouts; setting a new league record (me when I lie)
 
2 - The playoff race is pretty tight at the minute in our division, do you think we can take on our competition?
Yeah. Wait what? Oh you mean in a game?
 
3 - Do you have more of a sweet tooth or prefer salty snacks?
Salty. Like potato chips. Mmm yummy.
 
4 - We have a lot of home games to play down the stretch.  Do you like to spend some time on the strip doing Vegas strip things?
I'm way too locked in for that tbh. Catch me reading like a book or something.
 
5 - When you get to the big leagues, what's the first thing you're splurging on when you get your first paycheck?
I don't want to go to the big leagues. Scary. 
 
6 - Are you a fan of line juggling when there's struggling?  Or do you prefer to stick to a stable lineup?
I'm usually on the bench anyways. I'm basically like an assistant coach at this point.

April 15 - 21
 
1 - Hey folks I'm the new Assistant to McLovin and it's a pleasure to be here.  I'll take some time to get to know you fine people!  Has your season gone as you had thought so far?
2 - The playoff race is pretty tight at the minute in our division, do you think we can take on our competition?
3 - Do you have more of a sweet tooth or prefer salty snacks?
4 - We have a lot of home games to play down the stretch.  Do you like to spend some time on the strip doing Vegas strip things?
5 - When you get to the big leagues, what's the first thing you're splurging on when you get your first paycheck?
6 - Are you a fan of line juggling when there's struggling?  Or do you prefer to stick to a stable lineup?
 
Players:
@Mech hi @jesse115 @Gorth @NickSunderbruch @Joel Main @samx @bjackson54 @Connor Mclaughling @Hokikeijot @eaglesfan036 @a_Ferk @Firekiss @DaddyFizz
 
Staff:
@McLovin

Las Vegas Aces, The Las Vegas Aces started this week off pretty slow going 0-2 in the first 2 games, But the Las Vegas Aces started to heat up after a little line change, The aces are currently standing at a 32-21-6 record in 59 games and have 70 points on the season which is good enough to put the aces into a 3rd place spot in there conference which means they dropped 1 spot since last week and they are in 5th overall in the entire league, the aces are gonna be in for a ride these last few games off the year hopefully the Las Vegas Aces clutch up and secure a playoff spot and end on a win to send them into playoffs on a good note. Ottawa lynx as long with some other teams are power houses as of right now and the aces are looking to shut them down and take the VHLM cup home the Las Vegas.

It's a tad off with the video and audio but only a second, maybe less. Enjoy my lookback at what I accomplished with Jesse.
Thank you to everyone who supported me and Jesse over their career. I truly appreciate it.

from teno to tano

April 15 - 21
 
1 - Hey folks I'm the new Assistant to McLovin and it's a pleasure to be here.  I'll take some time to get to know you fine people!  Has your season gone as you had thought so far?
2 - The playoff race is pretty tight at the minute in our division, do you think we can take on our competition?
3 - Do you have more of a sweet tooth or prefer salty snacks?
4 - We have a lot of home games to play down the stretch.  Do you like to spend some time on the strip doing Vegas strip things?
5 - When you get to the big leagues, what's the first thing you're splurging on when you get your first paycheck?
6 - Are you a fan of line juggling when there's struggling?  Or do you prefer to stick to a stable lineup?
 
Players:
@Mech hi @jesse115 @Gorth @NickSunderbruch @Joel Main @samx @bjackson54 @Connor Mclaughling @Hokikeijot @eaglesfan036 @a_Ferk @Firekiss @DaddyFizz
 
Staff:
@McLovin

@traphag
 

@traphag
 

Alot of my energy goes into NOT ASKING THIS QUESTION.
 
It is in fact a travesty that the Mecca of Pro Hockey Cups and Titles has no VHL team.  Anyone that says Toronto is the Mecca of hockey, I'll just answer with 1967

Zagreus is impressed

Player Information
Username: Phil
Player Name: Phil Sakic
Recruited From: Member (Knight)
Age: 17
Position: LW
Height: 71 in.
Weight: 195 lbs.
Birthplace: United Kingdom

Player Page
@VHLM GM

Not so much cheating, just a blatant exploitation of the engine, but yeah that wasn't enjoyable to see at all.  That's to thank for the hybrid stats.

Probably would've gone with a redback spider if there was a spider as they are much cooler looking 

Today, I'll be proposing a new set of teams for the VHL, designing 8 new teams in terms of team location, colors, and branding to replace those of the current NA conference. I'm going to bar all current VHL, VHLE, and VHLM locations to make myself think a little, and it'll be more interesting than another team in NYC, Toronto, Vancouver, etc. This could either be based upon cities I like and want to see a team in purely out of bias, or it could be a complete joke, or it could be an actually okay idea- we'll see!
 
