Lundek's '32 Thoughts' Mid-Season Edition
Feb 7, 2022 13:41:24 GMT -5
Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, and 13 more like this
Post by Lundek on Feb 7, 2022 13:41:24 GMT -5
It’s your favourite beaver reporting from the Canadian rockies, back with mid-season edition of Joocy Fruit pack gum
In this mid-season ’32 thoughts’ edition, we’ll take a look from around the league and check in with what each team has been up to and if any rumours are cooking up on the back burner, Hycuk! Nobody better be burning any sticks, I need those to build my dams! This is going to be a special edition because it’ll be the first Lundek article featured on the new website, check it out herehttp://beaverbabes.c, whoa woops, I forgot to clear my internet history! Hyuck! virtualhockeyleague.com
Dustin Mooy The Anaheim Quackerboys, has Dustin finally figured out how to use the sim? The Duckies have flown to top of the west and sit 2nd in their conference, McDavid finally has some more pieces around him, but is it enough? This team still lacks a scoring sniper to play with McJesus, will we see Dustin acquire the final piece by the deadline?
Utah Hockey Club The Desert Dogs are cooing and kayaking along, howling at that moon n’ shit. GM Doogan-Smith had his work cut out for him last season with a lot of high profile re-signings, but the paperwork isn’t as mountainous this season with only depth players to re-sign. So if he’s not pushing papers, what else is he doing over there? Certainly not pushing ahead in the standings! Ha!
Boston Bruins Nothing really Bruin over in Boston. GM Sleepy Healy slept on some solid RFAs Magianpane and Myers to walk them to free agency in the summer. If he doesn’t wake up from his nap soon that team will continue to dismantle itself. Does Healy have a plan?
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo is at the top of the East with the Bolts yet again, to no ones surprise, but are the Sabres going to be taken out to pasture after this season? The team only has two players under the age of 29 on its current roster. With the quality of the veterans beginning to regress, and Scott shooting himself in the foot by signing Rask to that monstrous 4 year deal, it appears the glory days of the Sabres are beginning to wane.
Calgary Flames Big Baller Brand products skyrocketed in Calgary when Bobby Ryan was reacquired! It was revealed by a league source that Flames ownership had put a lot of pressure on the GM, citing that Will O’Leary would have been fired if he didn’t bring Bobby back.
@mbollentin The Canes have been quiet this year, what’s going on over there? The team is slowly fading towards the basement of the league as there is no forecast for any Hurricanes any time soon. Be interesting to see if there’s a gameplan in Carolina!
Chicago Blackhawks Chicago, one of the most active teams in the off-season has been quietly humming along the basement so far this year in a battle for Florida and Nashville for #1 lottery odds. Once we get closer to the deadline I expect a lot of activity to come out of the windy city to accumulate more picks, however it may be a tougher task than last season as the roster doesn’t yield as many assets as last year! I expect Tyson Barrie to be on the move after game 50 (e4)
Zoran The Coloraduh Avalanche, who knows what’s going on over there! You can’t really call them much of an Avalanche these days, maybe a light snow dusting. This team has relied on 1 to 2 stars for too long and now they are tumbling down the standings. There’s some decent pieces there, but the supporting cast is looking very AHL level
Columbus Blue Jackets Most under-achieving team thus far? They are in a playoff spot, but the Blue Jackets are stacked and Trent has built a very respectable roster. They should be neck and neck with Tampa Bay for first in the east, but instead are clinging onto a wildcard spot. Will some line juggling do the trick or will we see more aggressiveness from Minnick at the deadline?
Colorado Avalanche Jussi has vacationed himself into a nice spot, inheriting a juggernaut from his predecessor. Jussi to his credit is steering the franchise into the right direction, however you want to see him put more of his own stamp on the team. Losing Konecny in expansion, giving up Meier to Florida which looks bad now, we’re all kind of waiting for that ‘big’ move from Jussi to separate his team from the rest of the pack.
Where Did Max Go? We haven’t heard from Max in Detroit for awhile. Last we heard he was competing this year, but the standings paint a different picture…
Edmonton Oilers The ‘woot’ boy in Edmonton, has been saying ‘woot’ less and less in gameday threads, a sign of rough times in Edmonton. The team sits 13 pts out of a playoff spot, and Louis has a big decision to make, because his roster and current state of the team has ‘rebuild needed’ written all over it. The veterans are aging and on their last legs with no prospects coming to save the day any time soon
Florida Panthers The putty cats manager Rensby-Wills appears to have started kicking the tires on the trade block in Florida. He was uncharacteristically quiet to start the season. He was too busy in his litter box looking for more 1st round picks. I anticipate him being a big player between game 50 and the trade deadline! Vatrano is on the move according to my sources in the Sunshine state, and it appears that Florida will be acquiring a 1C, the putty cats are tired of their rebuild and are going to be much more aggresive from here on out! (e4)
Los Angeles Kings Welcome back Chris ‘Fiasco’ Floresco, he’s got a major task ahead of himself to overhaul that brutal Kings roster that has been neglected since the day Tom abandoned the franchise for greener seas in Seattle. The league is appreciative of Floresco taking on the task, it’ll be interesting to see his first move!
Minnesota Wild Minnesuhta dude. Duncan has done a respectful job with the Wild. Unfortunately, with Kucherov sidelined all season, it has taken the bite out of what would otherwise be a potent offense. Duncans hands are a bit tied this season with the Kucherov situation. With only $25,000 in cap space and having to re-sign Tavares and Kucherov this year, and no cap relief coming on the books, I expect a major domino going to fall soon!
