One

[Gustav 6,418]

It's some time after the S84 draft, and It's some time after I've just gone first overall (!) for the first time in any draft, ever. I'm excited! The past season-plus has paid off, and Art Vandelay may have himself a bright future in LA--where I'll be playing starting this season.

 

As I mentioned in this article before the season, I would be faced with somewhat of a choice if drafted with over 350 TPE. Go up, and I could potentially add to my stats and build upon my career with nine seasons. Stay down, and I sacrifice a rookie season for the opportunity to be hit much less hard by depreciation and cap out my build at a higher point. To some, the choice may seem simple, but I'd be willing to bet there are people on either side of the issue for which that's true. I'm not entirely sure what I want to do myself, but now that it's been decided what I'm doing, here's why I'm excited about it.

 

Vandelay is (I think) only the third goaler to come up right after the draft since the switch, following Cole Pearce in S82 and Brandt Fuhr last season. There isn't enough sample size (nor is there any, really) to know the "best" way to generate career numbers one way or another, but if the immediate call-up ends up being the way to go, Vandelay could end up being one of the players who proves it. I have the opportunity to (legally) start 576 games rather than 504, and that means more wins and one more shot at success. 

 

I also don't like the idea of players, whether skaters or goalers (but mainly goalers because they're hit harder), staying down for the express purpose of avoiding depreciation. That thought is giving me ideas which I'll outline in some other article if I manage to put them into words, but for now we'll stick with the basics. Players should always strive to get out of the M and the E as quickly as possible, and I'm glad that what's happening to Vandelay follows that (and has the potential to encourage people to take what I see as the less stupid path from a what's-good-for-the-league standpoint if it works out). I definitely earn well enough that the extra depreciation isn't going to completely tank my career, so it's going to be interesting to see what happens.