1. Montréal Royal
My NHL team is the Habs, so of course the first place I thought of was Montréal. HOW IS THERE NOT ALREADY A TEAM HERE? I think perhaps there was one a long time ago, but it's honestly inexcusable to have representation in such a city, in a province like Quebec with the amount of history that it has. At least give a team to Quebec if not Montréal. Anyway, I chose the name Royal after the mountain (well more of a hill to be honest) that looms a whole 233m above Montréal. The mountain the city is named for would be a great title for this team, and the name Royal rather than Royals makes it sound more French, something les montréalais would hopefully approve of. I can't deviate from the blue, white, an red that the Habs, the Alouettes, and the Expos already possess(ed), so I'll go with a blue-white-red color scheme as well.
 
2. Minnesota Aurora
For Minnesota, I'll steal a name from their women's soccer team, because the Aurora is beautiful. I was struggling to think of an original and good Minnesota name, but Minnesota having been the North Stars previously did help me decide on Aurora. This is a city that definitely deserves a hockey team... I mean LOOK AT THE STATE. Hockey is extremely commonplace, something you can't say for everywhere in the US, and it's their state sport. The branding could be unreal for a team based on the northern lights; a black jersey base and green, blue, and purple used as accents could be beautiful. I'm imagining the alternates or special occasion jerseys could be very beautiful and incorporate gradients in a really creative way.
 
3. Boston Blizzard
Time to continue this streak of names that don't end in s! The Blizzard is not only an appropriate winter name for hockey, but also alliterates with the city of Boston and would make for a pretty okay chant in "Let's go Blizzard". Given that when a major weather event actually does happen here, it's decently likely to be a snowstorm, the name fits well. Boston deserves a team again because of its history with the Bruins, and it being such an important American city in their history as well. I think good branding colors would be a darker green main color (given the city's fixation on it's NBA team, the Celtics, as well as the Irish heritage everyone there apparently has). Using black and white as accent colors would be ideal since I think anything else would likely clash with the green. I'm also starting to realize how similar to the PWHL Boston team this is becoming. These first three NA teams are also all new PWHL locations but ignore that I'm definitely not copying.
 
4. Cancún Dolphins
It would be crazy to plan out a full league of teams without at least taking into account Cancún, unquestionably the hockey Mecca of the world. Almost everyone grows up playing hockey and it has spread to places like Canada and the US throughout the years. It's exciting to see how the game has grown out of Mexico. A Cancun team could fittingly be called the Dolphins, providing a great opportunity for a creative logo and branding. I see a color scheme being a sea-blue base with golden and white accents, symbolizing the water, sand, and the foam where they meet. This would open up great unique jersey concepts about the ocean.
 
5. Colorado Mountaineers
Given that Davos is ceasing to exist in this universe, we have to honor them with a new purple mountain team. Denver is a great place to expand to given its high elevation and location in a state known for its winter sports. It is a great place to support a sports team given the fanbase of the Avs, Nuggets, and Rockies (and then there’s the Rapids). Mountaineers is a self explanatory name, and the color scheme is going to be purple (because a purple team is needed), white (symbolizing snow) and orange (symbolizing a cool accent color and also maybe the sunrise if you want to get technical).
 
6. Edmonton Glacier
I don’t think I could have felt good about this list putting only one Canadian team on it, so in comes Edmonton. With Ottawa, Toronto, Saskatoon, Mississauga, and Vancouver not being options, it was really only Winnipeg, Quebec City, or one of the Alberta cities left. The Oilers being my second favorite NHL team helps with that decision. The colors will be light blue, white, and black, some pretty evident glacier colors. I chose the name glacier to pay homage to the beautiful glaciers of Banff and to keep the theme of these names on nature because I like nature. I feel some of the only other options would have been oil-related and we already have the Oilers and the Oil Kings.
 
7. Honolulu Humpbacks
Just for fun, let’s throw another tropical team in here with beautiful Honolulu. We have to put aside the logistics of building an arena there, the hours and hours of plane travel from there to literally anywhere else, and also the fact that fans can’t travel easily. But if you overlook those, Honolulu is an awesome city on a stunning island and that’s really all you need. Humpbacks was chosen as a name due to its humpback whale population which has its breeding grounds around the Hawaiian archipelago. For team colors, I have chosen dark blue, white, and grey to fit a general whale/ocean color theme.
 
