Challenge #37 Discussion - Blowing Up The Canucks!

[visualdarkness]

Jenner got thrown out with a 2 for me in a game, so it's possible.

[Devils88]

Started season 1, now at july 1st. qualified two goalies, markstrom and ericsson, so they are rfa's now. couldn't sign them before (they wanted 1.5k board allowed only 1.2k) so i qualified them. now july 1st old contracts are gone and i can offer more.
i hope i'm allowed to resign my rfa's after july 1st ??
if not, how did you manage to keep markstrom for 1.2k.....

[Peter_Doherty]

You can resign your RFAs

[m0fownz0r]

Jenner is inconsistent from the reports I have seen. Theodore becomes a stud I believe.

Maybe I should put him on crash & bang mode then, with defense in mind, while Bärtschi and Forseberg tear the oppostion defense appart.

[visualdarkness]

Jenner is inconsistent from the reports I have seen. Theodore becomes a stud I believe.

Maybe I should put him on crash & bang mode then, with defense in mind, while Bärtschi and Forseberg tear the oppostion defense appart.

He sits in the box for high-sticking half of the time for me.

[m0fownz0r]

Jenner is inconsistent from the reports I have seen. Theodore becomes a stud I believe.

Maybe I should put him on crash & bang mode then, with defense in mind, while Bärtschi and Forseberg tear the oppostion defense appart.

He sits in the box for high-sticking half of the time for me.

I think I already regret trading Bonino away for him then...

[batdad]

Meh, you did better than me. Bonino walked because he cannot handle getting told a 5 is not a good enough rating. Exactly ONE time. He asked to be traded in November of season 1. LOL. He did not get dealt and played all of season 2 unhappy, and won two Stanley Cups..and then left as an UFA for Ottawa. Where he languishes on the fourth line on a team not even close to the playoffs, and he is having the media take him to task for not being good enough. Likely the 5 5 ratings and one 4 rating in the last 15 games he has played contributed to that. Wonder if he is happy with the AI in Ottawa disciplining his babyness.

[bruins72]

We finished the season 2nd in the West. We're on to the playoffs with the Flames up first.

[bitterjoy]

Season 4:

I got Werenski and Hanifin in this trades:



The Hanifin trades could be my turning point to get playoff spot coz I could got rid of Markstrom and give opportunity to Ville Husso..

And the result is....

STANLEY CUP!!

Thatcher Demko and Ville Husso were my biggest star in playoffs:

Demko 13-2-0, 1.45 GAA, .947% save
Husso 3-2-0, 1.81 GAA, .936% save

[stone169]

I think I just messed up with a trade.

I traded Bonino and Bartschi for Eckblad. The trade went through on February 8th, 2021. Problem is that he was 24 when I agreed to the deal, but turned 25 after the deal went through. I think it's all bad to begin with because of his age.

[outdooral]

Still slogging through season 1.
60 games in, 30th place overall. 17-38-5, but getting slightly better....Ha !
Most amusing was Markstrom was our all star game player with his 3.41 GAA and .892 SV %.
And he didnt disappoint ..20 min played, allowed 3 goals on 8 shots.

[Peter_Doherty]

I think I just messed up with a trade.

I traded Bonino and Bartschi for Eckblad. The trade went through on February 8th, 2021. Problem is that he was 24 when I agreed to the deal, but turned 25 after the deal went through. I think it's all bad to begin with because of his age.

Actually think that trade is OK, he was 24 when the season started, that's what counts as far as i understand the rules.

[bruins72]

The player must be 24 when the season starts.

[cstorring]

So Season 3 is at least a bit more interesting for me.

I've retooled my tactics and have simplified almost everything. We're working with a lot of positional tactics rather than trying to find a winning combination of crisscross/wings cross/etc. Keeping it simple and tweaking player tactics to try to get the most out of them before trying to throw them into a more intense tactical situation.

Still sitting 13th in the conference, but have cut my goals against down by 13 from last year at this time, scoring 2 fewer goals myself.

Bonino has been out for 4 games now with 2 weeks to go with a chest injury, and sadly he anchors this team. It's not so much that he plays well (though with 0-21-21 in 16 games, he certainly has been), it's that the C depth is so lacking that everyone plays worse when they've got to take on more responsibility. Samuelsson, who I got from Phoenix originally, just can't cope with a strenuous workload. He's very well rounded in terms of attributes and has a nice 19 faceoff and 18 hitting, but man does he struggle. He's my lowest rated regular with just 5 points and a 6.05 rating. Would love to throw him on my third line but then I'd need a solid #2 center.

Rookies on the team:

Demko - Has struggled after a good preseason. 3-6-2 3.49 GAA .890 SV and 6.75 rating. Markstrom is slightly outplaying him but I'm disappointed he's not stealing games for me.

Dahbleck - 6 points, minus 3, 6.55 AVR. Almost picking up where Weber left off, nice shot blocker, just without the shot.

