Spartan

Can't wait for Arce to be totally wrong again!

Bold of you to think I edit between recording and posting, but maybe on some special episodes, I will add your outro and @Berocka's intro Also holy shit was that an effect or were you really just death metal growling there

Unless you've been living under the proverbial VHL rock, you've probably seen the announcement linked above. Pretty big, I know, and also pretty controversial for being one of the worst VHL(M) hirings ever. And yes, I am specifically referring to the hiring of @Gustav as an M commissioner. Jokes aside, it was pretty neat to not only be hired for the massive role, but to be hired alongside Gus who I've always respected and enjoyed discussing BoG topics with. We've already had some discussions about the job and things to potentially keep an eye on or change in the near future, so we're pretty enthused about the possibilities and making the M the best it can be. We're generally pretty happy with the current GM's and will work with them all to make sure they're comfortable in their roles and not feeling overwhelmed. That's one of our top priorities really, to make sure the people tasked with one of the most important jobs in the league feel supported and valued. So yeah, will be pretty interesting to see how things goes and I apologize for any future announcement, since neither Gus nor I are known for being concise. On more personal news, since I don't talk about Nico ever, I've declined my Mutual Option with Helsinki in sort of a two-fold reasoning. First was that Helsinki has been a bit slow to move this offseason and I'm worried about the state of the team next season with so many UFA's that have yet to be signed. I've always been upfront that if the roster isn't competitive, I can't commit to staying on the team. With FA opening up tomorrow and discussions starting today, the proverbial "message" had to be sent with the declining of the option. The other reason is also just that I think there's going to be a lot of players (from a team sense) in free agency and I think it'd be nice to test the market and see where I can end up. So yeah, will be fun!

I hope everyone in the VHL knows exactly what to expect with Central New Jersey rush hour traffic

Good hire

Thanks for the easy talks @hedgehog337 Not sure if you'll see this, but welcome to Moscow @Tomat0! Hope to have a good season with you here

Spreadsheet boy is dropping his favorite job! VHFL is everyone's favorite (or most rage inducing) offseason game, and I'm looking to bring someone on to replace me. The job itself is most involved in the offseason between getting sign-ups posted, groups made, and then making sure groups are going smoothly. You will have to handle conflicts and try to figure out a rational solution. I will continue to maintain the spreadsheet in the background and can assist if needed, so you don't really have to be an Excel/Sheets pro. Would be nice if you at least knew how some basic stuff worked. Requirements/Would be nice to have in an applicant: - Available in the offseason to create groups and manage them - Decent at handling conflict - Will not delete stuff in Sheets for no reason - Fairly organized - Can spell player names (otherwise I have to do more work in the file) Pay is 2 TPE/week when VHFL is running. Apply below or DM me to discuss.

In our first act as commissioners, @Gustav and I would like to thank both @samx and @Masu Chan for excellent jobs as the GM for Halifax and Philadelphia, respectively. Both of them were extremely capable and passionate for their roles, with both organizations doing an excellent job developing new talent and engaging their users in a positive manner. We wish both of them the best moving forward, and must now face the tall task of replacing them. If you are interested in becoming a VHLM GM for either of these franchises, please apply in the thread below. We may have more than just 2 openings as the 2 VHL positions and the 1 VHLE position gets filled. Looking forward to seeing your applications! Applications only and no member bashing please.

Thrilled to get the position, pretty excited to work with the M GM's and try to make the M the best it can be!

Thank you for some great seasons @Tape-to-Tape, you were an integral part of some league-best rosters that made some fun playoff runs. Hope you enjoy your time with Frank and Vancouver! Cheers for the talks @Frank, you're getting a great player and person!

Hi @Esso2264 , hope we can agree to a contract over here in Moscow Thanks for the talks @Banackock, good luck with your offseason

Can't wait to recreate this moment in Moscow @DreMin15 . Hope we can get you to sign here! Thanks for the talks @Doomsday

Recorded this yesterday while driving back and forth from work. Turns out my work laptop decided to just stop working over my 3 weeks of vacation requiring re-imaging. Fun! Talked about the end of S84 and moving into S85, with the offseason moves for Moscow that might entail. Then chatted a bit about the open VHL GM positions and some of my top candidates for those roles. Lastly spoke a little bit about the open M Commissioner position and some of the candidates for those roles as well.

