My Random VHL Thoughts - S71 - Part 5

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

• After a resurgence over the past 10-20 games, Moscow is now in 1st place in the EU Conference, and 3rd overall, with 78 points. We're 4 points up on Prague with 1 extra game played, while we're 3 points behind Vancouver, also with 1 extra game played compared to them. The difference between 1st and 5th is only 3 points. This has been said a ton over the past couple of seasons, but this is easily the most competitive the league has ever been. There is no one or two favorites for the Continental Cup. 
• RIP to Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen winning any awards. My 52 points aren't even top 10 for points for a defenseman. I have a paltry 3.7% shooting percentage, which I thought would rebound at some point this season, but it has not. It's safe to say that I am having a very unlucky season. Unfortunately, with my 3rd year of regression next season and it being even harsher, it's unlikely that I'll have the stats for any sort of award.
• The introduction of the "catch-up" TPE is going to lead to an interesting dilemma - users are no longer as punished for retiring their players at the end of a season compared to retiring at the trade deadline, which would give a member an extra 1/3rd of the season or so to fight off depreciation compared to earning for their next player. Just food for thought.