Toronto's off season so far...

[Peace 1,518]

Change has hit Toronto hard this off season, but not directly negative despite loosing two key players -- Welch (traded) / Hornet (free agency) -- and could still have a competitive roster heading into the upcoming campaign. Through trades that Smarch and I have made I want to believe Toronto is capable of making the playoffs, I would almost beg for it. It's been a busy off season for myself, coupled with real life responsibilities and stresses I've had to endure, I'm fairly pleased with the progress the Legion has made since the playoffs ended. There were a few things I should have handled differently, particularly how I dealt with Juice hyping up his player testing free agency only to get teased on his contract extension prior to him being traded a few days later. 

I don't really know where to start, so maybe I'll start with the Juice sign and trade. Most of you who read MS Articles know that he began developing excitement behind the idea Welch would be testing free agency after publicly stating numerous times he wanted to be a one-team player. Obviously that never happened in a direct sense, but behind the scenes I asked our resident pie enthusiast what teams he would prefer playing for and a list was provided not long after. Now I don't remember the whole conversation, frankly I'm far too lazy to read through the DM history... I don't want to read through heated moments that are now behind us, but I need to acknowledge that Juice did the Legion a solid here. He could have tested free agency but eventually agreed on a course of action I wanted to take. 

Part of the issue between Juice and myself was the TPA depth chart on defense, honestly. Despite the utilization of his player telling a different story he still felt unhappy with Toronto, and throughout the final leg of the season I tried hard to address those issues he was unhappy with. I traded for a forward since he felt Toronto needed more, we cleared out the back end so he was right behind Kaberle on the depth chart and eventually just sold at the trade deadline. I'm not going to rub fresh details into an already healed wound, I'm fairly certain those were already public to some extent, I just need to clear the air and get it off my chest before it builds into resentment. In this particular exchange I felt beyond frustrated; my feelings certainly found their way into my interactions with Juice, I'm still not sure we saw eye to eye but it's over now. 

Welch went to the Dragons in exchange for a first round pick, a second round pick and a third round pick in three separate VHL entry drafts. 

Next up I had to decide what to do about the massive gap that had developed on the Legions' now depleted blue line, I needed something quick, I knew I was going to dip into the assets I had just received from DC and the previous trade deadline. I contacted numerous teams about who was available, how much they'd cost; Helsinki announced they were selling a little while later, the team I ended up trading with; I had offers to Calgary, although the player I was interested in wound up being unavailable; Seattle is always engaged in the trade market, so there were discussions about LOL and Rose, although they ended in an argument created by miscommunication (misinterpreting?) text based on value; and finally Vancouver, although those were mostly depth pieces and never really came to fruition. 

You see there were to ways it could have gone. Don't get the guys I wanted from Helsinki it was rebuild city, but I ended up getting the duo from Rayzor. 

Aurelien Moreau and Vick Fairchild joined the Toronto Legion at the cost of a first round pick, two second round picks and two third round picks. The price was quite steep, I knew it would be; Moreau immediately steps into Toronto's roster as the defensive partner to Kaberle, while Fairchild joins a depleted forward group that saw or will see the departure of numerous forwards. This was a key point in the decision to pursue more trades, although none of those high profile players wound up joining Toronto. 

A few teams talked to me about their higher/highest TPA players, even a potential situation similar to Juice (sign-and-trade) although that was nixed in less than an hour for reasons I was disappointed with but respected as I understood where that particular player was coming from. Seattle and I had a few conversations leaning both ways, one with Seattle selling roster players and another with Toronto clearing up some pending free agents and potential roster palyers, although that argument mentioned above did kill trade talks then and there; Calgary and I had continued but broken conversations that eventually lead to Harris joining the Legion, but Ricer was camping so the delayed responses were more than reasonable; I could go on and on about negotiations, so I'll say this: Prague and Malmo were the only teams I didn't talk with or attempt to talk business with but got no reply. 

