Advantage

Great movie <3

S51: 4,000,000 (NMC)
 
 

This week we will look at three key free agents and how they could really change things this off-season.
 
1065 - Aleksi Koponen is more than likely the top Free Agent available with 1065 TPE to date.  He is an elite forward and one who could really change things for some of the top teams in the league.  Perhaps he could even take a mediocre team and make them a contender.  Regardless, besides the fact that he is a guy to watch due to his TPE, he also has a good relationship with the likes of STZ and Higgins, which could make him a major piece given the guys who could follow, if he does sign with a team that has money to spend.  One thing is for sure, we expect that he will be a huge contributor wherever he goes as he should be one of the league favourites to top the scoring charts at the end of next season.  With two seasons left, he may want to go for the cup, but either way, he should end up in a place where he can score a whole lot.


 
808 – Greg Clegane could be a very interesting Free Agent this year.  There are definitely some potentially really good teams who could make a run at him like Toronto and Cologne.  Stockholm has expressed interest which leads most to believe that AVB IV would retire if they acquired him.  While Stockholm is looking to be big players this off-season, an offer from two guaranteed good clubs in Toronto and Cologne, may be too hard for Victor to pass up.  With that being said, the potential is there for this player to make the biggest impact of anyone on the market.  We have all seen what Wingate has done for Toronto, and for the next two years, Clegane could do that for someone else.


 
681 – If we were just looking at the most valuable free agent available, it would have to be Black Velvet.  While Unassisted and Kohler certainly would make it tight, Black Velvet’s agency has a history of producing some of the most prolific talents in VHL history.  Tuomas Tukio himself came from that agency, and Black Velvet appears to be off to a wonderful start.  With almost 700 TPE already, Velvet ha the ability to give a team up to five years of elite service on the backend.  With the defensive position not being quite as strong as it used to be, a player like Velvet could truly take a team from average to a legit Continental Cup contender.  He is that good and you can bet he will see a lot of interest this off-season.

Too bad he can't play like this during the regular season.

Question though, why exactly do they have to space them out? If one would become a GM player and the other a "free" player for another team, what's the worry?
 
Or am I totally only looking at this from a GM topic and not a regular member view where he should obviously give it 3 years otherwise we'll see trifecta re-create every offseason?

Honestly if Calgary doesn't get the off-season they want and decides they want to move you, I may be interested.  @Smarch

Draper has interest too.

Sent PM's to STZ, Sterling, Higgins, Victor, Draper, Muller, Robbie and Kendrick.
 
STZ, I am confident about...hoping we can nab at least a couple of the others (preferably Sterling or Higgins).

So with my time as GM of the Americans over, I now have to think about what I want with my current player Edwin Threencarnacion (who absolutely steadfastly refuses to add an extra e much to the chagrin of @Streetlight). Each of my guys that I've had in this league have had somewhat of a gimmick to them in regards to their approach to hockey; Encarnacion was the master of PIMs, making Goalie Sacks a thing and somehow being so bad on offense that not even leading defensemen in three all-time statistics is enough to get him into the Hall of Fame, Reencarnacion's unique gimmick was...well, that he was good I guess? Honestly I have no idea what I was doing when it came to making a "good" player, so for Reencarnacion to turn out the way he did was nothing short of a miracle. 
 
So for Threencarnacion, I could just settle for being a goalie as the new gimmick but that's far too simple. No, as you read in the title, my ambition is to become the ULTIMATE VHL BACKUP GOALIE! What that means is the following:
 
- I will start no more than eight games over the course of a season (if that means being behind a CPU, then so be it!)
- I will not enter a game until the opposition has already scored three goals or more
- If you goalie sack me, you are a heartless bastard and I both love you and hate you for it. 

Amazing career.  Loved having fong on the team

Amazing career.  Loved having fong on the team

Have you seen the S52 draft? S52 NYA 2nd is worth more than S51 NYA 1st lol 

AND Devise isn't getting an asset to move on account of Threencarnacion being entered into the draft. Both Banackock and Gooning ended up with an asset to trade in Mengsk and Valmount. 

