Another S50 "Shakeup" Option: Wait

[CowboyinAmerica 2,841]

As many have noted, there have started to be burgeoning talks concerning a big league shakeup after Season 50. I certainly understand the impulse, and I believe a restart draft would be a very interesting option to pursue. Since I'm not on the BOG and not privy to any particular conversations that are happening behind the scenes though, I figured it would be fun to put my idea out to the ether.

 

I like the complete restart. I just don't think it should be after Season 50. I think it should be after Season 60. Here's why.

 

1. Giving Teams Time to Plan

 

To me, the biggest downside of a complete restart or a fantasy draft isn't the concept itself. It's the fact that, if it were to happen, it would now happen with less than two seasons notice. This isn't like an expansion, where each team would lose 1-2 players. Instead, they would lose everybody at a moment's notice. If you're a team like, say, Cologne, and has targeted S50-53 as its time for winning, sucks to suck.

 

If you have a restart or draft scheduled far in advance, however, it allows some interesting moving and shaking to occur that wouldn't otherwise happen. If Calgary isn't winning yet by Season 52, do they blow it up early, knowing that keeping on means they may not have another chance before the reset? Does the market for draft picks in S54-55 spike, knowing that's the sweet spot for players right as Season 60 hits? What does it mean for draft picks and trades right before the reset? And holy hell, with everyone going for it all in S59 and S60 because there's no reason not to, how does that shake out? To me it introduces an all-new, and exciting, dynamic.

 

2. Giving Players Time to Plan

 

By restarting now, you're basically making recently created players and the next two drafts (or players as a whole if it's a reset) utterly worthless. But by putting the restart far down the road, though, it raises some more interesting opportunities. Would you see a bunch of players recreate around S53 or S54, for a full career before the reset? But if that happens, is there a chance for some players to recreate right before the reset and pick up an easy title as a low-priced player on a contender? It could also provide an opportunity for a member to try a unique build or position, knowing that it's soon to be reset anyway. In the meta-game of the VHL, where careers typically last 6-8 seasons these days, it could open up a host of interesting opportunities.

 

3. Uniformity

 

This probably appeals only to me, but it's worth mentioning anyway. Arguably, there has only been one major shakeup in VHL history. It came after Season 30, when the VHL expanded from 8 to 10 teams. That means the "Original Era" of the VHL lasted 30 seasons, while the "Expansion Era" is ongoing. I know that people like 50 as a round number, but wouldn't it be more useful if the eras of the VHL were the same length? Might be useful for people trying to do stats in that way as well. And because of this, it would open an historically significant opportunity to change something around again, such as adding more teams, cutting the VHLM or altering the sim significantly in some way.

 

4. Build Up

 

If you put a restart far in the future, it doesn't just create excitement on Season 61 itself. Instead, while the seasons play out normally in the seasons before it, you have the excitement of being able to look forward as well for something unique and new. It's something that could be used as a selling point even before the restart as well - go ahead and try the VHL, and if you like it, we'll be restarting soon and everyone's on equal footing!

[Da Trifecta 1,896]

Also maybe the opportunity to move on from the sim engine we use and use the newer one. V2 I think it is? It was used during one of the allstar games or something.

[Kendrick 4,741]

Forget Cologne, it sucks for any drafted from S47-S49 who got drafted to a team who was looking at that timeline for winning. We'd get placed on a new team which may not have the same sort of thing going.

[CowboyinAmerica 2,841]

4 minutes ago, Kendrick said:

Forget Cologne, it sucks for any drafted from S47-S49 who got drafted to a team who was looking at that timeline for winning. We'd get placed on a new team which may not have the same sort of thing going.

 

Exactly. But given an ample amount of heads up, you'd at least know what you're getting into.

[Da Trifecta 1,896]

This gives another 10 more seasons for the commissioners to get things set up on how many teams need to be set. You can see who all is interested to help figure out how many teams are needed. Also allows maybe you could use new teams for a fresh start or continue with the same ones. Either way, it opens up so many doors for new possibilities.

[CowboyinAmerica 2,841]

Which granted is like 1.5-2 years in real time, but if you really wanted to blow it out with a marketing/recruitment plan (let's use some of that donation cash!) and wholesale changes, a long time period (even if not a full 10 seasons) might be a good idea.

Edited May 9, 2016 by CowboyinAmerica

[Da Trifecta 1,896]

Even 5 would be good

[Victor 10,831]

If we're going to go out of our way to market the league in S60, what added benefits does a restart entail?

 

Hey guys, come join this uhhh new hockey sim league! It's a really fresh concept! We've made wholesale changes which mean so much to non sim-leaguers - we've switched from STHS v1 to v2! We were around for 60 seasons..... and now we're not really. We kind of decided to chase the vague promise that starting again in S61 will bring back S1 activity despite the fact that there's another hockey sim league these days. It was pretty vain to be honest but oh well.

