Advantage

I mean not really..in last 24 seasons there have been 7 goalie wins for MVP. Twice they finished with sub .927 save percentages and two others were nearly identical ones. All those years the goalies didn’t dominate the voting statistically like Stropko did either.

Maybe. I would think the BOG would look at HOF voting as a by era thing where awards may reign a bit more supreme in differentiating the best from the rest.

I generally don't share much in the way of my opinion publicly anymore since I am no longer in the BOG and just talk to @Devise about most of my thoughts. With that being said, I needed something to write about and both Devise and I were discussing something that was concerning to us. Obviously we saw the league make a change in the update scale a while back and I think it has been mostly successful in regards to shaping the players. With that being said, one thing has become quite clear over the last couple years, and is being magnified even more this year, and that is that goalies suck. Steadily as goalies from the older eras retire, we have seen a clear decline in numbers as shown below. I remember the days where a .917 SV% was considered quite poor and would rank you in the bottom half or even third in the league, and now it would put you as one of the best. S61 Goalie Stats Norris Stropko - .932 SV%, 1.64 GAA Marcus King - .928 SV%, 1.75 GAA Ike Arkander - .925 SV%, 1.74 GAA Shawn Brodeur - .920 SV%, 1.86 GAA Arvid Aamo - .918 SV%, 2.87 GAA Roger Sterling - .917 SV%, 3.53 GAA Tristan Iseult - .906 SV%, 2.73 GAA --------------------------------------- Average - .920 SV%, 2.30 GAA S62 Goalie Stats Norris Stropko - .928 SV%, 1.83 GAA Tristan Iseult - .917 SV%, 2.33 GAA Roger Sterling - .915 SV%, 3.40 GAA Shawn Brodeur - .913 SV%, 2.30 GAA Johnny Carlson - .913 SV%, 3.10 GAA Ismond Kingfisher - .908 SV%, 3.62 GAA Arvid Aamo - .899 SV%, 3.51 GAA -------------------------------------- Average - .913 SV%, 2.87 GAA S63 Goalie Stats Tristan Iseult - .924 SV%, 2.01 GAA Ismond Kingfisher - .923 SV%, 3.26 GAA Roger Sterling - .920 SV%, 2.34 GAA Alexander Pepper - .918 SV%, 3.28 GAA Kallis Kriketers - .915 SV%, 2.24 GAA Norris Stropko - .915 SV%, 2.32 GAA Shawn Brodeur - .904 SV%, 3.37 GAA Arvid Aamo - .900 SV%, 3.95 GAA ----------------------------------------- Average - .914 SV%, 2.84 GAA S64 Goalie Stats Norris Stropko - .930 SV%, 2.52 GAA Alexander Pepper - .920 SV%, 2.53 GAA Ismond Kingfisher - .919 SV%, 2.98 GAA Finn Davison - .918 SV%, 3.30 GAA Tristan Iseult - .916 SV%, 2.52 GAA Rhett Stoffiday - .915 SV%, 3.33 GAA Brick Wahl - .914 SV%, 2.73 GAA Kallis Kriketers - .913 SV%, 2.30 GAA Roger Sterling - .912 SV%, 2.64 GAA -------------------------------------------- Average - .917 SV%, 2.76 GAA S65 Goalie Stats Roger Sterling - .918 SV%, 2.48 GAA Ismond Kingfisher - .914 SV%, 2.71 GAA Alexander Pepper - .911 SV%, 2.55 GAA Johnny Carlson - .911 SV%, 2.70 GAA Brick Wahl - .910 SV%, 3.04 GAA Finn Davison - .907 SV%, 3.11 GAA Tristan Iseult - .907 SV%, 2.81 GAA Kallis Kriketers - .906 SV%, 2.52 GAA Justin Cole - .899 SV%, 4.13 GAA ---------------------------------------------- Average - .909 SV%, 2.89 GAA So what gives? Despite a minor uptick in numbers last season, we are seeing some of the worst goalie numbers in history. Could it be that we just have too many young goalies who are underdeveloped in the league? Perhaps. Lets take a ,look at the TPE numbers: Alexander Pepper - 791 TPE Ismond Kingfisher - 767 TPE Kallis Kriketers - 763 TPE Tristan Iseult - 758 TPE Roger Sterling - 691 TPE Brick Wahl - 544 TPE Johnny Carlson - 464 TPE Finn Davison - 464 TPE Justin Cole - 173 TPE Aside Cole, I don't really think TPE is ultimately an issue for the other starting goaltenders in the VHL. While there are no 1000+ TPE goaltenders, we have four above 700 and another right near it...numbers that used to be good enough to max almost all, if not all, the goalie attributes. While we don't necessarily want that amount of TPE to max goalie stats, it's pretty clear it has an effect even by just looking at Pepper, who despite having the most TPE does not have a single attribute past 94. Also, what looking at these numbers from the past few years has shown me is that Stropko should have easily won MVP last season. Not to bring up that wound again for @Bushito but his dominance of a position that has taken such a sharp decline over the years, was very impressive and certainly a bigger deal than anything any skater accomplished last season. Ultimately, this post is to propose a thought and I think we should perhaps scale back the update scale slightly for goaltenders. Not significantly or anything, but I do think it should be a little easier to max an attribute than it is for skaters, given that there are six incredibly important attributes for goaltenders and another that they still have to add to. I think it's great to see some better offensive numbers, but I am worried about our goaltenders when I know so many of the members with goalies have become discouraged (I know of at least three who are entering prime or are young who are already very concerned and talking retirement). While I don't think it will ever be an epidemic where we don't have enough goaltenders to fill the slots on our teams, I am concerned about longevity at a position that in the past already could be depressing for so many members and is seemingly even more-so now. Look no further than the current statistics of so many goaltenders who are north of 700 TPE. Kriketers...Kingfisher...Iseult...all struggling significantly and putting up statistics that in the past, would be considered nothing short of atrocious for a well-developed player. Give me your thoughts. Is it too early to pull the trigger on this? Should we make the change? Are these just a few outlier seasons? @Beketov @Quik @Will

