VSN Presents: S98 VHL Offseason Recap

[Alex 3,333]

Hi everyone, as the offseason is coming to an end, let’s take a look back at each teams offseason, recap all the moves, and signings, and look at how each team will enter the next season!

 

North American Conference

 

 Calgary Wranglers 

Acquired:

Yaboi Oven @Doomsday

Boris Bone-Breaker @RileyL

Jean-Pierre Devote @eagle_3450

S98 2^nd (x2 – 21, 24)

S100 3^rd

Moved Out:

Leif Reingaard

Carson Tripp 

S100 1^st

S100 2^nd

Free Agency:

None

Draft:

21 – C. Barbre @The Wreckening

24 – V. Martinez @bigdolla

Grade: B

Calgary had just a very tidy offseason, 1 huge trade gives them both a top defensemen for the short term, and a top young player, only concern would be replacing Oven next season, but for now it was a very well done and simple offseason for the Wranglers.

 

 Chicago Phoenix 

Acquired:

Jacob Smith Jr @jacobaa19

S99 2^nd

S99 3^rd

S100 1^st (2x)

S100 2^nd (3x)

Moved Out:

Karol Lamb

Vanuza Kolesinka

Spanish Moon Moth

Lionel Collberg

YaBoi Oven

Jean-Pierre Devote

Boris Bone Breaker

S99 4^th

S100 3^rd

Free Agency:

Eno Velvson @Nykonax

Draft:

22 – J. Harle @James Harle

Grade: A

Chicago had a very good selling offseason and probably one of the best in the league when you consider that they really didn’t have much to sell. The focus on the S100 draft is a great place to start and build for the next generation.

 

 D.C. Dragons 

Acquired:

Yaroslav Trunov @qripll

Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg

Dan Jr @Danzo

S98 1^st (3)

Moved Out:

S98 1^st (2x – 12, 13)

S98 2^nd (2x – 21, 24)

S99 1^st

S99 2^nd

S100 4^th

Free Agency:

Nikita Yolishev @Joel Main

Draft:

3 – T. Bob @Baby Boomer

5 – A. Martinez @SleepyPlayz

Grade: B-

D.C. deserves a round of applause for their draft trade where they just fleeced London for 3^rd overall! However, they have set up a very difficult goaltending situation moving forward with 2 young prospects and their current starter (Benson) signed for 3 more seasons creating a long-term issue.

 

 Los Angeles Stars 

Acquired:

Bret Weier @Quanack

S98 2^nd (23)

S99 2^nd

Moved Out:

Hater Tottingham

Free Agency:

None

Draft:

20 – Pick forfeited due to violation of spirit of competition rules

23 – F. Moneygang @Max77

Grade: F

Moved out a solid prospect for an older one with a considerably lower ceiling, did gain 2 draft picks but those likely won’t materialize into much given the limited depth of upcoming drafts. While the roster does have young players coming up, larger pieces could have been moved to help move the rebuild along and speed things up.

  

 New York Americans 

Acquired:

Guntis Gavilrovs @Girts

UghSike @UghSike

Moved Out:

Wayne Gretzky

S99 3^rd

S100 4^th

Free Agency:

None

Draft:

6 – R. Mantzz @Rkhockey9

8 – T. Hughes @tinafrombobsburgers

Grade: A+

New York did very well this offseason and may have just done everything right, they gain a much needed 2^nd elite defensemen, and arguably won the draft. Very clean work for the Americans and they go into the season as a favourite in the North American Conference as a result.

 

 Seattle Bears 

Acquired:

Slava Kovalenko @OblivionWalker

Bric Sheithaus @Oldhead91

S99 1^st

S99 2^nd

Moved Out:

Vladimir Trunov

Theo Allard

S98 3^rd

S99 2^nd

S100 1^st

S100 2^nd

S100 4^th

Free Agency:

None

Draft:

None

Grade: B

Seattle’s recent plan of trading picks for established prospects continues to work well for the defending champs. The Trunov/Allard trade likely could have gone better for Seattle (given further Trunov trades), but at the end of they day a very good offseason from DA BEARZ!

