1. Trivia -- 3 TPE

Victor Helstrom.

barn


2. What if? -- 3 TPE

The Season 58 SHL semi-finals is maybe one of easiest "what if" situations to think about for me. Both Texas and Toronto lost in game 7s to Hamilton and Buffalo respectively. I think it's interesting if either of these outcomes flip, but it's probably the most interesting if somehow both of them flipped. For me, if Toronto or Texas makes it in S58 and goes up against either of Hamilton or Buffalo... realistically they probably lose that season. Both teams were still on the upswing at that point and pretty clear underdogs.

That said, if by some stroke of luck both TOR and TEX get their game 7 wins, what an interesting final that would be. Not only would we get two new finals teams that hadn't been in a long time, but you get a crazily even series between two hot teams. I think a TOR / TEX final in S58 would have been really unexpected and very exciting for people to watch. Especially for those who were already tired of BUF / HAM finals, of which we had many at that point-- and would go on to have more since. 


6. Grab Bag -- 4 TPE

a) This one is tough for me, but I actually think TEX had an easier path overall, but TEX also had the most competitive series. Hamilton was pretty clearly the favourite to make it to the finals out of the East and there was a slim chance of anyone stopping them. That said BUF and BAP are two amazing teams, and even though they were clear favourites against each those are two tough teams to play. Texas was certainly not a sure bet to come out of the West, and Chicago is such a close team skill wise that it was a huge coin toss of a series. I think of all the series in the playoffs this season, that one had the most unpredictable outcome. So I think overall TEX's road was easier with exception of the one huge hurdle to clear. HAM on the other hand, had a slow steady incline of tougher teams, but they were never in much danger of losing.

b) For me, building from the bottom and reaching the peak is more impressive. In a non-simulated league, I think Hamilton's run would definitely be the more impressive feat, but given the simulation and the fact that there's no real money or real life stakes involved, players can take less money or earn less TPE to play with their friends. In that sense if you have a super close community of long time players like they do, you can almost always find people that are willing to fill out the roster exactly as it needs to be to compete.

For Texas, you have to sell people on the program and give them a reason to want to stay. That's way harder when you can't, like in the NHL, pay them a lot of money or pitch them on how great the city is. People have to be willing to let their simulated player toil on a bottom feeding team in the hopes that it will turn around one day. To me, that's a way tougher task than to continually bring new people into a winning program.

c) A renegade is a cool cowboy probably with a sweet horse and maybe a pistol. Also a renegade drinks from cactuses and goes outside of the law to protect people and do what's right. I don't know what a steel hawk is. It's a stupid bird that probably can't even fly if it's made of steel. Only the worst birds can't fly and I have no doubt in my mind that a steel hawk would be a terrible junk bird. Absolutely a D tier land-bound bird. Who is Helstrom? I have no idea. I bojo box'd them and it looks like someone that played for MTL, WPG, and MIN. Only 7 seasons too? Short career on three unrelated teams? No idea why they're being brought up! Weird!

d) I don't know if he's the best player right now, but for me he is, and I always want to take opportunities to shout out our captain Andreas Kvalheim. Just an absolutely lethal player, a stand up person, and a champion through and through. To be as incredible of a player as he is and put up with slugging it out at the bottom of the league for that many seasons, on the thin hope that the work of management would pay off? I'm just really grateful for that. We definitely don't win the cup without him, and for his sake I'm thrilled that the gamble paid off.


12. Milestones -- 3 TPE

Linked here!


13. Parity -- 3 TPE

I'm not sure how fixable this is? I mean obviously it CAN be done, Texas is a team that came from the total bottom of the league to competing, making the finals, and winning a cup. They're a newcomer to that crowd of repeat finalists, so obviously it's possible to build a team that can get it done and compete with these powerhouses, but it's hard. It clearly takes a lot of luck and a lot of things going right, because if you're a team like HAM and BUF you can pitch everyone on how good you are and how you'll continue to be good. Free agents and draftees want to go to and play for winning clubs, and once you're one of them it gets a little easier to stay there.

I'm not sure what the solution is to that, because the nature of it being a simulated league means that there's not really any real life stakes or incentives to... not just go to a team where you'll win right away. You really just need to get lucky in finding guys that believe in the team and don't mind toiling away at the bottom of the standings for a while. And even then, it doesn't always pan out. Or if one of your top guys decides they've had enough and asks to be shipped to a contender, it can be super hard to replace them. I tend to think it's a behemoth task to build a winner in this league, and while it is definitely not easy to continue to be a winner for a long period of time, I still think it's a little easier than building a champion from the ground up.



CW Progress: 16/16