To Stockholm: (S46) D - World B. Free (S46) RW - LeAndre St. Pierre To Toronto: S54 - STO 2nd Round Pick (Jean-Claude Girard) S55 - STO 2nd Round Pick (Hodor) The thought process I had with this trade was that it in an off-season where I wanted to propel the Vikings into a competing spot (which I did as we lost in the Finals that season). I felt that by doing this, the second round picks would ultimately not be very valuable given how weak drafts had been prior to that stage. Starting with what I gave up, Jean-Claude Girard went on to a fairly lengthy career, recording 153 points in 360 career VHL games. Ultimately, he was just a depth defender who was probably a decent pick with where he was selected but was ultimately not a player I regret missing out on. Meanwhile, Hodor was a career VHLM player who was out after playing three seasons on Oslo, where he recorded just 101 points in 216 games. As for what I got, given that I didn’t give up much, this was a huge trade for my Vikings. LeAndre St. Pierre was a rental pickup who played defense for me in his final season, recording 53 points and 101 hits in 72 games. He was a long-time successful forward with the Legion where he finished above a point per game, but he was a solid player for my Vikings and filled a roster spot. This trade was mainly to acquire World B. Free, whose agent I’m a massive fan of. He ultimately was a rental too that recorded 40 points, 187 hits and 75 shot blocks in his only season with the Vikings. More importantly, he was huge in our playoff run with 5 goals and 12 points in 13 games, while recording 45 hits and 23 blocked shots. While these guys were both rentals, to move practically nothing for two solid veterans that could contribute to my team, I was very happy to make this move. To Stockholm: D - David Hamilton (S47) To New York: D - Misha Tobolsk (S50) David Hamilton ultimately wouldn’t play a game in Stockholm, but he went on to have a decent 432 game career. He recorded 319 points, 293 hits and 662 blocked shots during his six season career. I was looking for some experience for my defense and moved the younger Tobolsk for the more developed player and rescued New York from a bit of cap hell with the move. Misha Tobolsk ultimately played five seasons in the VHL and recorded 159 points in 360 games, recording 702 hits and 618 blocked shots during his career. Tobolsk was an solid second pairing defensive defender during his five season career, playing with the Vikings, Americans, Dynamo and Express. As a whole, I don’t mind this move as Tobolsk for me was an expendable asset especially with me going for a more competitive team. Hamilton was a better defender during his career, and while he didn’t play for Stockholm, he was someone I could use to leverage another trade.