Leads me into today... keep in mind this is all very watered down, I need a MS but I'm not writing an off season biography. Calgary and Toronto's continued negotiations eventually concluded in a trade that sent Harris to the Legion in return for a second round pick and a third round pick. Harris was part of the puzzle, a puzzle of cap space and skater count, bonuses and contract extensions. There are still parts of Toronto's off season incomplete, although they'll be revealed by the draft I'd imagine. 

So what does Toronto's roster look like? 

McLaren (800)
Green (761)
Fairchild (605)
Reinhart (600)
Dawson (575)
Harris (555)

Kaberle (800)
Moreau (613)
Kuk (428)

Klamasteris (784) 

Last season was brutal, we had a roster -- ON PAPER -- that should have competed with Seattle. I stopped updating it around the trade deadline, so beyond that point the numbers may shift but the Legion had the second 'best' roster in the North American conference. We missed the playoffs, yet somehow I feel strangely optimistic about this roster heading into the upcoming season. We don't have a lot of cap (unless we climb to 12 skaters somehow, which I doubt can be accomplished) and I still have more work to do. 

Well... 

Peace!

(1000+ words) 


 

Edited July 15, 2021 by Peace

[Juice 641]

 

45 minutes ago, Peace said:

Part of the issue between Juice and myself was the TPA depth chart on defense, honestly. Despite the utilization of his player telling a different story he still felt unhappy with Toronto, and throughout the final leg of the season I tried hard to address those issues he was unhappy with. I traded for a forward since he felt Toronto needed more, we cleared out the back end so he was right behind Kaberle on the depth chart and eventually just sold at the trade deadline. I'm not going to rub fresh details into an already healed wound, I'm fairly certain those were already public to some extent, I just need to clear the air and get it off my chest before it builds into resentment. In this particular exchange I felt beyond frustrated; my feelings certainly found their way into my interactions with Juice, I'm still not sure we saw eye to eye but it's over now. 

Welch went to the Dragons in exchange for a first round pick, a second round pick and a third round pick in three separate VHL entry drafts. 

 

Not going to lie, when I get asked to please do a sign-and-trade so you get at least some comfort if I decided not to come back to Toronto (despite me clearly stating that I wanted to pull a dlamb and test the market and most likely going back to my original team) so you could hoard picks and prospects for a future GM and then 180 after my trade and then trade away a lot of those "for the future GM" picks, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

Does it help the team now? For sure, the trades were pretty good overall and brought in some good players for Toronto. But when I'm pleaded with to do a sign-and-trade because you wanted to have a future for Toronto since "I was left in such a bad spot when I took over Toronto because I had no picks, no prospects, no future and I wouldn't want that for any future GM" and you immediately go against that, just yikes.

 

I wanted to be a one-team player, even if it was on an atrociously bad team for my entire career, but not when I lose utter trust in the GM over countless actions the past few seasons, and I think how this went down shows it was a good idea to head out.

[Peace 1,518]

50 minutes ago, Juice said:

 

 

Not going to lie, when I get asked to please do a sign-and-trade so you get at least some comfort if I decided not to come back to Toronto (despite me clearly stating that I wanted to pull a dlamb and test the market and most likely going back to my original team) so you could hoard picks and prospects for a future GM and then 180 after my trade and then trade away a lot of those "for the future GM" picks, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

Does it help the team now? For sure, the trades were pretty good overall and brought in some good players for Toronto. But when I'm pleaded with to do a sign-and-trade because you wanted to have a future for Toronto since "I was left in such a bad spot when I took over Toronto because I had no picks, no prospects, no future and I wouldn't want that for any future GM" and you immediately go against that, just yikes.

 

I wanted to be a one-team player, even if it was on an atrociously bad team for my entire career, but not when I lose utter trust in the GM over countless actions the past few seasons, and I think how this went down shows it was a good idea to head out.

I appreciate your response. 

Allow me to be crystal clear. The 'for the future GM picks' are S80, S79 picks are generally unappealing since the draft class is rather weak, you already knew that. You already knew that you were traded for a S80 first round pick, and a S79 pick tossed in as if it were an extra topping on a pizza, a 3rd round pick as a side.