Lindren - I picked him up, as it seems everyone has, and what a steal he is. Played amazing in the preseason, won a spot on the roster, and has gone 4-8-12 (10 pts on PP), 7.60, hitting, blocking shots, and playing 21+ mins/game. Nice addition!

Crouse - 1st Rd in 2015. 5 goals, 6 points in 20 games, 6.70 avr, and throws a few hits. Not bad but hoping he picks up as he gets more experience.

Leier - Played 9 games for Phi and has now got into 1 game for me, with an assist and a 8.00 avr. Got him and a pick for Weber I believe, as I needed to clear room on my blueline for my younger guys.

Matthews - 1st Rd in 2016. Played 4 games in place of Bonino (threw him into top line minutes) and he's delivered with 4 assists and a 7.00 rating.

Also of note, Nicklas Jensen is 4 goals away from his total of last year, putting up a ridiculous (for my team) 16-7-23 over 20 games.

This season is much more fun and seems like I'm in more games, but haven't yet taken that next step. Going to stay the course and try to figure out unit tactics a bit more and see if I can stay above 14th...

[jmi]

Well.. Finished Quarter 1 of season 2. Penalty Killing seems to be working quite amazing, 100% so far. Also 100% missing anyone who can score. Only 2 players at over 10 points, Vey at 14 & Määttä at 11.

[visualdarkness]

Half of season 4 gone and we are still struggling. Not scoring, letting in too many goals and shots, too few players taking the lead, too many penalties, 24 shots on goals, brutal shooting% PP at 8-9% and a pretty bad PK.

There's just too many wrongs to fix as there's not many positives, I simply don't know where to start making changes.
If only I could get something working I would see where some light is in the tunnel but it's just pitch black. I envy you guys that don't emulate the Oilers, I getting bored at it. According to the stats reporting I'm pretty much the worst GM ever and my confidence is shot.
Also Scheifele just went down with a torn MCL for 3 months, so there goes my top center and captain.

[visualdarkness]

However, look at this guy tearing up the AHL in his first year as a pro. Not regretting trading a brutal Brock Nelson for him!

[jmi]

The game against Maple Leafs got a bit ugly.





Penalty minutes at the end, Maple Leafs 53 - Canucks 87

[Peter_Doherty]

Yay! Won the cup again, beat Lightning in the SCF in 6 games

Edit: Sent Bonino, Wikstrand and Girgensons to Florida for #14 & #42 in this draft. Speaking of the draft, these are the players i managed to get my hand on.

#14 - LW Neil Knowlton - 6'6" 222 lbs, good skating, works hard and has decent hands.
#16 - C Samuli Vilkas - 6'2" 211 lbs, Strong as an ox and insanely strong defensively, this guy will be a great middle-6 two-way C who rocks the PK.
#30 - C Pheonix Lamoureaux - 5'11" 154 lbs, Plays as tiny as he is but has great offensive skills and works hard.
#42 - C Neil Greco - 6' 152 lbs, I didn't want a C here but i just felt he was BPA by far so couldn't pass him up. Great skills and a good skater.
#60 - RW Brice Giraud - 6'2" 174 lbs
#90 - LD Joshua Cox - 6'3" 165 lbs
#120 - LD Ben Stephenson - 6'1" 178 lbs
#150 - LW Anthoni McNamara - 6'1" 194 lbs
#180 - LW Dalton Hunter - 6'4" 178 lbs
#210 - LD/RD Slavomir Rob - 6'1" 189 lbs

Awards: Jesse Puljujärvi won Calder Trophy and came in 3rd for Lady Byng. Claude Julien wins Jack Adams again while Oscar Klefbom win the +/- Award. Thatcher Demko won Conn Smythe for the second year in a row! Mitch Marner won all the big awards in AHL.

[nickflyers]

Well....Game 43 I lose Eddie Lack for 5 months with a broken leg. Time for Demko to have full reigns of Utica, while Eriksson fights with Markstrom for the starting job.

[batdad]

So...Season 3 regular season is in the books. Off to the playoffs.

My scoring was extremely spread around. 1 30 goal scorer, 4 20 goal scorers, 6 more 10 goal scorers.
3 guys with over 40 assists, 1 with 30 assists, and 8 players with 20 assists or more.
Two guys with over 70 points, 1 with 60, 1 with 50 and 4 more with 40 points.


Highlights:

1. Thatcher Demko-yeah who does not know about this guy now. Ended up the last two weeks as #1 goalie with Markstrom out with an injury. Fucale was back up as Ned is out in the minors for another 3 weeks with a bad injury. Demko's numbers are INSANE, even for my defensive teams. 38 games played 32-4-1, 1.30 Avg, .950 Save %, 7 shutouts, 8.5 AvR. Plus the kid had 3 assists (all on the PP)

2. Adam Clendenning-rookie year, mainly on third pair and occasional 2nd line PP. 2nd HIghest rating for my dmen behind Trouba at 7.15. Scored 2-19-21 all basically in the last half of the season (had 3 points going into last half)

3. Henrik TOmmerenes-Gets the call this year and plays the full season with the big club. The reward? 2nd highest scoring dman on the team 7-25-32.

