LucyXpher

Graphic Pending... On Monday, November 11th, the VHL's Trade Deadline came and passed with a modest amount of activity-- 5 trades in total in the two weeks leading up to the date. It may not have been the flurry of activity that this point of the season is sometimes known for, though the trades we did see certainly shuffled the deck a little and set the stage for the stretch run and the immanent VHL playoffs. So without further preamble, let's dive into the VHL's Trade Deadline and see what it says about the direction of the teams who opted to participate in S96. November 8th The first real Trade Deadline movement occurred between the New York Americans and the Los Angeles Stars. New York receives: D - Moritz Stauffer @GoodLeftUndone (S88 - Retiring) Los Angeles receives: S97 LDN 2nd S97 NYA 3rd New York, who has achieved moderate success with a solid roster this season had a hole to fill in their defense. With a playoff berth in sight, the Americans' GM @STZ opted to acquire a rental player in Moritz Stauffer who will be hanging it up at the end of S96. Stauffer becomes the 2nd highest rated defender by total TPE, after Callum Gary Yannick Janser, and fills the fourth spot on the New York blueline as they push to secure a place in the playoffs. Stauffer, whose career high in points was 72 in S94 with Calgary, now joins his 6th VHL franchise, hoping for one more chance at a Continental Cup. Stauffer previously won the Cup in S90 with Prague and will bring that championship pedigree and experience along with him. Since acquiring Stauffer, the Americans hold a respectable record of 12-7-1, and Stauffer has collected 16 points in those 20 games. Los Angeles, on the other side, received two S97 picks-- the London 2nd rounder being the more valuable of the two as it could turn out to be the 17th overall pick if the lottery goes their way. It's a decent return on a retiring player for a team who is outside the playoff picture this season and is currently in the midst of rebuilding toward future success. In the S97 draft, Los Angeles now holds four 1st rounders and three 2nd round picks which should help them, at the very least, collect a quantity of prospects that could build them up in seasons to come. •• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ •• Shortly after the New York/LA deal, Helsinki and Seattle entered the fray with a surprising trade that saw the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy frontrunner, Ahsoka Tano, move to the Seattle Bears Helsinki receives: D - Sunset Moth @McWolf (S91) S98 RIG 1st S98 SEA 3rd S98 LDN 3rd S98 SEA 4th Seattle receives: D - Ahsoka Tano @Aimee (S95) The biggest piece in this trade is the one going to Seattle, and that is the rookie blueline sensation, Ahsoka Tano. As a rookie with Helsinki, Tano collected 43 points in 47 games and was leading the way in the rookie scoring race. This trade represents an upgrade on defense for Seattle, both now and in the future, as Tano projects to be a top defender in the VHL for seasons to come. With 11 points in 20 games for Seattle since the trade, Tano has slowed down in production a little bit while she's seen her ice time reduced on a more complete defensive corps, though she projects to be a top defender for the team going forward. The slight production drop also hasn't hurt her Stolzschweiger chances much as she still leads the race with 57 points-- 6 more than the next highest rookie scorer. For a rebuilding Helsinki team under new management in S96, the return for Tano features a solid player in Sunset Moth who can immediately step in and fill the hole left by Tano on the blueline. Moth is now up to 9 points in 19 games with Helsinki. And while the ceiling on Sunset Moth certainly seems lower than Tano's, Helsinki also managed to secure some draft picks-- most notably the S98 Riga 1st. While the two 3rd rounders and the 4th represent a chance to select a late round sleeper pick, the 1st is likely the only pick here that will amount to a potential player. For Helsinki, the hope will have to be that Riga takes a step back in S98 in order for this pick to be further up the draft order. Alternatively, @McLovin could opt to flip the pick for further capital in the S97 draft. As it stands, Helsinki is loaded up on late picks in S98, but only has one pick in each of the four rounds in S97. For a team that seems to be bottoming out, the plan seems to be to sell anything and everything that isn't nailed down and to reset. Unfortunately for Helsinki fans, the team likely hasn't hit rock bottom quite yet. If I was Sunset Moth, I'd probably think twice before buying a forever home in Helsinki. •• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ •• November 10th On the day before the Trade Deadline, Davos and DC made a true hockey trade-- a one-for-one player swap... sorta. HC Davos receives: D - Joseph Dubois @Dubois (S90) D.C. receives: D - Masa Akimoto @Hokikeijot (S93) In this deal, Davos received the only VHL level player in Joseph Dubois-- now their 5th defensemen as the team apparently wanted more depth at the position going into the playoffs. The jury is still out on how much playing time Dubois will actually earn on this Dynamo defense, but it certainly positions Davos to be able to ice a better roster should they run into penalty trouble going forward, and maybe there's a future trade to be made in the offseason. Dubois had 21 points in 50 games for DC, but has yet to score in 16 games with Davos. On the other side of this deal, DC collects yet another prospect to add to their already extremely populated prospect pool. While Akimoto has yet to reach the VHL, the potential is there to become a solid defense option if GM @qripll can unlock it. Akimoto currently has 44 points in 61 games for the VHLM's Ottawa Lynx. •• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ •• November 11th And then the Trade Deadline arrived with Vancouver and Warsaw opening the day with a spicy trade that featured some hotly debated conditions-- which were ultimately resolved. Vancouver receives: G - Olober Syko @Spartan (S91 - Retiring) Warsaw receives: S98 VAN 4th Conditions: If Vancouver makes the S96 playoffs, S98 VAN 4th becomes Vancouver's next available 2nd. If Vancouver wins the S96 Continental Cup, S98 VAN 4th becomes Vancouver's next available 1st. With their sights set on a deep playoff run, Vancouver went out and acquired the VHL's top statistical goalie, and didn't have to give up much to get him. With the Wolves basically a lock for the S96 playoffs, the S98 4th will almost certainly be upgraded to a 2nd round pick. If Vancouver can go all the way and win the Continental Cup, that 2nd will become a 1st in either S97 or S98-- Warsaw's choice. The only downside for the Wolves is that they only have one crack at it with Syko who has decided to call it a career early at the end of this season. It's a pretty straightforward trade for Vancouver, however, as the cost of acquiring such a dominant goaltender-- even for the remainder of S96-- is relatively negligible. And even if they win and have to pay up the 1st, I'm sure their GM @Frank won't mind too much since they will have achieved their goal. On the other side, Warsaw does well to recoup an asset for a goaltender who was finished after this season anyway. Sure, the Predators might make the playoffs, but even with Syko they were not likely to get far as the team had many other holes to fill as they continue their rebuild. Overall, it's tidy work from @N0HBDY to pull value out of an outgoing Syko. •• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ •• Closing out Trade Deadline Day, Calgary and Toronto made a swap that saw longtime Legion defender Bobby Bob on the move in exchange for another VHL veteran. Calgary receives: D - Bobby Bob @Baby Boomer (S88 - Retiring) Toronto receives: S97 TOR 3rd D - FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist @STZ (S88 - Retiring) With Toronto sliding out of the playoff picture and a management change immanent, they opted to move franchise defender Bobby Bob to Calgary for a chance to go all the way with North America's top team. In return they receive a 60 point defender in FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist who-- like Bob-- will be retiring at season's end. The legion also picked up a Toronto 3rd rounder in the swap which may or may not result in a roster player for the future. For Calgary, there's currently only a 7 point difference between Bob and Analfist, however Bob should be a slight upgrade to an already strong blueline. While Analfist has the slight advantage in defensive acumen, Bob possesses the skating, puckhandling, and offensive instincts to make him a slightly more potent option for the Wranglers as the playoffs approach, while giving up very little defensively. •• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ •• And that's all for the VHL Trade Deadline folks! While it certainly wasn't as spicy as Trade Deadlines past, it gave us some insight into the direction of teams as they load up or sell heading into the last couple weeks of the season. Only time will tell who the real winners and losers are. ••●•• LucyXpher 1600+ words