 

 Toronto Legion 

Acquired:

Spanish Moon Moth @Renomitsu

S100 3^rd

Moved Out:

Wayne Shotzky

S99 2^nd

S99 3^rd

Free Agency:

Raimo Tuominen @SlapshotLegion

Toby Kadachi @ROOKIE745

Draft:

None

Grade: B+

Toronto had a very good offseason, while the roster did get older, they managed to extend their window another season without sacrificing their impending rebuild which looks like it will start off with the S100 draft. It is also worth mentioning that the Legion did very well in free agency to land the top 2 available players.

 

 Vancouver Wolves 

Acquired:

Wayne Gretzky @MubbleFubbles

Lionel Collberg @Masu Chan

Dog Jagr @koty_k

S99 2^nd

S100 1^st

Moved Out:

Guntis Gavilrovs

Matteo Stefano

S98 3^rd

S100 2^nd

Free Agency:

None

Draft:

None

Grade: C

There’s a place called cap hell, and Vancouver is there. Going into the season with a very limited roster seems to be both a good and bad thing for the Wolves and their success is likely dependant on their ability to use their remaining cap space to improve the roster later in the season.

 

European Conference

 

 HC Davos Dynamo 

Acquired:

S98 1^st (4)

S99 3^rd

S99 4^th

S100 4^th

Moved Out:

Grimgor Ironhide

UghSike

Armas Jortikka

Borat

S98 2^nd (25)

S99 2^nd

S99 3^rd

S99 4^th

S100 4^th

Free Agency:

None

Draft:

4 – Gingy @MexicanCow123

9 – S. Sheppard @GoodLeftUndone

Grade: A+

@Pifferfish aided with grading for Davos (I’m bias). Davos’s offseason was a very easy one as they had some great cap management with the Ironhide trade, and with that the draft went as well as it could have as they landed 2 of the top 5 players in terms of TPE.

 

 Helsinki Titans 

Acquired:

Karol Lamb @dlamb

Vanuza Kolesinska @chikn

Martin Kemp @leafsman

Grimgor Ironhide @FrostBeard

Philip Rave @tcookie

Jorgen Lovstrom @Pifferfish

Conference Prince-de-Galles @UnkemptCL4PTP

Wayne Shotzky @Kenamatic

S98 2^nd (25)

S98 3^rd

S98 4^th

S99 2^nd

S99 3^rd

S99 4^th

S100 3^rd

S100 4^th

Moved Out:

Piston Maicupp

Austin Goulet III

Bric Sheithaus

Maple Dogwood

Matthew Highmore

Elf Shoes

Kurt Bachman

S98 1^st (4)

S99 1^st (2x)

S99 2^nd (2x)

S100 1^st

S100 2^nd

Free Agency:

None

Draft:

16 – D. A. Malkovich Sr @AColdCanadian

19 – whiteknight @shaun1979

25 – K. Chi @AW13

28 – X. Dumont @Xavier Dumont

29 – C. Rowsonet @Coleman23224

32 – K. Fugel @STLblues77

Grade: D+

Helsinki had a weird offseason, they bought while the existing roster was nowhere ready to compete, and as a result their window is suddenly really short. While most trades on the surface didn’t go well, they did manage to hit the Lovstrom trade straight out of the park!

 

 London United 

Acquired:

S98 1^st (13)

S99 1^st

S99 4^th

Moved Out:

S98 1^st (3)

Jacob Smith Jr

Free Agency:

None

Draft:

13 – L. Mancini @GioSivo

19 – N. Sansoe Jr @Tipskid97

31 – J. Stilevbeks @jpach52

Grade: D

London was doing really well by just doing nothing this offseason, letting the young players grow, and just being patient. However, they left a lot of people scratching their heads as they moved the 3^rd overall pick in a strong early part of the draft for a clicker/welfare+ prospect and a future 1^st round pick from a playoff hopeful team. IF that pick ends up in the lottery and wins it’s a huge win, but if it doesn’t it will be very difficult to look at this trade as a win.

