The most obvious (and at the same time ridiculous) one I can think of is the following: We all know how Toronto somehow managed to make the playoffs (I'd like to think that I helped with it) and this still happens. However, instead of Buffalo sweeping Toronto in the first round, the opposite happens. That's the start and it will upset pretty much anyone who isn't part of the Toronto team. Yes, that team that was supposed to tank and had no business of even being in the playoffs. But wait, it doesn't end here, it gets better. They will also sweep their next opponent (I'll leave this open, let it be the least likely one) and why not continue and sweep their way to the Challenge Cup? We all know with Simon anything is possible and in this reality just that is possible. Fun fact on the side: Toronto's average TPE per player is less than half of Buffalo's. (160 words)




I actually believe that since switching from STHS to FHM we can't continue to use the old system as a reference for the upcoming casino season. In fact since we're entering a completely new era and at least I have no idea what kind of results to expect, I would say there is no way of coming up with any casino odds. We can't look at S52 and say because team X had more wins than team Y it has better odds in S53. The best option would be to take one season to simply monitor the results and see if anything changes and then base the casino odds for the next season (so the second in the FHM era, S54) on the first one (S53). In other words - skip casino in S53 and implement it again in S54. It would only be fair for everyone even if it means to have no casino for one season. (158 words)





For skaters this is probably a lot easier, but for goalies there aren't any defined builds (that I know of). I've done my own research and discussed this with other goalies and I believe we can 'somehow' continue to group goalie attributes into different groups again. According to what I've read the most important attributes are Positioning, Reflexes, Recovery and Rebound - for a hybrid goalie like my player perhaps with a little more focus on Rebound control compared to Reflexes, but I see those are the primaries. Additionally there are the three location attributes Blocker, Glove and Low Shots. Here I will focus on the first two, but they're all important. Obviously we can't forget about Mental Toughness. Playing for a team like Toronto it's important to be tough, because there's going to be a lot of goals against. (140 words)




Since I just recently signed a long-term contract I don't have to worry about where to play in the next seasons, so definitely no free agency for me. During the offseason I will likely do what I do every season. Having some kind of plan works very well and I have it more or less figured out. In the beginning I will just relax, sleep a lot and really do nothing. Maybe meet with some friends at home that I don't see much during the season. Then I'll go on vacation somewhere, travel a little, but not very long (this depends on how long my offseason is). After that I'll start training, slowly, but structured. So essentially I'll do a little bit of everything and the offseason goes by relatively quickly every year anyway. At the moment I'm preparing for the next IIHF tournament. Luckily there's always some more hockey between the SHL seasons. (154 words)




I will have to vote for a fellow goalie here. Peter Larson (Rage) had a great season and made it all the way to the final. If he doesn't win the McBride (best goalie award) this season, it's going to happen in one of the next few seasons for sure. You need to have a combination of a) a good player build, b) a good team behind you and c) some luck and Peter Larson kind of fits right in here. I actually do believe he might win it this year (five shutouts, best SV% in the league and very high in some of the other goalie stat categories). I really don't mind, as long as I get to win it at some point in the future as well. (129 words)





I'm against it. I mean I do support the whole 'reducing the carbon footprint' idea and it needs to change, but every team would like to play in their home arena in front of their home fans. Especially during the playoffs it's something unique. If you hold the event somewhere else you lose that special atmosphere and I'm sure not all fans will be able to afford traveling to that different location. I'm sure the league can find plenty of other ways to save the environment if they're really planning to change something, let's keep the locations for the playoffs traditional. (101 words)




I like both to be honest, but I like the Rage logo a little more. I like the details that are hidden in it. When you first look at it, you don't notice much going on, you basically just see the bull. However, when you look closer you see the M at the bottom and the little building which represent the team's location (Manhattan). I think it's a very clever logo and clearly one of the best in the league. (80 words)

16 TPE