RW - Xin Xie Xiao
Birthplace: Shanghai, China
Height: 6'8" 
Weight: 250lbs
Jersey Number: 88
Drafted: S36 NYA (3/6)
Username: tfong
 
This monstrous Chinaman was an essential piece in one of the most formidable dynasties to ever grace the VHL. Top VHL analysts say you need two things to win VHL Championships: goaltending and depth. New York had both for a very long time and XxX was the key factor in the depth chart. He spent the majority of his career on the second line, terrorizing opponents and racking up more and more points as his career went on. In fact, he could be the only second-line player to ever make it into the Hall of Fame.
 
 
Career Awards: :
S35 Esposito Trophy - VHLM Playoff MVP S35 Yzerman Trophy - VHLM Top Two-Way Forward S39 Devon Marlow-Marta Trophy - North American Playoff Champions (NYA) S40 Devon Marlow-Marta Trophy - North American Playoff Champions (NYA) S41 Devon Marlow-Marta Trophy - North American Playoff Champions (NYA) S43 Terence Fong Trophy - European Playoff Champions (COL) S38 Victory Cup - Regular Season Champions (NYA) S39 Victory Cup - Regular Season Champions (NYA) S40 Victory Cup - Regular Season Champions (NYA) S41 Victory Cup - Regular Season Champions (NYA) S39 Continental Cup - Playoff Champions (NYA) S41 Continental Cup - Playoff Champions (NYA) S40 Scott Boulet Trophy - VHL Top Two-Way Forward S43 Scott Boulet Trophy - VHL Top Two-Way Forward  
Season 36 Statistics:
Regular Season: S36(NYA) 72GP | 29G - 43A -  72P | +12 | 439SHT |  6GWG | 151PIM | 366HIT | 30SB  
New York had three first round picks in the S36 VHL Entry draft that has turned out to so far only produce one Hall of Famer. Luckily, the Americans' scouting staff did their homework and picked XxX at 3rd overall. The Americans were in a retooling stage and wanted to set themselves up for a period of dominance. XxX was key to this plan. They ended up fourth in the Conference, missing out on a playoff spot by 5 points, but XxX showcased his offensive talent, collecting 29 goals and 72 points, as well as his physical dominance by smashing 366 hits, finishing second in the league in that category. In fact, that was the most hits in a single season he'd ever get, but it set the league up for what was to come.
 
Season 37 Statistics:
Regular Season: S37(NYA) 72GP | 42G - 40A -  82P | +41 | 342SHT |  6GWG |  61PIM | 218HIT | 28SB  
The Americans were now set to compete. With Odin Tordahl at the helm, they added to their roster future Hall of Famer Tom Slaughter and was led at the back with Conner Low. The Americans were poised for a playoff run, however luck would have other plans. The Americans improved to 83 points but still were not admitted into the playoffs because the Bears had just one more point. It had to be one of (if not the) most points earned in a season without making it to the post season. XxX broke the 40-goal mark and earned 82 points, as well as collecting 218 hits on the top line with Slaughter and Tordahl. Despite not making the post-season, the entire league knew that this Americans team could be the greatest one to ever step out on the ice.
 
Season 38 Statistics:
Regular Season: S38(NYA) 72GP | 43G - 55A -  98P | +56 | 413SHT | 10GWG | 116PIM | 251HIT | 19SB Playoffs: S38(NYA)  6GP | 2G - 4A -  6P | -1 | 39SHT | 0GWG |  6PIM | 19HIT | 5SB  
Season 38 was clearly on the same track in regards to the Americans’ development. The team improved, scoring more goals (239) and giving up fewer (129), tallying more points (116), and for the first time in this generation of players, winning some team hardware. Those 116 points were good enough to best Davos, earning them the Victory Cup and thereby by-passing the first round of the playoffs. Tordahl was torrid this season, scoring 129 points, while XxX, Slaughter, and Low, were all in the 90s, XxX just missing out on the century mark!  He had upped his hit total to 251 They met the Legion in the Conference Finals for what was the vast majority of New York players’ first playoff experience. It was a hard-fought series that ended in six games, with the outcome not going the way of the Americans.  However, it was playoff experience that would come to be essential further down the road.
 