I remember most of my thoughts. I usually explained thoughts during trade threads too. I usually spend a lot of time going over my options before making a move so it's usually pretty memorable.

To Stockholm: G - Artom Zhumbayev S53 COL 3rd To Cologne: G - Atticus Von Braxton IV This trade was simply a move so that I could re-create as I had planned to once I decided to rebuild. This gave me the opportunity to do my proper rebuild and make a move so that my player could join another team and perhaps take a shot at a Continental Cup. Zhumbayev had a pretty successful career but ultimately only played eighty games in Stockholm, finishing with a 41-27-7 record with a 2.19 GAA and a .923 Save Percentage. He ultimately finished his career with a pretty solid .923 save percentage but surprisingly only won four more games than he lost. Meanwhile, von Braxton IV had a career with a lot of losing, finishing with a 55-142-10 record as he was unfortunately stuck in a lot of rebuilds throughout his career. He did finish with a very respectable .922 save percentage and a 2.90 GAA as well. To me, this was a fine trade with AVB4 not really having much value overall, as it gave me a goalie that I could use in the meantime and move on to my next talent. To Stockholm: S50 - Travis Gowecny S49 - Tobias Klingberg To Calgary: S53 STO 2nd Round Pick (Apollo Aho) S54 STO 1st Round Pick (Markus King) This ultimately was a trade I made to add some solid players entering their prime to support my young guys as I felt I had a chance to compete for a Continental Cup pretty quickly. I took advantage of an opportunity and acquired two players to be key cores of my team’s push to competiveness as I was looking to have the quickest rebuild possible, without sacrificing my future. Travis Gowecny ultimately only played one season in Stockholm and recorded 88 points and was a +63 in 72 games. Despite his incredible success, it became clear that his agent was going to take over the Calgary Wranglers GM position and decided to leave in Free Agency to join Calgary. This annoyed me a bit but ultimately it is what it is, and Gowecny gave me one incredible season as a Viking. Meanwhile, Klingberg was a tremendous acquisition for my Vikings as he went on to have three excellent seasons on Stockholm. As a defenseman, Klingberg recorded 210 points in 216 games and was a ridiculous +205 in those games. He spent the great majority of his prime with the Vikings and was a huge part of our team during those seasons. Ultimately, what I gave up was pretty interesting. Aho really ended up as nothing special but King certainly grew to be an incredible talent that was enshrined in our Hall of Fame. Albeit he did only fall because he was a goalie, but nevertheless, talent wise it’s pretty clear he was the best player in this trade by a significant bit. Marcus King went on to record a 313-159-34 record with a .924 Save Percentage and a 2.11 GAA, though ultimately none of those games were played on Calgary. I don’t mind the trade in the end, but King definitely was the best part of this trade. Had Gowecny lasted longer on the Vikings, I think I would feel a lot better about this trade, but ultimately this was the best decision at the time for a competing team.

@Renomitsu omg!!!!! Robert!!!

6. Not so much...maybe highlights but once AEW comes around, I absolutely will! I'm so buzzed for it. 7. It's not bad. Our discord is pretty active and everyone seems to be in good spirits overall. 8. Definitely discord but the forum still usually has posts every day it seems. 9. A little...but I think our time will come either way. I'm not really afraid but perhaps I would rather say that I'm a bit disappointed with how our season has gone. As long as the team goes in the right direction though, I won't overly be too concerned though. 10. Sure, he was probably in the conversation already. I would say myself, Higgins, Knight, Devise and some of the old guys are there too off the top of my head. Mike and Greg have longevity but mixed bag of success while Molholt had short reigns with a lot of success while I think Frank did quite well if I remember correctly.. Devise has had a ton of success but hasn't previously shown much ability in rebuilding (or interest in doing it really). However, his success in winning is hard to argue with.

