Behind the mind: Toronto's trades and some draft strategy.

[Peace 1,518]

Won't be around Sunday or Monday a whole lot, so I used the time I had to write this tonight. Claiming for the weeks ending on the 26th and beyond (next four weeks). 

 

 

Last time I did an 'inside the mind' article, people seemed to enjoy it, and I recently just made a pretty big trade (in my honest opinion) that lingers on what many consider 'gambling' - so I figured I'd do another one, but this time breaking down a few of my moves and what I was thinking about when they happened. Firstly, I simply don't understand the fear from particular GMs about first generations and recreates. I know, I know, they've been burned in the past and recreates are usually going to stick around for a career. Well, as a VHLM GM, I've seen a lot of turnover in the league - in fact, I've probably seen more in the past year than every single VHL GM combined, since I was a GM of a team within the league that dealt with it. Bold for me to assume, but I'd almost guarantee it. I'm not talking just on Saskatoon's roster, and while we directly saw quite a bit of players go inactive, as a GM I also monitored other teams and their rosters. 

 

So for me taking a gamble on a first generation was part of the job description, and often times it worked out, and I found out that if one stayed beyond the VHLM season(s) it's because they genuinely enjoyed this place, or at the very least were still interested in what the VHL has to offer. The primary reason for a player leaving after making a VHL roster - based on my observations and inquiries - usually had a reason over those who simply left the league and came back during a mass PM; some would leave because life was getting busy, they didn't have enough time to commit to the player or team; some would leave because they lost enjoyment after they were done in the VHLM, which makes sense because some first generations went to better teams and had polar opposite experiences in the VHL (less ice time, less production, etc); a lot would leave because of drama (*cough* SBA Drama *cough*), which again is understandable because it causes a rift in the community and people are going to back who they're more loyal too; and finally others would leave because they didn't like the team they were drafted too, and quietly slid into the darkness of inactivity instead of complaining - yes, I've had this story shared to me more than once while I was GM of Saskatoon. 

 

So taking a 'gamble on a first generation' isn't much of a gamble. If I'm inclusive, communicate with them, and make them feel welcomed then I can help them become a member of our community. I feel like that's supposed to be my job as a general manager of any team, but maybe that's because I was raised up through the VHLM system where retention is key to being a successful GM in the minors. I understand the VHL is a different beast, but my values don't change just because the team I GM has. I think this is clearly seen by my desire to trade for active members lately, rather than taking on inactive cap. Instead of turning my cap space into a weapon - which would have been the 'wise' idea - I just wanted active players back, typically. 

 

But let's move on to my trades I've completed as a GM so far. 

 

 

 

 

FIRST TRADE: TOR/HSK

 

Toronto acquires Nethila Dissanayake for a third round pick. 

 

When I took over Toronto, I think it was the same day (or later that evening) Jubo contacted me looking to move the inactive Dissanayake out. I told him I was interested, but I wanted to make sure what Netha was doing with his player, so I asked for permision to talk to him. I knew Netha from my time in Saskatoon, so it was worth a shot. Jubo was asking for a late third or forth, but had an offer for him already.

 

Jubo gave me permission to talk with Netha, and I think it was about a day later Netha got back to me and pretty much confirmed that he'd be at a level of activity I thought he'd be. I got back to Jubo, told him the price was reasonable for Dissanayake, and we agreed to the trade. 

 

At first I was adding assets, because I truly did want to compete with Toronto, or at least make the playoffs in my first season as general manager. I was eagerly awaiting free agency, and the general plan with the team was to 'see what happens in free agency' before deciding on a route. 

 

Obviously I'm happy with adding Dissanayake, I was his GM in the minors and while he is older (S66) he'll be a great utility forward for Toronto even after regression hits. It won't take him a lot to get back to 500, where he hopes to average out at and save for future depreciations. At least that's the initial plan, if Netha wants to keep upgrading his player, that's a win-win for both of us! 

 

 

 

 

SECOND TRADE: VAN/TOR

 

Toronto acquires Edu Stava, S70 VAN 1st and S71 VAN 3rd in exchange for Tzuyu and S72 TOR 2nd. 

