The Decision [1/2]

[Quik 4,113]

The Decision

Johnsson decides where he will spend the S61 VHL Season

Prized Free-Agent Mats Johnsson (pictured) received offers from 5 teams this off-season

 

Stockholm, Sweden - When he made the decision to test Free Agency, after the Seattle Bears were ousted from the Continental Cup playoffs, Mats Johnsson was unsure of what to expect. While it’s true that he is the highest TPE-earner, among skaters, from the S57 VHL Entry Draft - the oldest class to not yet hit depreciation, Johnsson has had a rough go at continuing the offensive success he was used to while patrolling the blueline for Frolunda in the SHL. Indeed, for each of the past 2 seasons, his offensive totals have fallen short of expectations, only just passing the Point-Per-Game mark for the first time in his career this past season, on a team that had more skaters finish with more points than him. So, when 5 different teams came calling on Day 1 of Free Agency, you could say that Johnsson was more than a little surprised at the interest he received.

 

“To be honest, I was expecting one offer from a contending team, and maybe a couple rebuilders to make contact, given their cap space. This has become a very difficult decision for me, compounded by the fact I’m currently focused on the World Cup, as well as the wedding of my brother in the next couple days. I’d like to apologize to all the teams that have shown interest in me, as I know it’s a business, and waiting for a response is not easy in our sport. I figured that, instead of just doing a Press Conference where I announce my destination, as it would likely include all of this upcoming information anyway, I would create a Media Spot that highlights the reasons for why I’ve come to my decision.”

 

First, we will start with the List. This was the unofficial list of preferred landing spots that Johnsson had submitted to his agent, heading into the off-season. Tops on the list were the Calgary Wranglers, HC Davos Dynamo, and New York Americans. In the middle were the Quebec City Meute, followed by the Helsinki Titans and Seattle Bears, with the Toronto Legion and Riga Reign comprising the bottom of his preferred teams. Since then, some things have changed with player movement, so we will take a look at each of the five teams to have submitted an offer to the Swedish defenceman, separated into two categories.

 

The teams that submitted offers, for which Johnsson is very grateful, but at this time does not see a fit are as follows:

 

Quebec Meute. At the time that Johnsson submitted his list to his agent, they were an intriguing young team with a star player and a lot of cap space to make additions. Since then, the team has traded star forward David Kiaskov to the New York Americans, and are in much a similar position to the Reign. With multiple pieces and an eye to the future, Season 61 in Quebec does not line-up with Johnsson’s plans, and will not be the team with which he signs, despite offering the most guaranteed money in a contract to the defender.

 

Riga Reign. The Reign are run by a great General Manager in Benjamin Zeptenbergs. He has overseen some of the best runs in league history, and is now manning the rebuild in Latvia. The Reign offered Johnsson a max contract for one season, and have some very intriguing pieces for the future after a fantastic S61 Entry Draft. However, Johnsson is in his final season before depreciation, and is not looking to sign with a team for its future. While they may become a fit in coming years, the S61 incarnation of the Riga Reign are not in a position to contend, and that is what Johnsson is looking for at the moment.

 

With those two teams out of contention for Johnsson’s services, it brings us to the much more difficult discussion. All three of the following teams have made strong pitches in courting the defender, and all are intriguing for various reasons.

 

Calgary Wranglers. The franchise with which Johnsson began his VHL career, the Wranglers are indeed an intriguing option. Already with star players in Jasper Canmore, Keaton Louth and Norris Stopko, adding Johnsson to the fold would vault the Wranglers into serious contender status. One of the main drawbacks to the Wranglers roster is that, after those players, the only other skater in a mid-level TPA bracket is Niko Bogdanovic, who, despite his age, is still a very solid depth player. As has been proven time and time again in VHL history, depth is nice, but quality depth is key, and many pieces in Calgary may still be a year away from providing reliable depth during a gruelling season and hopeful Cup-run. Still, the Wranglers were, and remain, one of Johnsson’s top destination choices, and the only reason he was unsure if he would receive an offer from his original franchise is that they were headed into the off-season above the Salary Cap. With their Cap issues since cleared, they are now able to afford Johnsson and keep most of their depth pieces in tact.

