1. bang

8. I think a lot of these things work as a snowball effect. Once you get GM in that is passionate and excited to build something, it's easier to get players that feel the same and are willing to stick it out. Once you have some players sticking it out and creating a good locker room your drafts are more likely to hit because the players will get to know your team and want to stick around the site. Then you start to have a bit of success and other players start to take notice, and suddenly you're also a hot free agent destination. Then you can extend your window, get more players who love to create a good culture, and see more success. This will still ebb and flow as people age out and your window opens and closes, but to me it seems like San Fransico has taken all of these steps and built the right way. It takes some luck to get that first cup but once you have it you're on the map and a good GM with a thriving LR can keep building on that to thrive for many seasons. I experienced it in Texas at the end of the S50's and the start of the 60's, and we've seen similar with WPG recently. To me, this is the model for SHL success. (226)

10. Winning in the playoffs is nice obviously, but in the SHL consistent regular season success correlates well with cup victories. I don't know enough about either roster to say definitively, but I would rather dominate the league in the regular season and see an unlucky first round exit than just barely squeek into the playoffs and win a few rounds before going out. The team that dominated the league is more likely to do so again next season and get another good shot at a run, whereas if you just eeked in then you may not even be back in S81. Two round wins is a lot of fun and it can give your LR a big boost in something to cheer for, but if don't win the cup then your focus has to stay on long term and sustainable success. The team with more kicks at the can is much more likely to bring home a cup than a team on a very improbable Cinderella run. They can certainly still do it! But I'd rather be in the position of being on top of the league season over season. (190)



TPE Earned: 8/8