 

If you thought this trade was the beginning of Toronto's rebuild, you would actually be wrong - plainly put, it wasn't, as TFong had a no trade clause and we were still talking at the time about what to do - it just so happened to be the first to actually be put through on the portal, but two others were 'agreed to' before then. The true start of the rebuild begun when Tonn approached me and requested a trade out of Toronto, that was the beginning of a proper rebuild for Legion. Tonn's trade request swung the pendulum to 'rebuild', and it got stuck there, but I had a plan in motion and I wanted to stay in motion over the course of the draft. 

 

Tzuyu eventually waived his no trade clause after Fong and I talked on Discord about the state of the team without Tonn there, and our core players being missing in action after the SBA drama. I'm not kidding when I say the SBA drama really hurt Toronto, because if they had stayed around, Toronto would have been in a much healthier place. A lot of people look at Toronto and think Devise sucked this team dry of any future, but that wasn't the case. Bjorn Scoringsson is S67, young, and was earning TPE at a rate to replace Slade who was likely leaving in the off season anyway. Others included Koda Adok and Matthew Kai, but things happen and that's alright. 

 

Acquring Vancouver's first round pick was an absolute requirement for me, as I told Beaviss in our trade negotiations, and eventually we came up with a deal. I didn't like sending a second round pick back because it felt like I had just given Vancouver a great player and a decent pick for a late round pick in a weaker draft, but the nail in the coffin for me was that despite this drafts weakness I had a player I really wanted. We'll get more on that later, though. 

 

 

 

 

THIRD TRADE: TOR/DCD

 

Toronto acquires S70 RIG 2nd and S71 MOS 3rd in exchange for Elasmobranch Fish.

 

This is the only trade I've made (the other is the void one) where I feel like I made a rookie mistake. I knew there were people in the VHL also in the EFL - which is where Fish's interests are - and focused a little too much on the fact that he was inactive rather than the fact that he was recoverable, or rather I should say he was reachable. He'd be informed that he was traded on the VHL and come back to check, which sure enough did happen. I contacted him later to see clear the air - it was a good exchance between him and I. But honestly the Dragons' undressed me here, made me look like a fool, and since this trade I've been more 'anal' so to speak about trades I'm conducting. It should be noted that this trade is actually the fifth trade to be completed by Toronto, just the third on the portal. 

 

There's really not much more to say about this one beyond what I've already said, though. 

 

 

 

 

FORTH TRADE: TOR/CGY

 

Toronto acquires Owen May, Roadkill Steve, Teemu Lehtinen Jr, S71 CGY 1st and S72 CGY 2nds in exchange for JB Rift and Jordan Tonn.

 

This was the first trade completed by Toronto during my rebuild, and included sending Tonn to the Wranglers, but I was in constant communication with MexicanCow during the whole exchange. Asking him if he preferred this team over that one, if he was okay staying as a forward or wanted to go to defender, and eventually we found him a new home. This was the movement that started the rebuild, as I said earlier, and I was laser focused on getting Tonn to a new team. He had his desires, we made sure there was no bad blood and burning bridges during the transaction, and everything went smoothly... for a while, anyway, and I only say that because the trade was put on hold by the league for a little bit. 

 

Obviously the value went back and forth, and despite that, this was still the first trade to be 'accepted' by both parties. The huge thing about this trade was I reacquired a S71 first round draft pick I could use on claiming my own player, Erik Killinger, and that was always part of the plan - even if Toronto had been in a playoff position. I never had the chance to run a GM Player, which is alright by me, but I'm thankful for this clause existing. Currently, at this moment, I think it's a huge bonus that Killinger will be joining the Legion in the S71 draft to join prospects we acquired in a later trade... more on that soon. 