8. Raleigh Red Wolves
Rather than calling the team here Carolina as seems to be customary, I decided to go with the city name Raleigh (the alliteration is just so good as well); the name Red Wolves is fitting due to the fact that North Carolina is the only remaining place this endangered species can be found in the wild. I know Istanbul already has this name, but it's the VHLE, so they might not be around much longer anyway. As for why I choose Raleigh as a VHL City, they have already shown their love for hockey to their other team, the Carolina Hurricanes of the second-tier NHL league. After relocation from Hartford, Carolina showed they have an amazing atmosphere and fan base and absolutely deserves a team. Their jerseys would be red, purple, and black (red for the obvious red, wolves, purple because it is the best color, and black because it rounds it out nicely).
 
 

The Yukon Rush were a team that had several devout fans. They first came into existence as a VHLM team during the league's first expansion in Season 31. Full disclosure: I was the creator of the team as well as its first general manager, so I am definitely biased towards them. That's not to say that I am alone in my despair that the team is currently defunct. If you look back at the announcement that the Rush, playing in Geneva at the time, were being removed from the VHLE, there were several members vocal in wanting to see the Rush return to Yukon. While others may try to find a way to get them back into the VHLM, I think they would make a fine addition to the VHL, in part because I believe there is one particular VHL team that is in massive need of a new identity.
 
The New York Americans franchise was one of the original eight, though they began as the Hamilton Canucks. It was in Season 7 that the team moved to New York and became the Americans. I wasn't around at that time, and I am unfamiliar with how the rebranding was received, but I do know that the team had a poor reputation for how it was managed, particularly in the early seasons. Although that era of the Americans did not last forever, and the team did begin to turn around when new management took over for Robbie Zimmers, they were still one of the least successful teams during the first couple decades of the VHL. Just as I have ties to the Rush, I am also linked to the Americans as well. I served as the team's general manager in Season 17 and Season 18, and then again from Season 22 to Season 29. I helped turn around the team from being one of the worst, and ushered in an era where New York was one of the best several decades of play.
 
It can be argued when the era of the Americans as the class of the VHL truly began. We never won a championship under my leadership, though I did lead them to four straight finals losses long before Spartan came along. From Season 32 to Season 53, the Americans won six Continental Cups. If we expand that range back to Season 25, they reached the finals in 13 of 29 seasons. In the 38 seasons from S24 to S61, they made the playoffs 30 times and the Conference Finals 26 times. Although the team had quite a long stretch where it was undeniably one of the most successful teams, I don't think this era of the team makes it untouchable when it comes to relocation or rebranding.
 
The Americans have had very little success other than the above mentioned run. Outside of that 38-season span (granted, that is over 40% of the VHL's lifetime), the team has just two finals appearances (S13, S14) and one championship (S14). Amazingly, they were able to move up to a tie for the third-most championships in league history when they won their seventh in Season 53. Having not won since then, however, they have fallen back down the list. All six of the other original eight franchises that still exist, as well as Vancouver, who has 30 fewer seasons, have now won more championships. New York behind all other remaining original franchises in playoff, conference finals, and VHL finals appearances. The franchise had a very successful era, but that era of the team is long gone.
 
Now that I've established that the franchise is one of the least successful overall, let's move on to the team branding. To be completely honest, I did not like the Americans as a team name even back when I was general manager, and I regret not making an attempt to rebrand the team at some point during my time in charge. Speaking on the name, the 'Americans' can potentially be alienating to some members of the league. While I do not think people are going to be offended by the name, or turned away from the league in general because of it, I do not think it does any favors for the success of the franchise. The logo is nothing special, and is in fact very similar to the United; does the league really need to red, white, and blue flag-themed shield logos? We have a lot of red and blue in the logos around the league, so I think something a little more unique would be nice. While I do not have concrete data to back this up, I would wager that the Americans would place high on a 'least favorite branding' poll while also not having many would would call it their favorite.
 
Let's look back at the Rush, now. Why, in particular, should New York relocate to Yukon to revive the Rush? Well, I don't necessarily think it has to be New York, but the Rush are a team that would be supported, and I think New York is most in need of a rebranding in terms of VHL teams. While the Rush could maybe return to the VHLM if there is a team in need of a refresh (I do not pay enough attention to the VHLM to know or care), I would love to see them make the move to the VHL. New York could use a change, and the most beloved defunct team is right there. I do think this, however, is where my bias comes into play the most; given that I do not care greatly for the VHLM, seeing the Rush in the VHL would mean so much more to me. I know it's been a long time since I have been GM of New York, but I still hold the Americans franchise as dear to me, so from a personal perspective, to see them take up the Rush mantle would be particularly meaningful.
 
