Well, here's the story of my latest GM career. After winning 4 Stanley Cups in 5 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs and having the most ridiculously stacked team full of incredible prospects (without even "cheat drafting"), I decided to change up my game.
I started a new game and simmed to the 2009 season at the trade deadline. I took over the last placed Coyotes and instigated the following rules:
- No big free-agent pickups
- Self imposed Salary Cap of 46 mil (10 less than the actual cap)
- No cheat drafts (moving up must be completely fair)
- Fair contracts
My favorite draft of the game is the 2010 draft that features the influx of retired Canadian and American talent. I feel that any team can be built forward from that draft with any first rounder. After trading away unwanted prospects, large contracts, and rental players to other teams I entered the draft with the following picks (after winning the lottery):
Two 1sts (#1 and #16) - The 16th was acquired for the services of Prucha and a 4 star D prospect
Three 2nds
Three 3rds
and tons of 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7ths.
I did a lot of wheeling and dealing at draft day to acquire the following:
- Traded 1st overall for 3rd overall and 33rd overall.
- Traded 16th overall, 33rd overall, 40th overall, and 89th overall for 2nd overall.
This left me with the following picks (not including 3rd RDers +):
- 2nd, 3rd, and 41st overall
Jorin Malgunas (2nd Overall - 2010)
Vilhelm Granqvist (3rd Overall - 2010)
Jan-Ove Fritz (41st Overall - 2010)
I traded for the rights to Sheldon Souray at draft day (he was set become a UFA) and signed him for a respectable 3.7 million. It cost me the 52 overall and a middle level defensive prospect.
Malgunas, Granqvist, and Fritz were all sent back to juniors. I force my prospects to play at least one year in the AHL before they make the NHL and none of these players were 20 yet (or held no junior rights). My AHL team certainly suffered because of it.
My team played surprisingly well throughout the season and at the trade deadline I was sitting in 5th place and was willing to pick up
A BIT of salary as I was sitting at around 40 million for the season (6 million under my self-imposed cap).
At the trade deadline I acquired Michal Roszival and a 1st round pick from the 12th placed NY Rangers for Oliver Ekman Larsson, Mikkel Boedker, my 1st and 3rd round pick. I also traded Chris Summers, Al Montoya, Francis Lessard, and my 4th round pick for Colten Tuebert and a 2nd rounder. The Kings were in playoff position but had just lost Quick for 8 months due to an ACL injury. Tuebert was turning out to be an excellent Defensive D-man (17 checking, 18 hitting, 17 pokecheck). I ended up finishing 3rd in the West and went into the playoffs with the following roster:
Vrbata-Marleau-Doan
Paille-Turris-Mueller
Hollweg-Hanzal-Brouwer
Fedoruk-Talbot-Tripp
Souray-Roszival
Ehrhoff-Tuebert
Merrill-Popovic
Brygalov
Modig
A rag-tag team if I've ever seen one (especially for EHM). Somehow they were winning though; Bryzgalov was absolutely standing on his head, and Marleau, Doan, and (somehow) Mueller were putting up great numbers.
To cap the Cinderella season, this team actually WON the Stanley Cup. I couldn't believe we were able to beat a stacked Devils team in 6 games. To add to that awesomeness, the Rangers fell apart and the end of the season finishing third last and
SOMEHOW won the lottery giving me the first overall pick.
It was a no-brainer who I drafted as I had been drooling about him all year, jealous of the team who would draft him. Hell, I was expecting a 10th overall with the Rangers pick and was expecting to draft someone half as good as him.
Fredrik Miller (1st Overall - 2011)
The only problem with winning the cup with a team full of elders and young talent doing well is managing all the contracts.
- Souray was too old and wanted too much (Bye bye!)
- Mueller wanted 5 million a year for three years (Bye bye!)
- Doan took 2.7 million for one year (Thank you!)
- Tueber took 2.2 million a year for 5 years (Yesss!)
- Bryzgalov needed 6.25 million a year for three years (Had to do it. Ouch.)
- Marleau wanted 6 million a year (Bye bye!)
My note worthy signings in the off season were:
- Dawes at 750k a year for 2 years (17 wristshot, 19 getting open, and cheap... yess!)
- Connoly gets 3 million a year for 3 years to centre my first line.
After this point (and the three great talents I acquired in the past two years) I told myself that I will no longer pick top 10 in the draft (even if I have the pick). I expect to pick between 20th and 30th for the next decade.
Now I'm going to skip forward a couple years and show you where my three stars are sitting at the start of the 2013-2014 season. No one else will get long term contracts. VERY VERY happy to have my #1 Defenseman, #1 Centre, and #1 Winger locked up long term and reasonable! Best part is they are only gonna get better!
Jorin Malgunas RW/LW (2nd Overall - 2010) Contract = 8 years @ 4.2 million cap hit (staggered)
Vilhelm Granqvist C/RW (3rd Overall - 2010) Contract = 10 years @ 5 million cap hit (staggered)
Fredrik Miller RD/LD (1st Overall - 2011) Contract = 10 years @ 4.75 million cap hit
)
](./images/smilies/wallbash.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
So I had to use my youth goalkeeper. He has done a good job! Nevertheless, it was a disappointing season. So I've decided to change some of the team.