Thank you @Insypher for defying the odds by making the VHL roster and having a great season with us here. It's been awesome to see you grow into a VHL role and I wish you the best on LA and in your future! Thanks as always to @InstantRockstar for the chats

They're rebuilding tho, they don't need the expensive defenseman right now. Xavier is also a forward who costs 2.5 mil so not sure where defense is coming from. They're not winning now if they're trading for first round picks.

London gave up that player to upgrade

I'd still say that I'm aware of builds and I have my own perceptions and biases of what works and what doesn't, I just don't sort of line it all up and plan for specific combinations and pairings. Rather what I think would work as a whole rather than at the micro level. It's not that the builds don't matter, I just think that I can make anything work as long as it's not blatant trolling lol.

I have never thought this much as a GM outside of figuring out how to make everything add up to 40 million (or 42 million now). Jokes aside though, this is well written and insightful at looking at a lot of the recent trends around the league. I will say/admit that a lot of my moves are pretty instinctive and I don't ever go "I think this line composition will work." Maybe some people have a much more analytical approach, but I just like to bring in people who fit the culture and are down to have a good time. We figure out something to go on the ice later on lol. So just wanted to toss that out there in case any aspiring GM sees this and goes: It's only as complicated as you want it to be. Anything works in the league! Except trading 1st rounders to Seattle for their aging veterans that they can't afford. Don't do that.

None of those players have 5 seasons left on their careers

That forward core is insane

Why, the best people of course!

A bit underwhelmed at the execution, Brendon was known for being a really good lyricist years ago and this album just felt really cliché. I can't really remember any of the tunes from the album outside of Viva Las Vengeance since it was released as the first single. I really liked that it was recorded on a tape machine, feels a bit more genuine. But feels like he's leaning really hard into the theme of stardom and its effects especially since the last album was basically the same thing.

Yeeting you in S87 for sure

I'm actually quite surprised how many hits there are when you search for "Viva Las Vengeance" in the gif search. Panic! must have spent quite a bit of time making gifs for their album release as part of their marketing ploy. Or perhaps their fans just really like making Brendon gifs, both are very possible. But yeah I'm going to write this MS while listening through their new album. For the first time in five seasons, Moscow didn't make the finals. Tough pill to swallow but it has a nice motivational factor. Losing in the finals is a dull motivator once you've done it four times in a row. At least now the goal is to get back to the finals and to claim the European Conference championship once again. The past couple teams have really tossed expectations out of the window and reached plateaus which I never quite envisioned the prior off-season, but I was always very excited to ride and wave and celebrate the small successes throughout each season. Users experiencing not only career highs, but sim-league history bests. Multiple players on the team hit point production, goal marks, career records that they've never reached even on their other players since joining the league. It's really nice see the enthusiasm and excitement people have when they're on the team, and that sort of helps the downs of losing - to know people just genuinely enjoyed the time spent together and watching their player and team perform well. Looking forward though, there's still a lot of potential for the team. S84 1st round picks Fraser Wallace @Hoopydog and AK92 wit da Hoodie @hedgehog337 are joining the team to provide a welcome influx of young talent. Sergey Preobrazhensky @Bulduray_1 genuinely looks like one of the best centers in the league, and appears ready to take over the 1C role in Moscow. Most of the remaining roster will return, but there will still be some decisions to be made as stars Papa Emeritus @Beketov and Henri le Massif @Garsh are pending UFA's along with Jason Argos @Insypher who exceeded expectations as a rookie. As always, the offseason will cause me headaches and leave me scrambling in a mess of trades and roster moves. As I finish writing this, a couple hours later, Papa has been signed. Regardless, it is still enjoyable and one of my favorite parts of the season as a GM. Lastly, the World Cup is starting up soon! I've been pretty uninvolved up until this point due to vacation, but I am still excited for Nico to play in the tournament for the first time, and to see the highest level of play in the VHL. Keep an eye out for roster posts going up over the next 24 hours!