JeffD

19 minutes ago, Spartan said:

Chicago's predicament entering this offseason may be one of the worst ever involving GM transitions.

Hoooooooly hyperbole 

Managing this team has been a treat all the way from working with league management on the expansion concept way back at the start of the pandemic to winning a championship in season 76, and all the ups and downs before and since then.

Overall, I think the Chicago Phoenix have been a success. While my activity has been called into question throughout my tenure, some as a bit of an inside joke, others in a more assholeish way, I think many of my longer-term players will agree that I have been dedicated to trying to build a winner here in Chicago, and we have managed to make the playoffs in 12 of our 16 seasons since we came into the league. While it would have been nice to have been able to have brought more than one cup to Chicago the playoffs are a fickle beast and while we have been close, I was never able to secure one with this second core.

Now to thank some specific people.

@solas – my first ever draft pick with Chicago and a career player for the Phoenix. Camus was a legend and you are among my favourite members here

@fishy – while our time together got off to a rocky start when I drafted Matty Socks without scouting, I think it ended up being a fun adventure with that first core

@Blazzer – my first AGM and another career long Chicago Phoenix player – I know you hated how Lee Xin played but I hope our conversations in the locker room and early morning gen chat made your early time in the league enjoyable

@Quik – Thanks for trusting me with Christian Mingle and sticking out your career in Chicago – glad we could get a cup out of it – hope all is well

@MubbleFubbles – Thank you for spending as long as you did in Chicago. Our chats on player builds and roster construction were always very enjoyable and I wish you all the best with this player and any in the future

@Shindigs – I hope everything is good with you – we talked a ton while you were here and I am sad we could not win a cup together, but I learned a lot from you on new builds with the hybrid attributes. Hope to see you around again soon!

@fromtheinside – So glad you chose to spend your career in Chicago with Sundin. Once again sad we couldn’t win a cup together but I hope I provided you with a fun place to play out your career

@Subject056 - I know you are a fairly new member of the Phoenix and we haven't talked a ton but whichever member gets to take over as a general manager for the Phoenix has a great member and player to build around as their cornerstone. I hope you can carry Chicago back to glory in the near future!

To the plethora of other players who have played in the red and orange since our inception I would like to thank each and every one of you for your time here, whether you got here through trade, free agency, the draft or other means. I hope I gave you a locker room and team where you could have fun while I tried to build a winning team with a good enviroment.

Outside of that I would like to thank all the other general managers who put up with me in my role. I have issues responding to DMs, as has been brought up a few times, but that was never anything personal. That issue extends to my personal and work life as well and is something I am trying to work on. I truly did enjoy talking to most of you and you made the role a fun one to work in.

I hope to stick around the VHL in some capacity as I have been here on and off since its creation sixteen seasons ago but it is time for me to hand the reins over to someone who can dedicate the time needed to build Chicago back into a championship caliber team.

tl;dr it is time for me to admit I am inactive and I’m going to retire

Chicago could not be happier to have @Subject056, @AColdCanadian and @WithARevelYellin the organization. We have high hopes for them!

We have run the same captaincy group here in Chicago the past couple of seasons but with some new roster turnover and some other changes in circumstance we are proud to announce a new group to lead the team on a deep run in season 88!

 Team Captain: The Board Game Clue on Skates @MubbleFubbles 

 Assistant Captain: Scotty Sundin @fromtheinside 

 Assistant Captain: Wattson Power @Tape-to-Tape 

I'd like to welcome those new to their roles and cannot wait to see the S88 version of the Chicago Phoenix hit the ice!

What are picks anyway?

Good talks @FrostBeard. Not sure we could have asked for a more mismatched schedule but we got it done.

Welcome to the squad @Enorama, @Nykonax and @wcats. Let's try and make a run.

Thanks for the three seasons in Chicago @N0HBDY. Unfortunately we couldn't lock down a cup but that is the way things go.

Good luck!

2 minutes ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

I mean, I'd also argue that I deserved better from Davos which had a ripple effect here. There seems to be a culture of optimization over fun among current VHL GMs that I'm not the biggest fan of, which makes being cutthroat a necessity just to keep up.

100%

11 minutes ago, Beketov said:

Why does the portal list it as $5M then? Who isn’t being accounted for in there?

A player I signed in free agency is listed at $1 million and needs to be adjusted and another hasn’t accepted a contract we agreed on yesterday yet.

11 hours ago, Enorama said:

Give me a 500k boost to the backup exemption and I would have Fire Dragon back in a heartbeat. I'm sure that would help for any other goalies on the list.

 

As for the others:

Chicago has $5M in cap space

Helsinki has $13.5M in cap space

Toronto has $5.5M in cap space

 

That's room for all 9 of these players.

We do not have $5 million in cap space, we have $3 million, and it’s already been spoken for.

Hits have to be the most overrated forward stat

30 minutes ago, Dil said:

the reason is inactivity

Nah it isn't but keep being a petty dick

Welcome to Chicago @Tape-to-Tapeand @Futch! Can't wait to get you guys in the lineup to make a run.