1. I definitely think so. I would be up for a new challenge and that would be a great way to enter back into the GM fold. 2. Absolutely. I wasn't sure if I was going to win and it's something my player's father did so it was pretty excited to match the feat. Now for the three Labattes! 😂 3. I think offensively we aren't clicking but part of it is a bit of unfortunate sim luck (or lack thereof). Our shooting percentage is awful and I think that will come around as the season goes on. Ultimately, we are also a young team that should improve as the season goes on as well. 4. A bit yeah..pretty hard to argue with that. I think I expected 90 points or so and he just isn't on pace for it at this point. We will see if he picks it up though. 5. Haha, a lot of people seem to think I look like him? I don't completely disagree to be honest.

To Stockholm: S51 QUE 3rd (Pass) To Quebec: C - Maxime Deschamps (S45-205 TPE) My first trade as the GM of the Vikings was pretty much a nothing trade. Being tasked with dealing with the rebuilding cursed Vikings franchise, I felt pretty confident with the pieces I had and just wanted to build out some depth. That being said, the pick I acquired turned out to be nothing in what turned out to be one of the worst drafts ever, while Deschamps carved out a career as a depth center that brought minor value to second lines during his tenure, finishing with 126 points in 433 career games. To Stockholm: S53 RIG 2nd Round Pick (Luigi Linguini) To Riga: S51 SEA 1st Round Pick (Apollo Skye) This ultimately wasn’t a great trade but part of my justification what that I didn’t need a goalie and outside of Skye, the draft was a joke. This still remained true but Skye turned out to be a very strong that took home some hardware and was one of the league’s elite goalies during his career. Linguini didn’t work out despite looks initially strong as a prospect, and this trade definitely turned out to be a dud for myself. I think this was one of those trades where I thought out of the box, but trading the first overall pick for a late second round pick was a bit ludicrous (even though this was a two-part trade that helped recoup assets for the Vikings). To Stockholm: S52 Davos 1st Round Pick (Lee King Snatch) S53 New York 1st Round Pick (SkateFast McChunky) S52 Quebec 2nd Round Pick (Die Domi) S52 Cologne 2nd Round Pick (Johnny Styles) S53 New York 2nd Round Pick (Luigi De Rossi) To New York: RW - Diana Maxwell (S50) C - Essian Ravenwing (S50) D - Elijah Dotran (S50) D - Nikki Kissanen (S48) This was a crazy interesting trade for me. Despite being in a rebuild with star young talents like Maxwell and Ravenwing, I decided to restart the rebuild due to getting the team when my goalie was in the prime of his career and entering into his veteran years. Knowing that I would need an elite talent going forward in net (Skye looking pretty good now eh?) I decided to trade off Maxwell, Ravenwing and Dotran to the Americans for a huge package with a ton of picks. This also solved the issue of not putting these guys through more of a rebuild, which saw a bit of a stat hit specifically for Maxwell and Ravenwing, which I did feel bad for. Getting Snatch was massive for me and he was a pillar for the Vikings for quite some time starting at defense and finishing up front. Snatch finished with over 700 TPE in his career and was easily the best player I got back in this trade. Domi should have been better but Molholt just didn’t have a long grind in him with this player despite his best efforts, changing his name to the Undertaker after being drafted and retiring early with 342 TPE…a more than respectable amount but sadly was not a long-term fix for the Vikings. Neither was McChunky but I traded him right after the draft for Xander Finn, who while not as good as I expected him to be, carved out a very productive career as an excellent second line center that could fill in on some first lines. He had a ton of success for the Legion specifically towards the end of his career. Finally, Luigi De Rossi carved out an excellent career as a second liner finishing up with 316 TPE over the course of his career. It ended up being a decent haul due to some solid picks post first round, and of course with the acquisition of Snatch, but ultimately if I could go back and reverse the previous trade reviewed, I could have taken Skye 1st overall and paired him with Maxwell and Ravenwing. Ultimately, hindsight always proves correct, but I do think had I done that, the Vikings could have won a Continental Cup during my tenure.

Paralegal not lawyer..yet

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Going to guess I’m up by now. F - Vaydar Odinsson @Bushito

What’s up old friend?