Season 39 Statistics:
Regular Season: S39(NYA) 72GP | 42G - 41A -  83P | +29 | 496SHT |  9GWG | 154PIM | 354HIT | 31SB Playoffs: S39(NYA) 10GP | 5G - 3A -  8P | +4 | 77SHT | 1GWG |  8PIM | 40HIT | 6SB  
With some playoff experience under their belts, New York Americans had the confidence to dominate the league once more. Davos finished first in Europe for the 4th straight time but could not take the Victory Cup from New York’s grasp, as they finished with 114 points, 10 more than their European rivals. Miller managed to pick up Wesley Kellinger in the off-season, a move that would seem to work with Tordahl. The two of them combined for a shocking 248 points, with Tordahl getting 127 and Kellinger 121. XxX was moved down to the second line, and although his offensive numbers dropped, he was a wrecking ball, knocking over 354 players. New York scored 29 more times that Davos (and had the most in the league) and their high-octane offense was a match for no one. The rest while they waited for the Bears to beat the Wranglers did not break the stride of their Cup run, as they dispatched them in just 5 games before blowing the helmets off Davos in the Finals to earn them their first Continental Cup of the generation.
 
Season 40 Statistics:
Regular Season: S40(NYA) 72GP | 50G - 56A - 106P | +43 | 557SHT | 10GWG | 145PIM | 360HIT | 53SB Playoffs: S40(NYA) 10GP | 5G - 4A -  9P | -3 | 69SHT | 2GWG | 16PIM | 51HIT | 6SB  
It's safe to say that the Americans destroyed the league this season. They had a league-wide best of 121 points for another Victory Cup, 21 points clear of 2nd place Cologne Express. They scored the most goals (254) and let in the fewest (139). Tordahl, Slaughter, XxX, Bennett Wahl, and Low all had more than a hundred points, with Tordahl at 115 and XxX at a career-high 106. He also managed to hit 360 opponents, which would earn him his only ever individual accolade, the Scott Boulet Trophy. They stormed through the Wranglers in 5 games, who had just finished upsetting Quebec City, only to be stopped in their tracks by a team that finished 27 points back of them – Riga Reign, who won the Cup in just 5 games. It was a shock and the whole league was stunned by it (most of all Riga), but it was quite clear that this Americans dynasty was far from over.
 
Season 41 Statistics:
Regular Season: S41(NYA) 72GP | 53G - 55A - 108P | +49 | 546SHT |  8GWG | 149PIM | 294HIT | 51SB Playoffs: S41(NYA) 12GP | 8G - 3A - 11P | +3 | 60SHT | 1GWG | 20PIM | 60HIT | 5SB  
Odin Tordahl had retired and New York needed something to fill that gaping hole left by him. The first move made was an odd one, when New York acquired the second best defenseman in the league – Matt Bentley. More shockingly, however, was who they got to fill Tordahl’s shoes, and that player was Conner Low. He decided to switch to a Right Winger and let Bentley handle things alone in the back. This had a very similar feel to what Hall of Famer Matt Bailey did. Regardless, it seemed to work and the transition was basically flawless.  They easily captured another Victory Cup with 121 points. XxX finished fourth in goals, with 53 and had another career-high with 108 points on the second line with Klose and 3 Moons. In the playoffs they outplayed Quebec en route to another final with Riga. The series went to seven and it was tied heading into the final three minutes of the games when Bentley slip the puck across to Slaughter who wired it home, giving the Americans their second Cup in XxX's career.
 
Season 42 Statistics:
Regular Season: S42(NYA) 72GP | 51G - 62A - 113P | +45 | 475SHT | 10GWG | 114PIM | 231HIT | 50SB Playoffs: S42(NYA) 12GP | 2G - 9A - 11P | -4 | 69SHT | 0GWG | 10PIM | 45HIT | 5SB  
XxX had yet another career-high in points in his final season, eclipsing the 50-goal mark and scoring 113 points. Once more, he did it with the same line as the previous season, with 3 Moons and Klose. This season, the Meute was too strong, finishing with 113 points which meant that for the first time in his career, XxX would have to play a first-round playoff series. They got rid of the Legion quite easily, however it all ended for XxX and the Americans with a Game-7 loss in the Conference Finals to Bruno Wolf and the Meute, marking the end of the dynasty for this Americans team.
 
