VSN Presents: VHL Season 92 Off-Season Preview

[Alex 2,876]

@Doomsday

 

Hi everyone, this article was initially set to be out a while ago, but due to real life things got delayed a bit. Still using the old graphic though as Doomsday put in a lot of work in this top tier graphic. In line with yesterday's article we'll be taking a look at each teams offseason so far and what can be expected down the road.

 

Calgary Wranglers - Buyer

S91 Record - 30-30-12

Projected Cap Space - $2,500,000

Number of resigned players - 11/11

 

The new Calgary GM @leandrofgdoesn’t really have much to do this offseason, while they don’t have their first the assignment this offseason is fairly straight forward, use the remaining cap space to sign a 4th defensemen. Calgary should have a fairly quiet offseason, but stay tuned for them to maybe make a big swing.

 

Chicago Phoenix - Conservative Buyer

S91 Record - 35-23-14

Projected Cap Space - $28,000,000

Number of resigned players - 9/11

 

Chicago has a very strong young base, addition of veterans could help the team over the edge, and watch for them to potentially go all-in though with this season's surprise success . The addition of Yaroslav Trunov @qripll is a needed step, and Chicago could likely continue down this path and could stand to take another step forward. The main area of concern is with the retirement of Scotty Sundin @fromtheinside and filling the void that they left. Chicago will be busy this offseason and could be a top candidate to draft the one and only Wayne Gretzky @MubbleFubbles.

 

DC Dragons - Buyer

S91 Record - 36-26-8

Projected Cap Space - $8,500,000

Number of resigned players - 9/10

 

I have D.C. in a very weird spot, they have a great roster for the most part, but do not have a goaltender signed and while Geoff Bezos @Quik is serviceable, they are a step below the true talent that is needed to compete at the top of the league. We can expect D.C. to try and acquire an elite goaltender via trade as there aren't any top goalies in free agency. Other than that the roster is very solid, but if they can’t figure out their goaltending it’s hard to say how they’ll do this coming season.

 

Los Angeles Stars - Buyer

S91 Record - 46-19-7

Projected Cap Space - $4,500,000

Number of resigned players - 10/11

 

Los Angeles' best chance is now, with the oldest roster in the league, they will have at most 1 more season to compete. We can expect LA to go all-in this offseason as they push for that elusive cup. Most of their roster retires after this season, so they really only have one season left before a rebuild. LA should be one of the most active teams in the free agent and trade market this season as they will be looking to put together the best possible roster in a short amount of time.

 

New York Americans - Conservative Buyer?

S91 Record - 29-38-5

Projected Cap Space - $28,500,000

Number of resigned players - 6/11

 

New York’s direction this offseason is widely unknown, they have a bunch of pending free agents specifically Jesper Davis @Josh, and plenty of young prospects, all of whom could find themselves in the ROTY conversation. If New York decides to buy, they are a little bit limited on the draft capital that they can send out, and a patient approach may be best. While playoffs are certainly not out of the question there is a lot to be done, not much time, and some decisions to make, new GM @STZ certainly has their work cut out for them. New York also has the 1st overall pick for the 2nd season in a row and will be looking to pick up a franchise player, likely looking towards the forwards as they already have CGY Janser @Daniel Janser on D.

 

Seattle Bears - Seller

S91 Record - 27-34-11

Projected Cap Space - $33,000,000

Number of resigned players - 6/6

 

Seattle has already been active in the trade market, and look to be continuing their rebuild, they already have some key pieces in place and will be looking to build upon that in the draft 5th overall. With the prospect pool fairly empty we can maybe expect Seattle to trade down to grab a goaltender or maybe just take the best player available. It will be a tough call and a long road ahead for Seattle.

 

Toronto Legion - Buyer

S91 Record - 46-24-2

Projected Cap Space - $15,500,000

Number of resigned players - 6/10

 

The Continental Cup Champions have a lot of work to do with only 6 players signed for next season and FA opening in a couple days. While cap space isn’t a concern right now, Toronto will have to make some choices and quickly. Sogaard’s @Brandon retirement does help with the cap space, but the number of pending FAs is certainly concerning. Look for Toronto to hopefully get the players signed quickly, if not we could expect a busy trade market as the team will need to get ready for the season in a hurry.

 

Vancouver Wolves - Conservative Seller

S91 Record - 21-42-9

Projected Cap Space - $29,500,000

Number of resigned players - 4/9

 

Holy first round picks! Vancouver has amassed 6 S92 first round picks, which is honestly kind of impressive. These picks will go a long way too, they already have several key pieces in place with FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY Analfist and Liv Slater, along with future franchise goaltender Dalkr Vidarsson. We can expect Vancouver to have a very strong draft as well, as they’ll be looking to add both forwards and defensemen as they draft early and often. While Vancouver doesn't have much to sell, we could maybe expect them to move some smaller pieces to competing teams that are in more of a cap crunch.

