CowboyinAmerica 2,887 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 The one-and-done GMs They may have done better than you thought. Sachimo Zoidberg’s tenure as general manager of the Toronto Legion is unmemorable, to say the least. Other than leaving a few contentious multi-part trades in his wake, a 10-22-3 record as GM is nothing to write home about. And considering that Molholt’s big move so far as GM is to sign David Blind to a free agent contract, something tells me that the season won’t end that pretty for Toronto, either. According to the very handy All-Time GMs list, there have been exactly five GMs that have been at the head of their teams for one season or less since the beginning of S17 (as far back as indexes go). Two of those GMs, Raymond Funk and Sterling Labatte, each combined for one season as Toronto GM in Season 23. All things considered, with sim leaguers often coming and going like the changing of the wind, that figure is actually very impressive. And with these GMs only taking control of the team for one season, it stands to reason that they all probably failed similarly to Zoidberg, right? Well, actually, not so fast. The history of one-year-only GMs is a bit more checkered than you’d believe. S43 Seattle Bears – Mitch Higgins Team Finish: VHL Championship Final Record: 39-25-8 (6th overall) Considering that this is recent history, just about everyone knows what happened here. Bushito suddenly left the Bears in a state of limbo, just as he did the Dynamo in Season 31, and just as he probably will when future commissioners decide to trust him after a rash of super-activity in Season 55. To replace him, commissioner and James Faraday-controlling Mitch Higgins, previously a title-winning GM of Helsinki himself, took up the mantle. It proved to be a shrewd move; not only did Seattle advance despite the worst record of all playoff teams, the Bears actually went on to take the whole title in one of the more unlikely victories in VHL history. Not bad for Higgins, who would hand the team over to Mike the following offseason. S39 HC Davos Dynamo – Mike Molholt Team Finish: VHL Finals Loss Final Record: 49-17-6 (2nd overall) Molholt may now be Jala’s replacement in Toronto, but this is actually his second go-around as a VHL general manager. And although his Season 39 Davos squad didn’t get the ring that Higgins’ Seattle squad did, this team was very likely even better. Taking over for Victor Alfredsson before the season, Molholt stepped into the perfect situation for a new GM: a team that had won two of the previous three championships, with most of the squad still in place. Although Davos fell in five games to the powerful New York Americans in the finals, Molholt still deserves accolades for holding the team together and managing a perilous cap situation, which would tear the dynasty apart the following offseason when Jack Reilly took control. S24 Riga Reign – Nick Baretta Team Finish: Missed Playoffs Final Record: 24-41-7 (6th overall) A testament to the strength of the VHL’s GM selection, there hadn’t been a GM who lasted a season or less before Molholt since all the way back in Season 24, when Nick Baretta (Fyodorov) lasted a partial season before yielding to Zack Gagnon (InstantRockstar) for the rest of the season plus Season 25. In many ways, this situation is the closest parallel to the current Toronto squad, and not only because Gagnon is involved once again. The Reign weren’t good, and they were never going to be a playoff team fighting against Davos, Helsinki and Vasteras. However, their 55 points at least beat out Calgary and Seattle, and that’s even with a GM-change midseason. Still though, I’m not sure this is the team Toronto wants to emulate—Riga had six different GMs during the 20’s before Mike gave the team 12 years of stability. S23 Toronto Legion – Raymond Funk/Sterling Labatte Team Finish: First Round of Playoffs Loss Final Record: 47-22-3 (3rd overall) Unfortunately, this is where my status as a recent (Season 31) addition to the VHL rears its head. I have no idea why Funk and Labatte each lasted less than a season as Toronto’s GM, especially since both were (and Sterling still is) well respected members of the community, and there’s no forum for me to probe and find out why. The moves are also doubly surprising when you realize that the Toronto squad actually did super well for itself. With 97 points, Toronto beat out Calgary by one for the best record in the North American Conference, only to see that same Calgary team beat them in five games in the playoffs. The Legion would get to the Finals (although lose in six) the next season as well, so it’s not like an exodus of talent scared them into giving the team to Jeff Hunter. Much like Higgins’ tenure in Seattle, the Season 23 Toronto team will remain an odd blip on the VHL radar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molholt 2,185 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I also signed Yumalatopinto, but that was 100% Victors baby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,934 Posted July 21, 2015 Admin Share Posted July 21, 2015 http://z11.invisionfree.com/vhl/index.php? is up to the end of S23. So I guess you do miss the transition. Nothing much to write home about, Ray didn't want to carry on, sterling took the job but didn't want it and found Hybrid instead (Bencharski and Berger traded to Vasteras for him). