CowboyinAmerica 2,843 Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 The options may be running out for Minot Gladiators goaltender Hans Wingate as he looks towards the VHL. Yesterday, the Calgary Wranglers traded for Oslo goalie Coca Cola, and he may be up in the VHL next year. Riga may very well be focused on a GM goalie in the S44 class. Stockholm has enough goalies to play with a full squad of netminders. Barring a surprise free agency move, Seattle has Mikaelson set in stone. But one team with a potential lottery pick (based on the current standings) hasn't been much talked about in terms of the draft, partially because they haven’t had a high selection in one for a couple of seasons: What about the Toronto Legion? Management expected the Legion to be a playoff team before the season started, but this year so far hasn’t exactly turned out as planned. Be it a tough early schedule, the young players not progressing as hoped, or the loss of Devin Sundberg, Toronto currently sits with 30 points, last in the North American Conference. Seattle has struggled recently after a hot start, but even so, it may be tough for Toronto to claw its way back into the playoff picture without some serious help. Luckily, however, the team does hold its own pick, unlike fellow disappointments in Cologne and Davos. So, what could they do with it if they managed to win the lottery with their 25 percent odds? To me, it’s an intriguing question for three main reasons: 1. A hole in goal Fedir Okranitz is alive, at least. His brief stay on the practice ice, moving up to 267 TPE in the wee hours of Monday morning, proves that much at least. Still, for a former fifth overall pick who was at least supposed to keep first selection Niklas Mikaelson in relatively close range, his incremental growth has to be a letdown. His production, meanwhile, hasn’t been much better – with a .907 save percentage, Okranitz tops only rookie Callum Sinclair, and the faceless CAL G1 (aka not the Hall of Famer) and RIG G, in the category. His 2.44 goals against average only looks solid by virtue of facing the second-least shots in the league. Would Wingate be much better? Probably not immediately. In his first season, Toronto would likely expect similar numbers to Okranitz’s Season 42 figures, which could be a deadly sum for a team already straddling the border of playoff contention. However, Wingate presents a higher upside for the season; he could certainly flame out, but he also presents a higher chance of improving more steadily as the season goes on, especially as it becomes closer to playoff time. 2. Is that what they want? Whether the Legion draft Hans Wingate could be decided by a Season 40 defenseman. Sound unreasonable? It may not be. One of the three franchise cornerstones from Season 40, along with Sachimo Zoidberg and Tyler Cote, Jerrick Poole is currently not under contract for Season 43, and he has already made clear that he is at least thinking about testing the free agent waters. Regardless of what happens with Toronto the rest of this season or in the draft lottery, that fact should scare Legion fans. But if the team does somehow end up with the first overall pick, the intrigue ratchets up to 11. What would Toronto do if Poole decided to leave pre-draft? A player such as Wingate may help; a player such as Francis York Morgan may be a suitable replacement in time. However, three star players does not a championship team make. It’s entirely conceivable, in that instance, that Toronto would proceed to blow things up and get back assets while they still have players to trade. In that case, Wingate may not end up with one of the expected teams at all. If Toronto did decide to trade the first pick, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a team with prime players but an aging goaltender, such as New York or Cologne, make a play. 3. Playing the cap If Toronto did decide to go after Wingate, however, the move would make sense in one underrated way: the salary cap. As already explained, Zoidberg, Cote and Poole will be entering their fourth seasons in the league. That means that, by virtue of prime contracts, Toronto is about to be hit hard if it keeps all three. Assuming Zoidberg and Cote each hit 600 TPE by the start of next season, each of those three players will receive $4.5 million minimum for the next three seasons. Couple that with an expected hold on Fjorsstrom and Wahl, plus others, and Toronto could be in cap trouble quickly. Having a rookie goaltender, though, starts to alleviate some of those worries. The entirety of the three stars’ time on prime contracts, Hans Wingate will still be on a rookie deal. Wingate will not begin to be paid heavily until Season 46 – when the Toronto Trio are entering their seventh seasons in the league and are moving into prime deals. Investing now in a younger goalie (Barnstormer or Rengel if not Wingate) could be one way to circumvent that issue. Don't be sad. There may be hope coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jala 922 Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Some food for thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Tortorella 2,653 Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesfan036 4,593 Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Looks like Riga will have the 1st overall pick hmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Tortorella 2,653 Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Looks like Riga will have the 1st overall pick hmmm 1st or 2nd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyinAmerica 2,843 Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 I just like making discussions. Was thinking about the draft and needed a topic, Toronto was one place I hadn't thought of much since I thought they were gonna be playoff-bound. I think I'll know a lot more about Calgary and Riga both come recreation time post-deadline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Content: 3/3 - Almost too easy to grade. Clearly met the word count, great points on the Toronto Legion and their chances of getting Hans Wingate, and is very interesting, unique. Nice job!Grammar: 2/2 - Flawless. I get kinda picky since "towards" isn't a word. It's 'toward" in any context, but it's not huge.Appearance: 1/1 - Attention-grabbing header picture, colored the 3 points with the Legion logo over each one, and the media is laid out in a great format!Overall: 6/6 What a beaut! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Baozi 1,658 Posted March 11, 2015 Moderator Share Posted March 11, 2015 Nice article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar 283 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Boobs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowboyinAmerica 2,843 Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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