 

We took on a lot of inactive players, which wasn't all too impressive for me, but Calgary needed to clear some cap in order to take on Tonn and Rift. That makes sense, and while I would have rather just moved Tonn and Rift for the picks, I don't mind filling my roster with some cap. I didn't turn my cap into a weapon here, just a tool, and was also advised at this time that Toronto had to meet a roster minimum. With that in mind I agreed and the trade was eventually completed when Bush got off work/back from school IIRC.

 

 

 

 

FIFTH TRADE: TOR/VAN

 

Toronto acquires S70 VAN 2nd in exchance for S71 MOS 3rd and S71 VAN 3rd. 

 

Beaviss was nice here, but also the depth of the S70 draft class was kinda worrying for him, and as the former head of recruitment... well let's just say he knows the S71 draft class is much better. When we think about this trade as a 'hockey trade' for the scouting department, it makes sense for both teams. Vancouver gets two third round picks that may realistically be used on players with the same potential compared directly to players available in the second round of the S70 draft class. I get the opportunity to add an active player to Toronto's prospect pool, and I had someone in mind - spoiler alert, I tried trading up to 19th overall to secure the player I wanted but Bana pulled the most obvious card in GM history: 'Oh I'm in talks with another team,' while he went and scouting the remaining active players for best value. Oh I know what you were doing, as do other GMs.

 

I ended up using that second round pick on GlowyGoat's Olsen, which I was also happy with. It filled a positional requirement and added an active player to the Legion's depth chart. We selected his recruit with the next pick - I'm hoping these two join Toronto real soon, it's nice having a group of friends together. 

 

 

 

 

SIXTH TRADE: TOR/SEA

 

Toronto acquires S70 SEA 3rd in exchange for Orion Slade.

 

Sure, lately Slade has tested free agency every season, it's his go-to tactic - if there was a deal with Devise before he let me sit in the GM chair, I wasn't aware of it. I had to operate under the assumption that Slade was going to the free agency, but truthfully he wasn't a fit in Toronto regardless. He's old, depreciating, and not extremely valuable. I took the trade that made sense, a pick for his signing rights. Bana originally wanted to trade him for a forth, but I ignored those until a portal trade showed up for a third.

 

Just like a VLDL clip... "Accept!" 

 

 

 

 

SEVENTH TRADE: NYA/TOR

 

Toronto acquires Frans Eller, Kisshan Shan and S71 NYA 2nd in exchange for S70 SEA 3rd. 

 

This is the only time you can even consider me turning my cap into a weapon, but the reality is I was helping Esso get under the cap by making a reasonable deal. If we look back at other cap trades, we can point out Shawn's history of 'Yeah that'll cost you a first!' when making these types of deals. I want to build a repport with my GMs and not have a soured reputation, so I'm not going to charge inane prices to shed some inactive cap.

 

There is only a bright side: Easier negotiations in the future! 

 

 

 

 

EIGHT TRADE: TOR/DAV

 

Toronto acquires Chad Magnum, Jaxx Hextall, Damien Wolfe and Kristopher McDagg in exchange for Teagan Glover, S71 NYA 2nd, S71 TOR 4th, S71 HSK 4th, S72 TOR 1st, S72 CGY 2nd and S72 TOR 4th. 

 

A lot of people, and I mean a lot of people think Toronto lost this trade... but let's look at the voting. There are 19 votes between Davos and Toronto, and it's 58/42 in favor of Davos. I have to argue entirely with that outcome, as I honestly believe Toronto came out ahead on that deal. Obviously - well... I agreed to the trade, after all, right - even after I told myself I would try hard to not make rookie mistakes again? I liked the trade for four main reasons:

 

1. Teagan Glover was a depreciating asset I managed to get value on, you can see how I broke this trade down in my head below this short list. Glover is a  S65 player, was a pending free agent (with an option IIRC), and wasn't overly active. Now I understand he was on Christmas vacation, and that's totally awesome - I hope he enjoyed them - but let's be honest, he wasn't exactly a 12 capped earner. Six here and there, four periodically, but generally between 4-7 TPE is what he earned. To get value on a depreciating asset that won't recover his TPA pool was significant for me. If Glover was S67, S68 I would have simply resigned him because he's an awesome person to have in the locker room when he's around.