 

 Malmo Nighthawks 

Acquired:

Kurt Bachman @Blutch

Hater Tottingham @Trunkxolotl

Elf Shoes @ELF_SH0ES

Matthew Highmore @NineIQ v2

Austin Goulet III @Tuchy

Piston Maicupp @MandyManiac

Armas Jortikka @Kavadar

S98 1^st (2x – 1, 12)

S98 4^th

S99 1^st (2x)

S99 2^nd (2x)

S99 3^rd (2x)

S99 4^th

S100 4^th

Moved Out:

Lucy Leitner

Martin Kemp

Bret Weier

Phillip Rave

Jorgen Lovstrom

Conference Prince-de-Galles

Vlad Von Carstein

S98 2^nd (23)

S98 4^th

S99 2^nd

S99 3^rd

S99 4^th

S100 3^rd

Free Agency:

Robin Sierra @ethanjaeda

Draft:

1 – C. Copia @Beketov

12 – B. Joe @ScottyP

Grade: B+

Malmo got a lot for Leitner, more than anyone would have expected, which really set the offseason off with a bang. Outside of that trade they did acquire probably around 2 prospects with a decent long-term outlook, but other than that starting out a rebuild building around the S98 and S99 draft classes could be very tough, when the depth of the classes is rather limited. Getting Copia is a huge win, however, Lucy will be put to the test as they try and build around them.

 

 Moscow Menace 

Acquired:

S99 2^nd

Moved Out:

Tommy Shelby

Free Agency:

Carson Tripp @Cartripp14

Draft:

14 – M. Walcott @Spade18

30 – H. Elsetronningen @Albifon

Grade: B+

Moscow did borderline, essentially nothing, extended key pieces, and did a overall very good job of managing the cap in a season where it could be their last before a minor re-tool. Overall, a very good offseason, just not much to talk about for the Menace.

 

 Prague Phantoms 

Acquired:

Lucy Leitner @LucyXpher

Matteo Stefano @mmrs617

S98 3^rd

Moved Out:

Dog Jagr

S98 1^st (1)

S98 2^nd (23)

S98 4^th

S99 2^nd (2x)

S99 3^rd

S99 4^th

S100 1^st

Free Agency:

Filip Zinek @FiZi

Draft:

7 – A. Bridges IV @Oatex

Grade: D

If Helsinki buying was confusing, Prague buying is perplexing. Trading 1^st overall was a weird one, and while they did get a good top end player, they have 2 players who will be better in 2 seasons. Patience would have paid off huge for Prague, however, they did do a couple things really well, and as a result they are still trending in the right direction, but will likely have a similar season to S98.

 

 Riga Reign 

Acquired:

Maple Dogwood @dogwoodmaple

Vlad Von Carstein @Dom

Tommy Shelby @Will

Theo Allard @InstantRockstar

S99 2^nd

S100 4^th (2x)

Moved Out:

Dan Jr

S99 1^st

S99 2^nd

S100 3^rd

Free Agency:

None

Draft:

None

Grade: B

It’s tough to quantify Riga’s offseason as they were very limited in what they could do. With that being said they did do a good job to stay competitive for one last season before hitting the reset button after S98.

 

 Warsaw Predators 

Acquired:

S99 2^nd

S100 1^st

S100 2^nd

Moved Out:

Slava Kovalenko

Free Agency:

None

Draft:

2 – P. Venkman @Josh

10 – Z. Trokker @Peace

11 – J. Kovar @MichkovSzn

15 – R. S. M. B. F. Me @Gaming Ringleader

17 – K. El @Viper

26 – D. Novak @tworivers

27 – D. Pasta @Agito

Grade: C+

The Kovalenko trade for Warsaw essentially just pushes their timeline a few more seasons down the line, however they did do very well in the draft, and should be looking to pick up a top goaltending prospect in the near future or the next draft to round out their future core.

 

Season preview coming tomorrow!

 

1600+ words

[MichkovSzn 115]

Good work as always from @Alex

[Frank 5,370]

[Pifferfish 777]

1 hour ago, Frank said:

In Alex's defense, I awarded him A+. @Alex we are both Obama.

[badcolethetitan 1,009]

[Alex 3,333]

2 hours ago, badcolethetitan said:

Buffalo phoenix

[Pifferfish 777]

2 hours ago, badcolethetitan said:

Man you are missing out... Can't say more, but some folks know the glory this league will see soon.