I may be delusional to think that this would ever happen, so I'm going to try to take an objective standpoint for a moment. Do the Rush really fit as a VHL team? Rather, should we really put a VHL team in Yukon? Just think about putting a team there, and comparing that to the other North American markets where we have, or could have, teams. Yukon, of course, is not a city, but a Canadian territory. I think it's fair to say the team would "play" their home games in Whitehorse, the capital. With a population of roughly 28,000, it would be the second-least populated VHL city ahead of only Davos; but Davos has major cities nearby, unlike Whitehorse. Yukon would be a massive outlier in terms of the market, though we are not actually trying to attract fans to an arena. I do understand that some people are going to have a difference of a opinion than me on this, but I am okay with putting a team anywhere, as long as the name makes sense.
 
Undoubtedly, I have my own personal reasons to want to see the Rush return, but I know others want to see it as well. While I don't think the Americans are a favorite team, I do not actually know what the support looks like for having them relocating be the means by which we see a return to Yukon. I think it makes sense from many angles, not the least of which is my personal desire. A blue and gold color scheme would be more unique than what the Americans have to offer. The Rush are a more beloved team, and a new identity could help revitalize the franchise. I think it would at least help to take away the stigma of the team as, quite frankly, terrible and replace it with an aura of excitement that would come with the return of the Yukon Rush.

So we all know that the VHLE is the leagues most hated league and we also know that the leagues two most beloved members are @BOOM and myself the two Australians this makes total sense then to move the VHLE to become the VHL Australia and rebrand all 6 teams.
 
Well luckily enough for me there are 6 states in Australia and each state has a capital city so I have already selected my 6 cities and they will be in alphabetical order Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. So now we just need to come up with some names and identities for each of the cities.
 
When deciding on the towns below I tried to pick things that were innately Australian, aren’t currently used by other teams in Australia so there are no stolen logos like there were with the Helsinki Titans and the Oslo Storm.
 
Adelaide Kookaburras
This is one of Australia’s native birds and it is known for it’s call that sounds like a laugh, most people of Australia will have seen and definitely heard the famous Kookaburra. The colours of the team would be a Brown and White to go along with the identity of the Kookaburra, the Burras as they would be known for short would suit Adelaide which is the 5th biggest city in Australia and is the capital of South Australia. Adelaide is also known as the City of Churches due to its wide variety of faiths and cultures in the area. This would surely be a great hub for some VHLA action.
 
Brisbane Bushrangers
My Home town of Brisbane, there were a few ideas I could have gone with here but I love the idea of Bushrangers. Bushrangers are an interesting subject when you are learning about Australian history, they were originally just escaped convicts but the whole idea changed around the gold rush and they became people who robbed under arms. Though throughout the years bushrangers have become symbolic as those who were rebels to the authorities. The most famous Bushranger is the of Ned Kelly who has had countless movies and TV shows made about him. The colours for the team would be Gold and Purple.
 
Hobart Devils
The Tasmanian Devil is an extremely popular animal and is even featured alongside Bugs Bunny in Looney Tunes, The Tasmanian Devil is a small marsupial that is pretty much only found on the island of Tasmania which is the smallest state in Australia and Hobart is the capital of that. The colours of this team would be Black and White in line with the animals colours
Melbourne Crocodiles
One of the most scariest animals in all of Australia in my opinion is the salt water crocodile, not only can they demolish you in the water they can run faster than you on land as well, plus they are angry beasts who are very territorial. Now Melbourne doesn’t have any crocodiles apart from those in the aquarium/zoo but it is a scary animal and its cool. The colours of course for this one would be Green and Blue for the crocodile and the water it swims in.
 
Perth Quokkas
The Quokkas are definitely Australia’s cutest mammal apart from our very own Boom. They live on a small island just of the shore of Western Australia where Perth is the capital. I am sure that the mascot would have gritty level of popularity due to how cute the animals are. The colour for this team would be an outrageous blue and pink because why not.
 
Sydney Platypus
Last and last for a reason Australia’s worst capital. But I have given them probably my favourite Australian animal the Platypus the animal that all around the world thought was a hoax, there is endless crazy facts about this mammal. But the Sydney team would feature a colour way of Red and Orange because we need some contrasting colours in this league.
 
Well that is all for today let me know which team you would love to play for and who would be your rival team.
 
Thanks