The Halifax 21st, who began the season with a very green and youthful roster, are now coming into their own! With a record of 11-3-0 in the last 14 games, the 21st are cruising towards a playoff spot with only 10 games remaining in the Season 96. A recent article by @Mysterious_Fish which showed each team's average TPE relative to their standings position really highlighted how impressive the 21st have been as of late. With an average TPE of 169.9, Halifax ranked behind all but one team in the VHLM, and yet still sit 5th overall in the standings, only 2 points behind the Miami Marauder's whose average TPE was 253.6! Halifax's success is owed in large part to the herculean efforts of Jon Webber III, who has been one of the best goalies in the VHLM this season, and who could even be in the conversation for league MVP by the season's end. Take nothing away from Halifax's skaters, however, as a collective team effort has boosted the average skater TPE to 169.9 from 99.3 at the beginning of the season! That's a collective 60 TPE jump across 14 players, which has meant that every player has been earning consistently and working towards the team's goal of a playoff berth. Despite not ranking at the top of the league and having to fight for every point, it's been an exceptional and exciting season for the Halifax 21st, and I am very greatful for the efforts of each and every player on this team. It's quite rare to have this level of consistency in the VHLM-- especially from a team that features 11 first gen players who are still learning the ropes. With 5 days of sims left in the season, it's looking more and more certain that the Boat Gang will achieve their goal of reaching the playoffs, and after that, who knows what could happen. This week's SuperSailor, however, is a player who has been a great contributor in the locker room and in the sims, though his on-ice contributions don't always make him the most popular player around the league-- let me explain. Petr Novak currently has 8 points through 62 games, which at first glance doesn't really capture the eye. The eye popping statistics, however, are that Novak ranks 6th in the league with 161 hits, and 6th in penalty minutes with 94. Look, I know what you might be saying, he's a certifiable goon... well, the username @LastGoon007 checks out. There is something to be said for the value of such statistics, however, and Novak has brought an element to the game that many of his teammates lack. In my opinion, a good hockey team needs its fast and skilled scorers and playmakers, a solid goaltender, and responsible, puck-moving defenders-- but it also needs someone who's willing to get their hands dirty, to fight, to hit, and to sacrifice for the team. Does Novak's style of play sometimes leave the 21st shorthanded? Sure, but it's not to an extreme excess and there is certainly value in it-- even if management would like to see him develop his defensive game going forward. What really stands out for Novak is his role as a leader in the locker room. Since the beginning of the season, Novak has been a vocal and positive leader, even securing poutine bonuses for teammates who have performed well. He's been consistently growing and making fun contributions around the team. This kind of leadership to back up his physical play and standing up for teammates goes a long way and is worthy of commendation. As a player who is expected to become a very important member of the 21st defense in future seasons, Novak has come as advertised and has very much lived up to his draft position at 14th overall in his VHLM rookie season. Congratulations to Petr Novak on being named the 25th SuperSailor! Honorable Mention: Michael Lee Jr @blueredlover is one of only 2 players in the VHLM that were selected in the 5th round to remain active and earning! Drafted with only 54 TPE, Lee Jr has climbed an impressive 56 TPE (to 110 totall) over the past 5 weeks and has carved out a consistent role as the team's 3rd/4th line center. As Lee Jr continues to develop, the opportunities will certainly be there for more icetime and an increased role. While it's easy to heap praise on players who pile up points on the top lines, it's the players like Michael Lee Jr, who quietly and consistently continue to develop and fulfill an important role, that deserve a ton of credit! ༻❁༺