 

 

 

 

 

(this is a general criticism of Team Restart not this particular MS)

[CowboyinAmerica 2,841]

Not things I necessarily agree with, but the arguments: Combats the common criticism that people are so far ahead, it's impossible to catch up. Also restarting at this point could be taken with the viewpoint, "We've taken everything we've learned from the past 50/60 seasons, and we've perfected it. Now we're doing something new with these perfected processes in place."

[Da Trifecta 1,896]

5 minutes ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

Not things I necessarily agree with, but the arguments: Combats the common criticism that people are so far ahead, it's impossible to catch up. Also restarting at this point could be taken with the viewpoint, "We've taken everything we've learned from the past 50/60 seasons, and we've perfected it. Now we're doing something new with these perfected processes in place."

 

The last 2 sentences would be the biggest selling point.

Edited May 9, 2016 by Da Trifecta

[Victor 10,831]

1 minute ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

Not things I necessarily agree with, but the arguments: Combats the common criticism that people are so far ahead, it's impossible to catch up. Also restarting at this point could be taken with the viewpoint, "We've taken everything we've learned from the past 50/60 seasons, and we've perfected it. Now we're doing something new with these perfected processes in place."

As you can probably figure out, I'm not convinced.

 

There are some less radical ideas which are being floated about, some of which I support. I'm quite optimistic there will be some solid improvements by S50.

[Evans 305]

I don't get how a restart is appealing for some people. It increases chances that someone in a good position currently ends up somewhere that is a not so good position. It may appeal to newbies because drafts are exciting, but you risk shaking the current member base too much. 

 

I think a rebrand rather than a restart would be cool. Retire all the current teams and completely revamp that. 

[CoachReilly 688]

god - what if you were a GM that had made a primed run for S50? or a young guy that was 3 seasons in who stuck it out with his shitty team about to make a run - and then get relegated to a shithole based on a shitty draft?  don't like the idea. 

 

how many years would each draftee be required to sign? etc....

 

people don't think about a lot of simple questions when talking about this stuff.

[Victor 10,831]

7 minutes ago, CoachReilly said:

god - what if you were a GM that had made a primed run for S50? or a young guy that was 3 seasons in who stuck it out with his shitty team about to make a run - and then get relegated to a shithole based on a shitty draft?  don't like the idea. 

 

how many years would each draftee be required to sign? etc....

 

people don't think about a lot of simple questions when talking about this stuff.

That's the main issue and why I'm against a S50 revamp (among other things). That said Cowboy is the first to actually address that by saying to wait. I still oppose the idea but this particular concern is basically alleviated.

[solas 1,947]

(Full disclosure - I'm personally not a fan of the fantasy draft/restart method whether it's in S50 or S60.  So maybe that makes me a bit more skeptical when it comes to this proposal.)

But in the S60 situation, what would happen with the S57-S59 drafts?  Wouldn't they be effectively pointless unless teams are drafting players that are already at 200-300 TPE (which is generally like 3-5 people per draft)?  I understand that moving the restart back provides more time for planning, but if you were a new member joining in S57 onwards then you have to pretty much wait a couple seasons until you can really do anything.  I think that loss of new first-gen players over the course of 3-4 seasons could negate any recruiting bonuses that would come from a restart.

[Evans 305]

10 minutes ago, solas said:

(Full disclosure - I'm personally not a fan of the fantasy draft/restart method whether it's in S50 or S60.  So maybe that makes me a bit more skeptical when it comes to this proposal.)

But in the S60 situation, what would happen with the S57-S59 drafts?  Wouldn't they be effectively pointless unless teams are drafting players that are already at 200-300 TPE (which is generally like 3-5 people per draft)?  I understand that moving the restart back provides more time for planning, but if you were a new member joining in S57 onwards then you have to pretty much wait a couple seasons until you can really do anything.  I think that loss of new first-gen players over the course of 3-4 seasons could negate any recruiting bonuses that would come from a restart.

 

The plan is to move the restart back and then continue to reschedule it so it never actually happens. 

[Will 4,660]

Okay let's all settle for dissolving the 90% of league records which are effectively unbeatable 

 

 

 

 

jk.........

[CowboyinAmerica 2,841]

1 hour ago, solas said:

(Full disclosure - I'm personally not a fan of the fantasy draft/restart method whether it's in S50 or S60.  So maybe that makes me a bit more skeptical when it comes to this proposal.)

But in the S60 situation, what would happen with the S57-S59 drafts?  Wouldn't they be effectively pointless unless teams are drafting players that are already at 200-300 TPE (which is generally like 3-5 people per draft)?  I understand that moving the restart back provides more time for planning, but if you were a new member joining in S57 onwards then you have to pretty much wait a couple seasons until you can really do anything.  I think that loss of new first-gen players over the course of 3-4 seasons could negate any recruiting bonuses that would come from a restart.

 

I mean definitely not a perfect proposal. My argument for those drafts would be that since there wouldn't be as many draftees, the teams that get solid ones would instantly be better because they have depth while still obeying the cap, and being on those better teams could appeal to draftees. No answer to the first-gen question though.