i'm ready for the time-honored tradition of stirring up shit talking about what teams i want to play for.

TOP TIER



would love to go back to buffalo. had a great experience there as a first-gen and while their reputation was...mixed...in the early s40s the team has come a long way. finn and tomen have proven they have the tools to be successful without cheating, which is a huge plus.



lots of folks i like in that room, i think i would do well there. i have confidence in luke as a manager and haven't heard anything negative about jy. my only concern would be where i fit into their big picture plan, as their top guys will likely be deep in regression before i hit my prime.

 

would happily play for either expansion team. i think both tig and hotdog are stand-up guys and trust their direction in an unknown scenario.



MID TIER



i like a lot of the steelhawks franchise guys but the sell is harder for me with tig moving on to seattle. still wouldn't mind going there, but it's a question mark sell--if the lr doesn't work for me i'd bounce for sure.



tbb is turning it around, i like some of their core guys, we've had good discussions and i think the vision makes sense. i'd be comfortable joining tampa's current configuration, but it would probably mean i'm spending 4 years in the juniors which is a question mark on my trajectory.



this is a tough placement for me because they're in a good position and i'd love to grow into that group, but i just don't know enough about their locker room to go any higher. lr culture is honestly the most important mover for me and without any immediate knowledge of their current group i hesitate to put them in the top tier.



a year ago edmonton was on my ntc permanently because of one specific player on the roster. now, with certain players on (and off) the roster, i can say with confidence i think their locker room culture is in a better place. edm has also been very successful recently and will have openings for players soon with departing FAs, which provides a clear path for me to move up.



chicago is kind of a nothing team for me but they're good and i don't hate any of their players, so mid tier it is.



LOW TIER



just don't know anything about them except wasty being a shithead to jobin the other season, a thing they didn't even do lmfao which is the only reason they're in low instead of mid.



if toronto looked any closer to getting out of their rebuild this would be a mid-tier placement, but idk. hopefully they start growing and carpy is a great franchise piece, i'm just not confident enough to go all-in.



sfp is about to enter a painful, long rebuild with at least one season of cap hell. i'm not willing to sacrifice money to go to a rebuilder where i don't know the gm or anyone of the team, even on my rookie contract, so i don't think i'll wind up here. that said, if they find the money, i'd give them a shot.



another situation where i'm not willing to sacrifice money to go to a rebuilder where i don't trust the system or management. it's not a huge secret to those who know me that i've been very critical of baltimore's asset management over the last few seasons, so it would take a lot of money to drown out the warning sirens.



NO TIER



after publicly butting heads with muerto for the last two months, i don't really want to play for him. no hard feelings, that's just how i see it today.



don't want to play for a team with a native american mascot. hopefully they change it soon (and find some direction in their rebuild.)



i 100% guarantee i would not fit in with the calgary locker room. no offense meant, i just know it's not a fit and that's an absolute non-starter for me. i play shl to have fun, and i won't have fun in an lr i don't gel with.



after pulling the entire new england wolfpack into a thunderdome this year, i don't really want to go hang out with that locker room. especially when they're still raw from the recent ace firing. i could be persuaded to move new up to low tier but absent any communication with their management group it's a no from me.



not only are there multiple people in the locker room i don't feel comfortable playing with, i don't trust management to deploy me the way i would like. my player's deployment and tactical role are the absolute top priority for me and i don't think i'll be satisfied on those fronts in nola.