This was super interesting to read and you did a great job putting this all together! It definitely goes to show the importance of goaltending in the league right now-- especially having a good capped goalie. There's also something to be said about player build efficiency and some other roster construction factors like depth. Simon will do Simon things, but this really explains alot about how the standings have played out this season!

This is by far my favorite part of the E being gone. The M feels a lot healthier now because of this and even weaker teams can feel competitive because of the fuller rosters

Personally, having more players has kept me more busy with my team, but the trade deadline did feel particularly quiet this season. Maybe it’s also just the time of year? Or maybe GMs are nervous to overpay or undersell? It’s kinda hard to read the value of a player right now as we’re all still kinda feeling each other out

Oof duly noted

I was gifted a new one by a very kind soul! But there was a story behind its disappearance lol

Wait is it possible to get 0 points? I 100% submitted… nvm, I see why I wasn’t tagged

Maybe this is just my groggy 8am cynical brain speaking, but I’m glad we have the current system and don’t have to pitch. First, because it allows us to spend more time with real personal interactions with players who are actually on our teams without feeling like we need to chase down potential players. And Secondly, because I feel like players have their preferred landing spots anyway and don’t even really care about pitches half the time. Anecdotally, when I joined, as soon as I saw my home city Houston had a team, I didn’t care that there were other options with more playing time. I wanted to play there. We also see a lot of recreates who have their preferences and teams they’d rather not play for. Sure, pitching could be fun in an ideal world where nobody got cynical about the process, but as Jacob mentioned above, the prospect of waiting around to be the first in on a new player is way more trouble than it is worth. I’d much rather spend my time as a GM working with and being the first point of contact for players who are actually on the team. I can only speak for myself, but I’ve tried my best to keep our team’s general pitch updated and specific so it doesn’t feel like a generic wall of text like you described. But with a low word limit, there’s only so much you can say. But I do feel like those general pitches could use more love and attention— though in the flip side, it feels like hardly anyone reads them anyway, so…

Fantastic article and a lot of research to chew on! I am very much on board with your predicted playoff productivity— even if the last little stretch has been super meh

This is sweet

But best statistical goalie on a below mid team that will still make the playoffs = Jon Webber III How is this not MVP worthy?

I loved your trade breakdowns and the conversation about what each team might have been aiming for this TDL. Honestly, it’s a great listen for anyone with any interest in the VHLM right now! Great job!

Great episode! I love the title im excited to see how the rest of this season goes for us and how thing will shape up for Halifax going into the S97 draft and next season. I think you guys were spot on with a lot of your points and there’s some good conversation there about the different options for the team!

Oof so close