Where in the World is Art Vandelay?

[Gustav 6,418]

Or, rather, where in the world will Art Vandelay be? It's an interesting question that doesn't have a very clear answer. To date, I have only received one draft interview (you know who you are!) and I'm not confident that many teams have me high on their boards (purely by virtue of my position, I hope). I'm currently sitting at 5th in the draft class, helped not at all by the facts that I only earned about 9 capped one week and that I haven't done fantasy every time it's been posted (and apparently that's been quite valuable this season). After this week of earning, I think I can jump my way up to 4th with a doubles week and the completion of everything else I have to do or want to do, not that that makes a difference to anyone. I probably will fall a bit in the draft because I'm a goaler, and I'm interested in finding out whether 7th will remain the highest I've ever been selected because that's about where I'd put the over/under on my selection.

 

I think it's safe-ish to say that a team picking Vandelay is likely picking their franchise goaltender. But who even wants that in this day and age? There's less than one would think.

 

 

The "Has a Really Young, Really High-Earning Goaler and Will Not Care" Tier:

 

 DC Dragons (notable current players/prospects: Bubbles Utonium | S82 | 625 TPA)

DC might as well tell me they never want to see me play for them. Not only is Utonium a player, they're also the AGM! Moving right along.

 

 London United (Cole Pearce | S82 | 686 TPA)

Not happening. Pearce is even higher in TPA than Utonium, and London even has a backup coming onto their roster next season in Ed Nu. Even without knowing who the new GM will be, this is a safe conclusion. Not to mention that they don't even have a 1st!

 

 Vancouver Wolves (Brandt Fuhr | S83 | 537 TPA)

This is the only position Vancouver doesn't need right now. Fuhr will have it locked down for the foreseeable future.

 

 Warsaw Predators (Wumbo | S82 | 530 TPA)

Just a little bit separates Wumbo from Ben Dahl (see below), but I've chosen to put Warsaw up here rather than down there because Wumbo does have that little bit, after all, and flyersfan is a very well-established member of the league. Though Wumbo doesn't project to be a top-tier player, you don't need a top-tier player in net to succeed and Warsaw has nothing to worry about.

 

 

The "Has a Usable Goaler but Might Consider Replacement If They're Insane or Planning Something Unexpected" Tier:

 

 Calgary Wranglers (Ben Dahl | S82 | 504 TPA)

 Derphorse alert! No, I will not stop using that emoji as long as it continues to be made available to me. I debated whether to put them in the high-earning goaler category, because Dahl is good enough, in my opinion, to serve a purpose for a good while. Though I wouldn't be thrilled with this plan myself, Calgary might find it a viable strategy to pick Vandelay with London's 1st, keep Dahl in net for a couple seasons, and ship him or Vandelay elsewhere once a spot opens up elsewhere. Overall, I find it unlikely, but the remote possibility moves the Wranglers out of the top.

 

 Helsinki Titans (Xavier Booberry | S80 | 1101 TPA)

Do I think this is going to happen? Not really. Booberry still has half a career left and has racked up an impressive amount of earning in that time. I don't think Helsinki ever plans to trade him away, but if they do, they might do the same "wait a couple seasons and trade one or the other" thing I mentioned with Calgary that I wouldn't particularly enjoy being a part of but which I would at least understand. They have a huge prospect pool everywhere else, but not in net--and if you want someone in net, I know a guy.

 

 Moscow Menace (Papa Emeritus | S79 | 1000 TPA / Leroy Johnson | S78 | 402 TPA)

Three more seasons of the commissioner in net means that there will eventually have to be a plan beyond that. While I don't think he's getting traded away anytime soon, Moscow has struggled with cap issues as of late and a rookie contract in net would be quite refreshing. Granted, any plan involving Vandelay to Moscow involves at least one season's time between the draft and a starting role, but if he somehow slips to the Menace's late 1st, they might have the possibility in mind for a few seconds.

 

 New York Americans (Augustus Kennedy | S83 | 400 TPA)

This one is interesting because Kennedy is a young player and there's no reason for New York to pick Vandelay if they intend to keep Kennedy around. That said, Kennedy is LA's GM...and LA (see below) really needs a goaler. For a rebuilding team like LA, a trade for Kennedy would involve less investment than picking a goaler high, and it would give them someone guaranteed to be loyal for an entire career. And for New York? There should be a decent return involved that makes the deal potentially worth it. If they decide they want Vandelay in the draft, it's doable and could present a win-win situation for both teams.