 

HC Davos Dynamo. The team that traded for Johnsson’s rights, prior to Free Agency, the Dynamo are another very interesting option. Boasting a roster where its oldest player is reigning League MVP Gabriel McAllister (the main component of the same trade that brought Johnsson’s rights), the Dynamo are poised to become a dynasty in the coming years. With no glaring weaknesses, the Swiss squad features 4 players still on rookie contracts that can provide solid depth, though they face the same issue as Calgary in that 2 of those 4 may not yet be ready for the spotlight that comes with being a contending team. Another drawback is that, aside from McAllister, the Dynamo do not currently have any players in the league’s top TPA brackets, with goaltender Shawn Brodeur currently sitting 2nd in team TPA at 595. While the Helsinki Titans proved last season that it’s not just about having the best roster on paper, they were also buoyed by a support group that included several players in the 450-600 TPA range. One huge positive for the Dynamo is that Johnsson got a chance to meet with some of his potential Dynamo teammates, and came away very impressed by the Locker Room atmosphere. To a man, each of the members of Davos made Johnsson feel very welcome in his short time with them before heading off to play in the World Cup.

 

Helsinki Titans. Heading into the off-season, Helsinki was looking at a barren roster, as the Titans were set to lose all of Franchise Cornerstone, Lukas Muller, Marc-Alexandre Leblanc, John Locke and Jacob to retirement. For a team to lose half its roster for nothing, and holding only the 8th overall pick in the impending draft, the chances at trying to repeat as Champions looked near impossible. However, after making a move that dropped the Seattle Bears to their knees, acquiring all of Shawn Gretzky, Aleksei Federov, Markus King, Mattias Forsberg, and Peter Quill (for the extreme price of the aforementioned 8th overall pick), the Titans made a statement that they will not be going away, at least not yet. After showing what they could accomplish with an arguably inferior roster this past season, it would be foolish to dismiss the Titans as a legitimate contender to repeat their Championship Season. However, after playing on a Bears team that featured almost all of the same names, one has to wonder if a Seattle 2.0 without Gabriel McAllister could find the same success as Helsinki. They are headed by one of the most knowledgeable managers in the league, in Mitch Higgins, so if anybody can accomplish the most out of their roster, it is him, and that is a big part of the mutual interest between Johnsson and the Titans.

 

And now for the hard part. Johnsson has spent much of his time between games at the World Cup deliberating with his agent about which path would be the best for his future. As previously stated, this situation is not one in which Mats had foreseen, and it has been a difficult decision to come to. Now, we will hear from the player himself:

 

“Firstly, I’d like to thank all the General Managers, and potential teammates, who have reached out and made me feel very wanted in recent days. As a player, you always have confidence in yourself, but it is nice to know that the perception you have of yourself is shared by those around the league. As I’ve said, you all have made this a very difficult decision to make, as between the three teams where the interest is mutual, there are a lot of potential teammates that I know I would love to play with - hell, even on the teams that don’t fit my current timeline, there are players I would love to be on a team with in the future. It’s unfortunate that I cannot play on the same team as all of you, and I know there will be a few who are disappointed in my decision. Unfortunately, you cannot please everybody, and I do apologize to anyone who is unhappy with what I choose. That said, I am extremely happy to announce that I have decided to sign with:

 

 

 

A team that I will announce shortly, after I have contacted the General Managers with whom I have been in contact. I’m not some sort of asshole who would announce their decision like this without giving all the appropriate parties a heads up.

 

*~1600 words, claiming until July 01 (3 weeks)

Edited June 12, 2018 by Quik

[Spade18 1,309]

I would have loved to have you In NY, but I aint got the cap space for you!

 

Good luck where ever you land!

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

WOW! That's a surprise.

[BOOM 8,847]

So this is how you should handle Free Agency!

 

Good luck wherever you go.

[DollarAndADream 3,357]

Review:

An awesome article.

Always love a bit of humor. Johnsson I feel like has been a bit underrated as a player over his career.

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

Bump.