 

HC Davos Dynamo - Conservative Seller

S91 Record - 49-16-7

Projected Cap Space - $24,500,000

Number of resigned players - 7/8

 

An era has come to an end in Davos with the retirement of Jake Thunder @Thunder and Pete Mitchell @Crstats23. With this we have seen Davos selling off their remaining pieces, the only reason why I don’t have Davos as a full blown seller is long term commitments to David Jokinen @Ahma and Lachlan Summers @kirbithan. We can look for Davos to likely take on salary where needed from top teams and maybe be active in free agency to try and supplement their remaining pieces and maybe add a new top forward.

 

Helsinki Titans - Conservative Buyer

S91 Record - 41-27-4

Projected Cap Space - $1,500,000

Number of resigned players - 11/11

 

Round 2 anyone? Helsinki is back with essentially the exact same roster, Wolanin’s @jacobcarson877 retirement helps them avoid cap hell, and Grimor Ironside @FrostBeard comes up to fill the void. Helsinki will likely have the smoothest offseason out of any team in the league as @samx just has to sit back and relax at this point. They will have a bit of cap space if they wish to do anything, but their roster is still one of, if not the best in the league.

 

London United - Conservative Buyer

S91 Record - 44-19-9

Projected Cap Space - $13,000,000

Number of resigned players - 8/11

 

London is in a very strange spot right now following the retirement of two of their top defensemen. They have a great forward core led by Wann Kerr @VattghernCZ, Molly the Cat @JCarson, and Leonard Triller @Triller and Jesse Teno @aimkin in goal. But, their blueline leaves something to be desired, we can expect London to be active in the trade market as they look to add defensemen, they’ll also likely try to make a big splash in Free Agency.

 

Malmo Nighthawks - Buyer

S91 Record - 45-22-5

Projected Cap Space - $7,000,000

Number of resigned players - 10/11

 

Malmo had to make one trade this offseason to free up cap space which saw the departure of Yaroslav Trunov. This leaves them with 7 million to bring in another defensemen and maybe make improvements elsewhere on their roster. Malmo does have a bit of momentum right now following a disappointing loss, but with most of their roster returning they should enter S92 very fired up and ready to go. Malmo will likely be fairly active on the trade scene or in Free Agency to polish up their roster.

 

Moscow Menace - conservative buyer

S91 Record - 19-43-10

Projected Cap Space - $20,000,000

Number of resigned players - 9/15

 

Moscow could just be in the best position out of everyone in the league right now, almost their entire roster is high earning players on ELCs or players that are just hitting their prime. While Moscow will likely be letting some players go to FA, their roster is solid and may just compete for the playoffs or at least be in the race. In particular goaltender Olober Syko @Spartan enters next season as the favourite for the ROTY honours.

 

Prague Phantoms - Hold

S91 Record - 39-26-7

Projected Cap Space - -$500,000

Number of resigned players - 12/12

 

Prague is in a really weird spot right now following a disappointing S91. Their entire roster is signed for this season as Kyle Toms @Ktoms22 and Conference Prince-de-Galles @UnkemptCL4PTP join the big club alongside recently acquired Spanish Moon Moth @Renomitsu. The only slight issue for Prague comes with their cap as they are currently projected to be $500,00 over the cap, however this can be solved easily by moving one of their five defensemen which will free up at least $1,000,000 for improvements elsewhere in the roster if @Acydburn sees fit. We can look for Prague to make 1 or 2 minor moves, but for the most part their roster is set and is looking to return to their S90 form.

 

Riga Reign - Conservative Buyer

S91 Record - 49-17-6

Projected Cap Space - 11,500,000

Number of resigned players - 12/15

 

Following last offseason where we saw an exodus of big names leaving Riga, many thought that they would just miss the playoffs and they went ahead and proved everyone wrong. With a renewed young core, Riga has quickly become a top team of the future and still has plenty of draft capital as well. It is hard to find a gap in their roster, outside of needing a true number 1 defensemen, as their forwards should continue to improve to provide the needed scoring and their goaltending is set for the next 9 or so seasons.

 

Warsaw Predators - Buyer

S91 Record - 20-48-4

Projected Cap Space - $14,500,000

Number of resigned players - 10/13

 

Warsaw came out this season determined to end the rebuild, they quickly brought in all of Alfred Champagne @Anthique, Dogwood Maple @dogwoodmaple, Rex Wolffe Gregor @oilmandan, and Clueless Wallob @DMaximus from Davos and Seattle. This supplements their young core group of forwards centered around Maxim Anisimov @McLovin and King Kisslinger @Kisslinger. With that being said there is still some serious question marks here as their defense leaves something to be desirted, and a long-term solution in goal is needed. We can look for Warsaw to likely continue to buy to round out their roster or lean heavily on FA.

[Ahma 1,292]