Toronto has two first round draft picks in S80, and those are the ones that really matter. If I step down before the S80 draft to pursue my education as a primary care paramedic then that's exactly what a new GM will receive, two first round picks in a deeper S80 entry draft fueled by the hype of the VHLE and natural S71 recreates. That's the key piece in your sign-and-trade that still very much applies to the statement you've quoted in your reply. 

The S80 draft class has a notably stronger first round, and will like have a much deeper second round than S79. S79 has only sixteen players earning 8 or more capped still active, meanwhile S80 has eighteen players earning 8 or more capped and as far as I'm aware recruitment for this draft class hasn't even begun yet. There's a whole league to fill out, banking on S80 picks doesn't seem like a terrible idea.

The moves I've made have ensured that: 

a. There are picks available to the GM, I've already covered this. I can comfortably check mark 'no picks' from my quote and sleep well enough on the assumption Toronto could still make the playoffs this season and have a very strong draft next season, regardless if I'm still the GM or not.

b. There are currently two players on Toronto's roster still within their rookie contracts, so if I did step down at the end of this season the replacement GM has the ability to build around a forward (Reinhart) and a defender (Moreau); 'no prospects' is suddenly two young players to work with, build with and plan ahead with five S80 picks overall.

c. Any long term plan a new GM creates will be their own future, but I've put the team in a decent position to have one with strong draft selections and younger players that were both absent when I took charge of Toronto, thus a new Legion GM would have a future compared to the roster I had in S70. 

Hopefully I've illuminated some of the reasoning behind these trades and debunked the 'No picks, no prospects, no future' quote. 

Despite your feelings I'm still doing my job until I either leave it or get replaced. 

The main asset in your sign and trade (the first round pick in S80) is still owned by the Legion. A 180 would be turning around and spending it on a similar skater (forward or defense), I haven't done that yet, and I have already told numerous teams looking for S80 picks that the 'price is too high for Toronto'. 

It's easy to judge from afar and affront the values behind it, but peel back the layers and my intent behind the quote remains true.

S79 2nd round picks are essentially useless, and although there might be a steal or two it's looking like 4-7 capped in that range, which translates to zero prospects cracking Toronto's roster with the VHLE coming into play by the time they'd even be ready for the VHL now (250). They'll need some seasons to build themselves up, which is fine but doesn't serve a purpose for TOR. I'm sorry you lost trust in me, I acknowledge that and I'll own it, but I refuse to be dragged down by it. 

I can't read minds, I don't have a siren that sounds when a player is upset. 

I'm immensely thankful you agreed to a sign-and-trade, however I feel like you're attacking the moves I've made as if I've betrayed you and the trust you had in me, so I hope this reply has shed some light on the situation. 

Moves and countermoves, Mr. Juice; longevity was strengthened, draft assets for S80 are healthy, I'll dare say I didn't betray what I said. 

Question is -- if I stepped down in the fall assuming I land one of eighteen spots for PCP -- what will the new GM do? 

Blow it all up? Keep the roster that I've assembled and use the S80 draft to reinforce. 

I'm not leaving a new GM optionless, cupboards bare and dry like you seem to think I'm doing? 

Edited July 15, 2021 by Peace

[Juice 641]

As far as we talked, you wanted to setup a future for the next GM. While you geared up plenty for S80 which is a good draft, you also already traded Toronto's 1st for the next GM's first draft after your gone. While I agree you'll be able to grab some top tier talent as S80 seems to be relatively stacked, I also remember how Rayz was a top pick and how he was dealt with here (6th overall to 3 minutes average a game) so I'm not exactly hopeful for you only betting on S80 and recreates. Does Toronto have a future? Of course, you got a good core and are betting hard on S80, I just don't appreciate being flipped for picks because you specifically mentioned wanting picks for the future GM and then trading several picks in S81 including a 1st which would be their first draft. Let's just hope those S80 picks pan out.