 
Season 43 Statistics:
Regular Season: S43(COL) 72GP | 50G - 74A - 124P | +60 | 486SHT | 12GWG | 148PIM | 292HIT | 21SB Playoffs: S43(COL) 18GP | 7G - 11A - 18P | +3 | 83SHT | 0GWG | 36PIM | 74HIT | 10SB  
Finally, Mr. Miller gave in and went into a quick rebuild. He dealt XxX and his linemate, Klose, to Cologne in exchange for Caprivi, Yumalatopinto, Graves, and an S45 1st round pick. The Express had a great season, finishing with 115 points, which was aggravatingly close to the 116-point total that won the Victory Cup. Since that went to the Vikings, Cologne would have to play Davos to get to the Conference Finals. It's time like these were the 8-season force retirement is a shame here in the VHL. XxX had (I'm sounding like a broken record here) yet another career high in points, this time on the first line with Thomas O'Malley. He collected 124 points along with 292 hits, earning him his second Boulet Trophy. O'Malley and XxX were #1/2 in the league in points and everyone had their eyes on them in the playoffs. They dispatched Davos in 6 games before surprisingly running down the Vikings in 5 to meet a team that had no business being there - the Seattle Bears. It was a very close back-and-forth series, going all the way to Game 7. It was tied 2-2 heading into the third but a powerplay goal by Samuelsson from the Bears completed the biggest underdog story in VHL history and stopped XxX's chances for a 3 Cup and also marked the end of his career.
 
Career Totals:
 
Regular Season:
576GP | 360G - 426A - 786P | +336 | 3754SHT | 71GWG | 1038PIM | 2366HIT | 282SB Playoffs:
68GP | 29G - 34A - 63P | +2 | 397SHT | 4GWG | 96PIM | 289HIT | 37SB  
There were some VHL critics who never thought XxX would make it into the Hall of Fame. He never led the league in any category and only achieved two individual accolades in his career. However, looking at his career numbers, it's pretty easy to see that XxX was a prolific scorer would could win you back the puck with his body and was an essential piece in one of the most dominant teams in the history of the VHL. You can't ignore the 4 consecutive Victory Cups and two Continental Cups and since he played the majority of his career on the second line, it's safe to say that we are looking at probably the best ever second-line VHLer to ever step onto the ice.
 
 
 

Just throwing out some random numbers:
 
 
A 99 costs 140 TPE for @Kendrick's compared to the 120 it costs now. @Mr. Power's proposal requires 150 TPE for the primary attritues to get to 99, and 120 TPE for the secondary, and 90 TPE for the specialty. In order to get a well-rounded build of:
 
90 for the primaries and 80 for the secondaries, it would take 560 TPE for Devise's idea, and 540 for Kendrick's.
95's in primary and 85's in secondary, it would take 740 TPE for Devise's and 700 TPE for Kendrick's.
99's in primary and 90's in secondary, it would take 920 TPE for Devise's and 900 TPE for Kendrick's.
 
Just food for thought.

#BringBackVasty

This week I really wanted to do 300 different snippets on By The Numbers.  Ultimately though, I am far too lazy to do that.  Therefore, I wanted to do a playoff edition of this article while also necessarily connecting it to the 300th edition concept.  I am thrilled to be a member of this team and I have been since before Edition 100.  Here is my submission for the 300th edition of the VHL Magazine!


 
3 – The Toronto Legion are going to try and become the first team to win three consecutive Continental Cups.  As a former General Manager who managed some very excellent teams, this is quite a crazy possibility.  Twice I thought that I had a good chance at repeating but to think that a team could potentially three-peat is incredible.  Last season, the Legion became the sixth team to ever repeat as Continental Cup champions, and just the second to do so since Season Twenty-Five.  Now, with the Legion up 1-0 in their finals matchup with the Dynamo, they could very well make history once again.