 

 Prague Phantoms (David Davis | S80 | 859 TPA)

Basically, see Helsinki and Moscow above. I don't think this is going to happen at all, especially given that Prague has more of a need for prospects who are skaters and there's even less of a reason to invest in Vandelay and try to move out Davis next season than there might be for someone like Booberry and Emeritus. If they're crazy, though, I've applied the same standard to them with respect to the goaler situation.

 

 Seattle Bears (Em Em Flex | S79 | 660 TPA / Dusty Wilson | S82 | 400 TPA)

I debated putting Seattle in the "needs a goaler" category, but I think they qualify as "usable" for now. Em Em Flex has some recognition to his name, but he's S79, on welfare, and will spend the next few seasons regressing to mid-tier, while Wilson doesn't do quite enough at the moment to qualify as a true #1 in the future. Seattle has a 1st and could conceivably use it on a goaler, but they'll likely go other directions with their pick.

 

 Toronto Legion (Oskar Lindbergh | S80 | 895 TPA)

Will this happen? No. Basically, read Prague's entry--I don't think Lindbergh will be going anywhere, but I put other teams in similar situations here and here is where Toronto will go too.

 

 

The "Needs a Goaler but Doesn't Have a 1st" Tier:

 

 Chicago Phoenix (Aike van Giersbergen | S78 | 428 TPA / Freddy Freeze | S82 | 277 TPA)

It's pretty obvious that the Phoenix could use someone in net, with Freeze not developing as quickly as a GM would hope. That said, they're left without a pick until the third round of the upcoming draft. Would they trade into this draft to pick up Vandelay? If he slips really far, maybe, but I kind of doubt that--Jeff recently recreated as a goaler and I think that might be this team's plan with next season's 1st.

 

 Malmo Nighthawks (Thomas Price | S81 | 368 TPA)

Outside of Price, Malmo has no one--and that's not a situation anyone wants to be in. If they had a solid 1st-round pick, they would be perfectly in line (and reasonably likely) to draft Vandelay, but that currently isn't happening. If they trade up--which could be sensible depending on team plans--they might be in the running, but as of now that remains an "if".

 

 

The "Needs a Goaler and Has a 1st" Tier:

 

 HC Davos Dynamo (Boris Tsezar | S81 | 434 TPA / Red Gaming | S82 | 385 TPA)

Davos has used up a lot of its draft capital on goalers, currently having 4 in the system, but Vandelay would be a significant upgrade from any of them. On top of that, they've also got three picks in the first round and could conceivably pick up Vandelay with one of them while also satisfying needs elsewhere. If I had to pick one team as "most likely", this might be it--and I'm not just saying that as their former GM.

 

 Los Angeles Stars (Tater Tot | S76 | 476 TPA / Cory Evans | S83 | 191 TPA)

Coming in as Davos' main competition is LA, who's in even more dire need of a goaler and has two first-round picks to deal with. Though they likely won't use a super top pick to go for Vandelay, they could burn their second one (which, being presumably Vancouver's, wouldn't be all that far behind). Either pick would be a bit of a reach, but there's currently no answer in net and a reach might actually be worth it in this case. Or, we could see the Stars trade down with a team in need of a skater--either they've got Vandelay at a lower spot or they've got Clueless Wallob, who's arguably just as good!

 

 Riga Reign (Tobias Reinhart | S78 | 542 TPA / Shaun Young | S82 | 286 TPA)

This is far less likely than Davos and LA, but Riga certainly matches the criteria specified. Reinhart will need to be replaced soon, and Young won't do the trick unless his earning steps up. Overall, I think Riga's chances at landing Vandelay aren't the greatest (especially considering no picks in S85), but it would at least be a sensible choice that would set them up well for the future.

 

 

 

Overall, I think it's between Davos and LA (and Wallob likely goes to the other one or to Riga if something like my hypothetical Kennedy trade doesn't go through). We'll see what happens on draft night--have I called it?

 

 

1,620 words | 3 weeks

[AJW 2,156]

With Los Angeles having their 1st and VAN's 1st, I think I see you going there... unless they tank the draft lottery and you get sniped.

[jacobcarson877 2,536]

Art Vandelay

[Daniel Janser 2,170]

Vandelay where art thou?

[Spartan 4,403]

 

[Dil 1,760]

In my basement 

[Gustav 6,418]

Week 2

[Gustav 6,418]

Week 3!

[Gaikoku-hito 2,081]

A lot has happened since you first wrote this but I have you LA bound with a possible slide now to Prague. This draft has had a lot of different moving parts and a lot of teams holding cards close to their chest as far as I am concerned. But I don`t know a lot after all!!

 

Drafted Third or who knows when.....