VHLM Power Rankings - Season's End

[jacobcarson877 2,564]

VHLM Power Rankings – Season End Edition

 

1. Las Vegas Aces (-)

  Vegas has completed their regular season masterclass, being likely the only team to gather 50 wins, and having already accomplished that with 8 games to go. They have a full 9-6-2 full of sim league vets, top first-gen talent and important veteran returnees. They’ll be losing a lot in the off-season, but for now, they look like the team to beat, as they have all season. A dangerous place to be, as Simon loves a good upset, but with the savvy Shindigs behind the wheel, this ship seems steered towards another championship.

 

2. Mississauga Hounds (+1)

Mississauga has continued to put together an incredible regular season and look primed to be the top competitor for Vegas. This season has come to a conclusion with arguably 5 true competitors, so after the obvious top 1, it becomes incredibly tight. What puts MIS ahead of the others in my books is their second unit. Their 6^th forward is just above 120 TPE, and their 4^th D is above 130. That is a substantial amount of TPE through the middle of the lineup, and they might be able to use that to their advantage against the other teams in the playoffs, when it becomes harder to maximize your top players time.

 

3. Houston Bulls (-1)

  If Mississauga’s strength down the middle is going to help them, Houston’s bottom unit is going to be their strength. Not only do they currently have 11-6-2, but their 9th forward is also primed to cross 100 TPE very soon, and their 6^th D is already past 120 TPE. The only knock I have for this team is that their goaltender won’t be at 200 in time for the playoffs, but we’ve seen dominant defensive play from this team, so goaltending can afford to be ever so marginally weaker. They could afford to score more, but at this point that will come down to TPE distribution over the next week or so.

 

4. Mexico City Kings (-) 

Mexico City has been FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY in the past couple weeks. While other teams have been using waiver goaltending and forwards to improve their teams, the lack of D creates has left them with just 3 D heading into a playoffs without double shifting. Their forward depth is also looking to be lacking TPE-wise, but with continued game-stealing performances from goaltending star, Henry Tucker Jr. All it takes is great goaltending to win key games, so with that in the bag, Mexico remains a top team. 4^th might seem like an insult when discussing a team as a contender but considering the disparity between the top teams and the bottom teams, cracking the top 4, and as we’ll see soon, the top 5 is a great compliment.

 

5. Philadelphia Reapers (-)

It seems criminal to rank a forward group like this as the 5^th best squad in the league, but with only 2 D, and questionable end-of-season goaltending, this cup contender certainly has its issues. I would argue this is the strongest top-6 forward group in the league, so they will have to hope they can outscore their opponents in the playoffs, as a lot of time will be defended by bots, with a ~125 TPE goaltender in the net. I do think Fuukka Rask has established themselves as the top goaltender for this squad, with great TPE distribution and much stronger earning so far.

 

6. San Diego Marlins (+4)

What a season of whiplash for the Marlins. For a team that is almost eliminated from the playoffs, a 6^th ranking may seem out of place. This team also only has 1 player above 100 TPE. But what they lack in talent they make up for in overwhelming numbers. Having gathered 9 forwards in the last few days, they would have the ability to take on some shallower teams in the playoffs, taking advantage of the dismal performance from the bots. Goaltending has been a strength for this team as well, but much like the Reapers, shallow D, and questionable G TPE would hypothetically have been a concern for the Marlins. But that is all fun and games, because unless they get cracking on against top competition to finish their season, we will never know how the Marlins would fare in the playoffs.

7. Halifax 21^st (-1)

  A tough place to be for Halifax, having not really committed to being a seller, while also not really committing to being a contender. With plenty of forwards available, look for this team to fill out their ranks in the coming days, but as one of the many teams looking for D, they likely won’t fill out that hole before the season’s end. Lead from the front and behind by Jeffrey and Geoff Bezos, they have decent star power up front and incredible goaltending to bail them out. They have the chance to upset considering the strength of their goaltender, so look for Halifax to maybe make their way deeper into the first series or even deeper in the playoffs than one would initially expect.

 

8. Ottawa Lynx (-1)

Ottawa is now a development factory for a couple of goaltenders and a whole boatload of forwards. Although they obviously aren’t building a playoff contender, it looks likely they will make the playoffs and at least test themselves in a series. One must applaud the work Ottawa is doing and will continue to do for the rest of the season teaching new members about the site and giving them their first taste of the playoffs. Not all that much more to say about the team, but a fun deep dive anyways, and hopefully we will see much more from these new payers next season.

 

9. Saskatoon Wild (-1)

Saskatoon never committed to a tear down, and despite being likely to hold the last playoff spot, they give no impression of a team interested in the present or the future. They didn’t really gain any future assets at the deadline, and also haven’t been able to attract any new waiver talent, although they have been late to that party most of the time. Obviously their core pieces are all incredible, but without double-shifting this team doesn’t even look like an inconvenience for the top teams.

 

10. Miami Marauders (-1)

Miami has kept the assets they have that will survive the off-season and have sold everything else. Good move for them, but it would be nice to see them gathering some waiver talent, just to build relationships and give players the opportunity to play significant minutes in an important role. Hopefully we will be entering a brighter future for Miami after a dominant past few seasons. The rebuild is almost ready, and hopefully their GM can push them back into competitiveness.

 

 

1138 words, claim 8/7, 8/14

[Trunkxolotl 180]

Damn circus monkeys.

[jacobcarson877 2,564]

claim 2 hype