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgins 3,618 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kesler 1,514 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Nick Baretta was just put in a shitty situation tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgins 3,618 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Nick Baretta was just put in a shitty situation tbh. lol S24 Reign alumni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendrick 4,741 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Nick Baretta was just put in a shitty situation tbh. Nick Barretta was Bushito, before Bushito was Bushito. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling 1,997 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Yes, essentially I took the team over to find a replacement as Ray had given up on the team. I had no intention of being a GM (and that's the only time I've been a GM in my time here) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,934 Posted July 21, 2015 Admin Share Posted July 21, 2015 Nick Baretta was just put in a shitty situation tbh.Kristian Carlsson would know all about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesfan036 4,598 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 y u no gm sterling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling 1,997 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 y u no gm sterling? Most GMs I've worked with over the past 30 seasons could attest that I make a good assistant/advisor to them . After my run in NY (S10-14) I never felt the need as I like being in drafts and finding new teams over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgins 3,618 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Most GMs I've worked with over the past 30 seasons could attest that I make a good assistant/advisor to them . After my run in NY (S10-14) I never felt the need as I like being in drafts and finding new teams over time. He scared, he real scared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling 1,997 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 With that said, I would GM another VHLM team again (I've GMed two) as well as the World and Super Cups (which I won so F y'all) Higgins 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling 1,997 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 He scared, he real scared. Nah, I turned the short-bus around, there is no challenge left that could top that feat in VHL modern day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,934 Posted July 21, 2015 Admin Share Posted July 21, 2015 short stints every 20 seasons is where it's at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendrick 4,741 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 short stints every 20 seasons is where it's at. Exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling 1,997 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I should add that I never have agreed with being an admin and GMing a team (and especially being the simmer and GMing a team), but that's just my preference. Fire Tortorella and Kendrick 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgins 3,618 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 It's all about the half season runs tbh, you can claim full credit if you succeed, and blame the Bushito if you suck. Win-win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,934 Posted July 21, 2015 Admin Share Posted July 21, 2015 It's all about the half season runs tbh, you can claim full credit if you succeed, and blame the Bushito if you suck. Win-win.who ya gonna blame for S33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgins 3,618 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 who ya gonna blame for S33 When you got a team made up of STZ, Tylar, Fong, Bora, 701, fever, Ree, Dion, and Der Meister, can you really even lose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Baozi 1,658 Posted July 21, 2015 Moderator Share Posted July 21, 2015 Brampton GM Fong has a great resume js. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,934 Posted July 21, 2015 Admin Share Posted July 21, 2015 When you got a team made up of STZ, Tylar, Fong, Bora, 701, fever, Ree, Dion, and Der Meister, can you really even lose?Blame Phil.Blame Zimmers. Blame Higgins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendrick 4,741 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 When you got a team made up of STZ, Tylar, Fong, Bora, 701, fever, Ree, Dion, and Der Meister, can you really even lose? S22 wasn't bad: Advantage, Higgins, Coach, Hesje, Slobo, Noah!, Kroenenburg, Frank and I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toast 887 Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 (edited) Content: 3/3 3/3 solely based on the IR burn. 839 words. Being another new-ish member like yourself, I didn't really know about some of these changes/paid attention when it was going down. :ph43r: Fantastic write-up to give us the details on some one-season GM runs. I didn't even know that it happened more than a couple of times. Grammar: 2/2 I'm really digging here... offseason -> off-season Appearance: 1/1 A picture, some colours, and mini logos. All good. Overall: 6/6 Edited July 23, 2015 by Toast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kesler 1,514 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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