Claimed:Memoirs of a General Manager, Part 3

[Victor 10,524]

Memoirs of a General Manager


S36: Out of Nowhere, a Continental Cup

The Skinny

Privately, I felt that with the slightly insane trades the previous off-season, the Dynamo were set to win a cup before Season 38, which was also before the end of the entry-level contracts of several core players. This was the time to build a good roster because of a friendly cap situation which is another explanation for stockpiling slightly older players like Landry, Olsen, Baker, and Toriyama (turned into Brovalenko half a season later).

League-wide, of course, no one really expected much from a team without an obvious star and lots of sophomores and even based on locker room activity, things were looking rather bland. Captain Matteo Gallo disappeared forever and most of the team minus Brovalenko and myself were also not particularly engaged it seemed. Then suddenly a wave was made in free agency, which was unexpectedly blessed by the presence of Helsinki's Odin Tordahl, a player not yet in his prime but definitely on the verge of doing so. It took me three or four days of negotiations to secure his signing and in hindsight it's quite unbelievable I convinced him to swap a sure thing in Helsinki (one year removed from a championship and coming off a finals loss) for very much a work in progress in Davos. Yet it happened and of course I truly believed I could deliver on my promise to Odin of a Continental Cup as with him up front we could put up a fight with Cologne and Helsinki in the conference.

The Trades

To
(S34) C - Davey Jones

To
(S35) RW - Tony Stark
S37 DAV 1st (C Lars Strummer)
S38 DAV 1st (LW Leo Tesla)

That said, however, it was still something of an uphill battle even in the European Conference. Helsinki may have been depleted by retirements and the loss of Tordahl but were still a force, while the Express in the meantime were essentially in the same blueprint as the Dynamo but further developed. Brovalenko wasn't quite on the level of Ethan Osborne and Kameron Taylor and in addition to that, the Titans had just drafted Naomi Young and Cologne had reigning top rookie Davey Jones, who were significantly better second-line centers than the inactive winger (except for a few faceoff points) Tony Stark. Stark, like Gallo, like Earl Parker, joined the long list of my failed draftees, which was particularly painful seeing as he was a fourth overall pick.

Suddenly, Davey Jones ended up on the block, just before the start of the season. With the Brovalenko steal and the Tordahl FA coup, this made it three extremely fortunate events in a row which effectively made Davos Continental Cup champions. I never really expected to get Jones, since at my first inquiry I was denied by Cologne's GM Kendrick, which was pretty understandable given we were immediate rivals. However, it turned out the Express' other option was Helsinki, and with that in mind, new assistant GM Alexander Schneider (soon after the team's main GM of course) opted to renew negotiations with me. I believe in the end the trade went down based on Jones' personal preference of Davos over Helsinki as despite giving up a hefty amount, my best possible offer was still only equal to the Titans'. It was well worth it in the end, as Stark only came back to semi-activity when he ended up on New York while Strummer just recently retired, meaning I effectively got Jones for current Express prospect Leo Tesla.

The Season

Having taken key players off both conference rivals, the Dynamo had a flying start to Season 36 and ultimately finished first in the conference, with Cologne struggling to secure a playoff spot early on before selling some veteran players and somehow rallying and beating Vasteras to third place. Despite that, by this point the European race was really between Davos and Helsinki and we prevailed with relative ease, considering the Titans' pedigree and talent. It was time to dream and though we were still underdogs against regular season champions Toronto, with one Remy LeBeau and a 3-1 series lead in the finals, through a mix of clever and/or desperate line management, some voodoo and of course the help of Ser Davos Seaworth, the HC Davos Dynamo were crowned Season 36 Continental Cup champions, winning in Game 7 thanks to goals, fittingly, by captain Thomas Landry and newest player Davey Jones. The S36 run wasn't totally unplanned as discussed previously but admittedly there was quite a bit of luck involved.

[Guest Svoboda_3]

Content: 3/3

765 words. A vast contrast to the lengthy part 2, but still an excellent media spot. It was amazing to see how quickly you were able to transform a rebuilding team into a champion by putting your own stamp on them. Great writing here once again.

Grammar: 2/2

I saw nothing.

Appearance: 1/1

Yep, looks consistent with the other editions.

Overall: 6/6

[Victor 10,524]

I've missed your grading Slobo, no one strokes my ego like you. <3

[Frank 4,753]

Claimed