 

2. I got my active prospects I was seeking. Adding Corco's Magnum, ROOKIE's Hextall, Laflamme's Wolfe and Viper's McDagg was a huge victory in my book - made the price of the trade instantly worth while. I had just drafted three active prospects: Graves, Olsen and Cheezy - all active within the Discord - so I had to add to that list. There are some, er, people going around saying I'm doomed because three of them have been inactive in the past. 

 

I have the utmost confidence in all four of them, because if you scroll up to the beginning of this media spot, I believe it is up to me to give them all I've got based on the values I've learned. They deserve it, Toronto deserves it, and damn it I deserve it too after serving as a VHLM GM for a year and being passed up on numerous openings. 

 

3. I got my goalie! I attempted to trade up to many different picks during the first round. I inquired about 5th overall, I inquired about 8 and 11 (without giving up 10), I inquired about 9th and even 4th. I had a lot of plans during the draft, but clearly none of them came to fruition. Shawn wasn't present during the draft, so Davos' second anual 'BPA' strategy landed them players I desperately wanted on my team. When I acquired Jaxx Hextall, I was beyond happy, I was thrilled. I proceeded to get absolutely destroyed by Fallout 4's hardest mode a dozen times without punching the monitor! Yes I have issues. 

 

4. I got my top line! Adding Magnum was awesome, adding Wolfe made it better, and adding McDagg secured the depth aspect of the Legion. With Killinger coming in S71, and Graves being an absolute rockstar so far, my top line was sealed: Killinger - Magnum - Graves. 

 

Killinger is a two-way player, because I liked the build I had with Peace. Magnum is a power foward, and Graves is a playmaking right winger.

 

I know these combinations don't always work well, but that recipe is what got Peace and Dahlberg 100 points alongside Svoboda. I have huge hopes for this line in the future, and I have nothing but confidence it'll show strength. 

 

So let me break down the value of this trade: 

Chad Magnum for S72 TOR 1st. 
2x 2nds for Jaxx Hextall. 
Teagan Glover for Damien Wolfe
3x 4ths for Kristopher McDagg

Alright. Now that that's all done... here is the potential roster for Toronto in S71 based on a rough TPE estimate (capped earnings plus TC, practice facility)... and also pending some free agents I'll hopefully be signing. 

Killinger (380) - Magnum (430) - Graves (308)
Dissanayake (500*) - Stava (330) - Scoringsson (491) 
Wolfe (270) - Cheezy (229*) - McDagg (285)
 ?-?-?

 

Olsen (180*) - Adok (322) 
?-?
?-?

 

Hextall (360)
May (425)

 

Clearly if our top six forwards develop, Toronto will have a strong forward core. Now it's time to focus on defender, or maybe I'll switch Killinger to D. :thinking: 

 

Edited January 20, 2020 by Peace

[Enorama 1,980]

10 hours ago, Peace said:

THIRD TRADE: TOR/DCD

 

Toronto acquires S70 RIG 2nd and S71 MOS 3rd in exchange for Elasmobranch Fish.

 

This is the only trade I've made (the other is the void one) where I feel like I made a rookie mistake. I knew there were people in the VHL also in the EFL - which is where Fish's interests are - and focused a little too much on the fact that he was inactive rather than the fact that he was recoverable, or rather I should say he was reachable. He'd be informed that he was traded on the VHL and come back to check, which sure enough did happen. I contacted him later to see clear the air - it was a good exchance between him and I. But honestly the Dragons' undressed me here, made me look like a fool, and since this trade I've been more 'anal' so to speak about trades I'm conducting. It should be noted that this trade is actually the fifth trade to be completed by Toronto, just the third on the portal. 

 

There's really not much more to say about this one beyond what I've already said, though. 

 

tbh this wasn't an attempt at fleecing, we were actually considering not even telling him that he had acquired him so that we could swap him to F if need be without needing his approval, but then we decided that we liked Shark so much that just having him in the LR was a win  Him coming back and updating is just an added bonus

[Peace 1,518]

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