Why Moscow?

[Grape 528]

My most recent player has inked a three season extension with the Moscow Menace, with the first season having a No Trade Clause. With this deal, the anticipation is that they will spend the majority of their career with the Menace. The goal of this player is to hopefully win something, as with all my players combined, I really only have one single trophy to show for it, being the Matt Benz trophy back in season 66. My players have not really earned any major awards, team or personal, and yet I am now locked in on a team with another defenseman who is pretty much matching me in TPE and performance, and a GM who has never been able to win a final. So, why have I chosen Moscow?

Team-wise, I feel that my players have always found their way to a team that ends up under-performing. My first player, Blake Laughton, ended up being passed around early in their career and found himself playing the majority of their career with the Prague Phantoms, who, being a pretty new team, started out not very good and his career ended with them being mediocre, never seeing much personal or team success throughout their career. My second player, Shawty Nananana, spent their entire career in Davos, head-manned by Gus, which means not really any success whatsoever, as Gus could not make Davos a good team no matter how hard he tried. My most previous player, Bob Vladovechsenkchushkin, probably had the best chance to get anything in their career, and ended up snagging a Victory Cup on a stacked Calgary team, but nothing else. Being my highest TPE player, by nearly 400 TPE, I would have hoped for more. He bounced around from contender to contender, but never could see much success. So far, going into season four of nine, my current player, Obuz Schneider Canet du Bocage, has an empty trophy case. So why stick with a team where there’s an equivalent player on the blueline and a GM who has not been able to finish in the playoffs? Because this player, and this team, is different.

This has been my best earning player to date, being about 150 TPE away from matching my previous player, with five more seasons to close that gap and create a new one, with a build crafted specifically for success instead of just for fun. Results may not have been there in the first two seasons in the VHL, but by next season, they will be close if not on par with the top defensemen of other teams. As for the team, who in season 91 was near the bottom of the league, took one season of growth and finished fifth in the league, has something special brewing. Most of the roster is from the season 90 and 91 draft, so extremely young comparatively, with still a few decent prospects about to break through, and most claiming at a pretty high rate. This team is going to be scary good for at least a few seasons before the cap crunch comes for them. For those few seasons, there is a legitimate chance Spartan can finally break his finals curse.

So, why Moscow? Because they are going to win, and Obuz is going to win.

(549 words)

[Banackock 7,649]

New TLC show: 16 seasons no cup and counting 

Edited February 28 by Banackock

[Gustav 6,125]

2 hours ago, Grape said:

My first player, Blake Laughton, ended up being passed around early in their career and found himself playing the majority of their career with the Prague Phantoms, who, being a pretty new team, started out not very good and his career ended with them being mediocre, never seeing much personal or team success throughout their career. My second player, Shawty Nananana, spent their entire career in Davos, head-manned by Gus, which means not really any success whatsoever, as Gus could not make Davos a good team no matter how hard he tried.

 

Oh shut up 

 

Laughton was underrated though. There always was a spot for that level of activity in the VHL, even if it probably didn't feel like it given all the trades. I remember seeing you post once or twice about being frustrated by being moved around so much and I felt kind of bad. 

 

That was part of why I kept Shawty around; I was never under any pressure to move you but I wanted to keep what you wanted in mind. I'm glad you had a career in one place even if it was a shorter one. But it will be interesting to see where Obuz can go and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

[Grape 528]

50 minutes ago, Gustav said:

Laughton was underrated though. There always was a spot for that level of activity in the VHL, even if it probably didn't feel like it given all the trades. I remember seeing you post once or twice about being frustrated by being moved around so much and I felt kind of bad. 

 

That was part of why I kept Shawty around; I was never under any pressure to move you but I wanted to keep what you wanted in mind. I'm glad you had a career in one place even if it was a shorter one. But it will be interesting to see where Obuz can go and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

I will say part of why I've become a lot more active was because of the stability you gave Shawty, coupled with the forum being easier to navigate. Laughton had to go through the manual claiming of welfare, which wasn't fun, coupled with being shipped around right at the start. Being stuck on Davos gave me a good sense of comfort and allowed me to kind of find my flow and niche in the league, even if it was a relatively short career for them.