Welcome to the squad @samthemancub! Glad to have you aboard!

Welcome to the squad @Lazarus ! Very excited to have you along for our playoff push!

D- Bo Johansson

@Dom

F - Baby Bob

@Alex

D - Tui Sova

@Dom

6 minutes ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

It's not in the worst place for a rebuild. I'd argue it's actually not in the worst place to compete either if a new GM wanted to go all in the other direction, given some young talent on the roster and picks to trade. But either one requires somebody to make decisions sooner rather than later.

Exactly. Get someone making decisions and they essentially have their choice of which direction to take this team.

1 minute ago, Dom said:

A rebuild when the team was young, promising and a legit contender for seasons to come? Thats a failure not a rebuild.

Imagine that... a GM goes missing for unknown reasons and a team's roster suffers greatly because of it. 

The team has pieces to either build a new roster around or move into a rebuild by moving assets out for high picks if they choose to. I'd argue Helsinki is a great place for a new GM to land and decide which direction they want to take it.

9 hours ago, BOOM said:

Does this also apply to offseason management?

No.

Just now, nurx said:

no but rebuilds are easier to start when you have some sort of asset... right now Helsinki has draft picks and three players.

All you need for a successful rebuild is to use your picks well. Chicago had picks and zero players a few seasons ago and the turnaround is going pretty well. If they had traded their picks coming up there may be cause for concern, as it stands they have their own picks and some additional ones.

Yes at this point it is likely that Helsinki will have to enter a rebuild, which isn't the end of the world.

On 8/22/2022 at 7:38 AM, xNJDevilsFanx said:

1. Who should be the MVP of our team this season? 

 

I think I would have to give it to Baby Bob. The guy was incredible through the season and his goal scoring was among the best in the whole league.

2. Who should be considered the "Most Improved Player" on the team? 

 

We didn't have a ton of players really improve a ton stats wise, but the team definitely improved results wise. If I had to say someone I would likely say Scotty Sundin.

3. What NHL team plays in an arena called The Pond?

 

That would be the Anaheim Ducks. Bring back the Mighty Ducks!

4. What pro team made it to the playoffs 29 straight times in 1996?

 

That would be the Detroit Red Wings.

5. Did you expect the Warsaw Predators to win the VHL Continental Cup?

 

I'm not sure I really did but it is nice to see a team that is built a bit unorthodox with only three defensemen win it, shows it can be done in different ways.

6. What is the ]best trait a GM needs to learn to rebuild a bad team?

 

Patience. I think way too many GMs try to rebuild for one season and can't handle the losing so they try to make quick trades and often end up making poor moves that just get their teams stuck in complete mediocrity or worse.

 

 

On 8/15/2022 at 10:24 AM, xNJDevilsFanx said:

1. The Chicago Phoenix came up short in Game 7 against the Seattle Bears. If anything, what have you learned about your player throughout the series?

 

My player isn't on the team but I learned that many of the players on this squad have what it takes to compete with the best teams in the league and as they continue to improve it will only get better going forward. Things are looking bright for this team.

2. Everyone has reason to believe that the Chicago Phoenix will improve next season. Do you think we can improve this team? Why or why not? 

 

100%. Nearly every key piece of this team continues to improve. We have some regressing members of the team but we have younger layers able to step into bigger roles.

3. Which shot is more challenging for the goalie to stop; a slap shot or a wrist shot?

 

Wrist shot. The precision that they can be placed with is so much higher. A slap shot often relies on screens and such to get through.

4. What is the worst team in VHL history? 

 

I'm not sure about all of VHL history but of recent history our team from a couple of seasons ago has to be among the worst, we were real bad.

5. What is the best team in VHL history? 

 

Once again if we are going by recent history it would probably be those Vancouver squads.

6. How will your player improve to ensure the team will be back in the semi-finals?

 

My player isn't on the squad but as a goaltender his job would just be to continue to earn to give us a fighting chance at making it deep.

 

On 8/8/2022 at 9:15 PM, xNJDevilsFanx said:

1. How do you feel about our matchup against the Seattle Bears? 

 

I knew if was going to be a tough series but taking them to seven games really showed that the team is coming together well.

2. Which team is the "Darkhorse" of the VHL playoffs? 

 

Probably Warsaw? They seem to be doing really well right now.

3. Who is going to win the VHL cup?

 

 I wouldn't mind Warsaw getting another cup. Always cool to see an expansion franchise get one.

4. Who is going to take home the VHLE cup? 

 

I'll go with Vasteras for this one, they have a solid squad.

5. Which team will hold the VHLM cup at the end of the tournament? 

 

It looks like the Aces already managed to take it home, big congratulations to Chicago Phoenix player Shingdigs!

6. Who roared to NHL stardom as "the Golden Jet"?

 

Bobby Hull! One of the all-time greats of the game.