4. Linden Vey--yep of course. 26-27-53. Exact same point totals as last season, just 1 less goal and 1 more assist. Kid was awesome for me. Clutch goal scoring with 3 game winners. Alot of his points in third periods of close games.

5. Bo Horvat-Game 82, scored his 10th of the season. PLayed 4th line and PK only. Did well in rookie year.

6. Ronalds Kenins--what can we say about our Latvian Locomotive. 4th line and PK only. Was awesome, with 5-7-12 and a HUGE number of hits. Played 8 min per game of which 1 1/2 were on the PK. Great stuff Ronalds.

Disappointments

1. Yeah..Dillon. Hate him.
2. Morin-so what else is new.
3. Kassian-Not his best year, but serviceable.
4. Petan-did okay, but after his start with us last year (8 points in first 5 games) I was not happy.
5. ALL MY CENTRES--just average at best.

Playoff matchups.

Vancouver-Chicago

BLAST FROM THE PAST first time in years had to play these guys in the playoffs.

They still have their core. Here is their lineup.

Teravainen-Toews-Kane
Versteeg-Vermette-Bjorkstrand
Pyatt-Colborne-Brandon McMillan (LOL)
Rinaldo-Rasmussen-White
Mitchell Webb, Paquette
Inj: HARTMAN

Keith-Seabrook
Chorney-Hjalmarsson
Alex Grant-Runblad
Inj: Pokka
Also have Steve Kampfer

Crawford
Mac Carruth


My lineup:

Bartsch-Scheifele-Jensen
Nelson-Eriksson Ek-Morin
Shinkaruk-Rakell-Vey
Kenins-Horvat-Kassian
Virtanen, Petan

Muller-Trouba
Stanton-Tanev
Tommerenes-Clendenning
Dillon

Demko
Fucale
IR: Markstrom

[Peter_Doherty]

I have one highlight, Puljujärvi, guy just won't stop develop, he's insane... Take the print i posted earlier and +1 on just about everything, that's him now Blomstrand is also developing nicely, up to 16 positioning for example, he has decent offensive attributes now aswell and had 10+16 this season, i'm happy with that from my 4thliner who plays on the PK.

[batdad]

i Re signed Blomstrom AGAIN, for no reason other than that injury call ups are a good thing to have. Although it is only my G and D that get hurt.

Game 2 of the playoffs...Demko got injured and Fucale went in and made 31 saves. I was scared...with Ned out, Markstrom out and Demko...grey goalie back up???? But phew...only a scrape to the arm, and missed a game (dressed as back up) in which Fucale was good again.

GAme 1 Vancouver 2 Chicago 0 (Nelson, Bartschi) Demko 30 save shuout.
Game 2 Vancouver 4 Chicago 0 (Scheifele, Morin, Tommerenes, Bartschi) Demko 1 save, Fucale 31 for shutout.
Game 3 Vancouver 3 Chicago 2 (Eriksson Ek, Jensen, Bartschi for us White and Terevainen for Chicago)
Game 4 Vancouver 3 Chicago 2 OT (Morin, Stanton, Eriksson Ek (OT) for us, Toews with 2 SHORTHANDED for Chicago)

Off to round two.

Bartschi leads the scoring for us 3-3-6. In the four games Nelson won 2 scraps (in two), Trouba one his only one, and Virtanen lost to Rinaldo. Most fights I have ever had in a playoff series.

[batdad]

Round 2 was VERY interesting.

Game 1 Vancouver 1 Calgary 3 (Jensen) Demko takes the loss.
Game 2 Vancouver 3 Calgary 1 (Scheifele, Jensen, Nelson) Demko gets injured in 1st period, and Fucale comes in again. Uh oh again.
Game 3 Vancouver 6 Calgary 2 (Jensen 2, Morin 2, Eriksson Ek, Bartschi) Well played game from Fucale,as we have lost Demko for three weeks.
Game 4 Vancouver 5 Calgary 3 (Horvat 2, Morin, Bartschi, Tanev) Horvat also has an assist, that is now his third multi point game of playoffs. He has zero in his other games. Markstrom returns from injury just in time (Backed up in game 3)
Game 5 Vancouver 1 Calgary 3 (Rakell) Markstrom was just okay in this game. 24 saves.
Game 6 Vancouver 4 Calgary 2 (Tanev, Trouba, Kassian, Eriksson Ek)

Phew. One of the first times I have ever used more than 2 goalies in the playoffs. RIght now Sven Bartschi is leading candidate from our team to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

[cstorring]

Sharks just traded Jaskin to the Panthers for a player, an unsigned prospect, and a pick. Panthers waive Jaskin to send him down to the AHL.

He gets claimed.

By the Sharks.

I had my best quarter yet in Q2 but in Q3 the wheels are falling off. Nothing that was working before is working now. Bonino hasn't been consistent since returning from injury and the rest of my Centres have stopped trying.