 
0 – The amount of games that the Calgary Wranglers won in their first round matchup with the Quebec City Meute.  Now, no one pegged them to beat Quebec.  Simply put, take away Weinstein and they are very simply a bad team.  Their offense is led by rookie Theo Axelsson, and while he is an excellent young forward, he is not good enough to lead a top contender anywhere.  With all that being said, I was a little surprised and disappointed to see Weinstein not steal at least one game away for Calgary.  However, on the backs of Koponen, Lincoln and Clegane, this became a clear and definitive reality.


 
0 – The amount of chance I give the Davos Dynamo of beating the Toronto Legion.  I really felt that the best chance of Toronto losing was against Quebec.  The Meute have Koponen, Lincoln, Sleeman, Hamilton, Unassisted, Humbert and Clegane.  That is seven legitimately very good players and they couldn’t even beat the Toronto Legion.  Much of the reason being that Hans Wingate continues to prove that he belongs alongside the greatest names to ever play goal in the Victory Hockey League.  As it stands now, Wingate has a .942 save percentage and as long as he plays like he can against Davos, they have zero chance at beating him and he will make some history himself, becoming the first goalie to win three Aidan Shaw Trophies and three Daisuke Kanou Trophies.  It would be an incredible accomplishment and one that would cement his career as arguably the greatest of all-time.

This week I really wanted to do 300 different snippets on By The Numbers.  Ultimately though, I am far too lazy to do that.  Therefore, I wanted to do a playoff edition of this article while also necessarily connecting it to the 300th edition concept.  I am thrilled to be a member of this team and I have been since before Edition 100.  Here is my submission for the 300th edition of the VHL Magazine!


 
3 – The Toronto Legion are going to try and become the first team to win three consecutive Continental Cups.  As a former General Manager who managed some very excellent teams, this is quite a crazy possibility.  Twice I thought that I had a good chance at repeating but to think that a team could potentially three-peat is incredible.  Last season, the Legion became the sixth team to ever repeat as Continental Cup champions, and just the second to do so since Season Twenty-Five.  Now, with the Legion up 1-0 in their finals matchup with the Dynamo, they could very well make history once again.


 
0 – The amount of games that the Calgary Wranglers won in their first round matchup with the Quebec City Meute.  Now, no one pegged them to beat Quebec.  Simply put, take away Weinstein and they are very simply a bad team.  Their offense is led by rookie Theo Axelsson, and while he is an excellent young forward, he is not good enough to lead a top contender anywhere.  With all that being said, I was a little surprised and disappointed to see Weinstein not steal at least one game away for Calgary.  However, on the backs of Koponen, Lincoln and Clegane, this became a clear and definitive reality.


 
0 – The amount of chance I give the Davos Dynamo of beating the Toronto Legion.  I really felt that the best chance of Toronto losing was against Quebec.  The Meute have Koponen, Lincoln, Sleeman, Hamilton, Unassisted, Humbert and Clegane.  That is seven legitimately very good players and they couldn’t even beat the Toronto Legion.  Much of the reason being that Hans Wingate continues to prove that he belongs alongside the greatest names to ever play goal in the Victory Hockey League.  As it stands now, Wingate has a .942 save percentage and as long as he plays like he can against Davos, they have zero chance at beating him and he will make some history himself, becoming the first goalie to win three Aidan Shaw Trophies and three Daisuke Kanou Trophies.  It would be an incredible accomplishment and one that would cement his career as arguably the greatest of all-time.

Looks like it's going to be a dog fight of an off-season for FA after talking with a couple GM's.
 
Just moved into my house so now back to normal...just would like to get to the off-season.

Went to sleep without a shirt on. Woke up with shirt on.
 
I'm spooked.

Maybe some.

I have to test drive a few cars tonight and record a podcast with Devise

I actually feel fantastic.  

I've hit weight goals I've never wanna hit (office job probably didn't help).
 
Finally back at it with T25 and some Yoga afterwards.

The good thing is if I do end up moving out there, we can always see a few of those faces with me driving.