Montreal Canadiens Radical Rick Lamothe has recently applied for a new job in his hometown, under the achievements section on his resume it read “Once traded Nolan Patrick for Nathan Mackinnon” He was immediately hired and promoted on the spot
Nashville Predators Did anyone expect the Preds to be playing musical chairs for 32nd place this year? I didn’t, until I took a look at the Predators roster and WOOF. Has it always been that bad? Dylan Guenther better pan out because right now he is their only hope.
Chris Groenink How much swagger does the Devils GM have? Just constantly trading off assets to stay cap compliant but still winning cups anyway. Will we see a three-peat? It’s possible. The Devils are 1st in the metro right now
Bryan Hull The Islanders have been the biggest disappointment this season. I fully expected them to battle for top spot in the Metro division, but this Isles team is under performing just as much as the real Islanders. Why aren’t they winning games? This team is a perfect candidate needing a ‘hockey trade’ to get the feathers perked back up on that team
Randy Zamaria Paging Randy. Where is he? Nobody knows. The state of the Rangers is looking grim these days, and on most game days, the GM is never to be seen in the press box
Ottawa Senators Mika has been a fantastic GM so far in Ottawa, building the team slow, but the right way. However, Gourde-Hathaway-Brown is probably the craziest top line I have ever seen in a sim league. Do you think Hathaway just punches the dude in the face to win the face-off?
Philadelphia Flyers Flyers GM apparently was laughed off the phone by Kraken GM after reportedly offering a vending machine full of Fresca for Thatcher Demko.
@brad Dude, where’s Makar? Getting absolutely paid that is. The Penguins recently re-signed the generational defenseman which can be seen as setting a new benchmark for how much premium defensemen are gonna cost on the books. The Penguins are beginning to look scary, they just need a goalie who doesn’t punch holes in his dry wall
San Jose Sharks Crazy Joe in San Jose has been uncharacteristically quiet. Forward Chris Krieder, a pending UFA, is a popular trade target but rumour has it Desmarais may soon be taking over as Chairman of the Twisted Tea Co. and his attention is focused elsewhere.
Seattle Kraken Seattle, with a monopoly on quality goalies, has FOUR of them on the block right now. How big do your sea-nuts got to be to have four starting goalies on your block? Tom Jervis, who apparently is no fan of Fresca, has had many teams kicking the tires on Demko. He’s the biggest piece on the trade board currently and we are getting the sense that Tom currently is holding all the cards. Teams are waiting on Demko before facilitating other deals right now
St. Louis Blues Anyone else miss that Erik Johnson #1 picture the Blues had on their signature for a millennium? Cool story about Erik Johnson, he was the first ever entry draft pick in VHL history, #1, by the Blues in 2006. That picture of Erik Johnson always got me nostalgic from the beginning days of the league. Maybe Johnson is available in Vancouver. With the Blues and Canucks GMs close, maybe an Erik Johnson return to St. Louis is in the cards one day?
Tampa Bay Lightning Word on the street is John Klingberg has been causing some locker room issues in Tampa, and GM Tony Chiu has been looking to offload him. With Suter and Weber coming off the payroll this summer, you’d think Klingberg would help fill the sizable gap left by those two, but Tony is poised to move on from the blueliner. Whatever happens, it’ll be a risky maneuver, the Bolts look like they have a legit shot at the cup, do you risk changing the locker room chemistry?
Toronto Maple Leafs Do you smell that? That’s the smell of desperation coming from the Leafs GM. Mat Fargas’s Leafs have been the VHL definition of mediocre for the last 5+ seasons. With a solid top 6 up front and a solid top 4 on defense, the goaltending keeps holding them back. Another swing and a miss on most recent goaltending gamble, Chris Driedger. If Fargas doesn’t figure out a solution soon, the last thing he will be swinging for will be his final paycheque.
Vancouver Canucks How does Channa turn the Canucks around? The rebuild is going slow in Vancouver, and the prospects in the pipeline, including #4 overall pick from 2019, Alex Turcotte, are not developing well. Rebuilding is one thing, but there doesn’t appear to be any reinforcements coming any time soon. Their next two best players after Huberdeau are Vrana and Ellis, who have been hurt all season, and won’t field very good ratings. It will effect their trade value. With players like Danforth, Boyd, Poganski, Wagner, Ennis, Froden getting regular minutes on the pro team, and Landon Bow as their back-up, there are serious problems there. It’ll be interesting to see how Vancouver navigates out of this, they really need to hit on their two 1st round picks this summer!
Vegas Golden Knights Since joining the VHL, Rowsell has been a solid GM for the Golden Knights! However the team still finds itself out of a playoff spot. Vegas is the only team that can contest for a playoff spot in the west as the top 8 seeds appear to already be determined at the halfway mark of the season. The Knights have a solid team and can push for a playoff spot if they add another big piece up front, they are loaded with youth and picks to make a big splash. Will they do it?
Washington Capitals Like Vegas, Washington is in the same situation. That team is good on paper, but can’t seem to snag a wildcard position. Will Travis Felts make a big move to try and swing into the top 8? Rumour has it he’s been trying to pry Trevor Zegras away from the Stars but Jussi won’t budge, we’ll see how that story develops within’ the coming few weeks… (e2)
Anaheim Ducks Who needs depth when you can just double shift your top line? It’s working for Matt Nielson in Winnipeg. The Ovechkin-Crosby-P.Kane line has probably got to be the best in VHL history. The downside to that is these guys play 25 minutes a night, is that a long term solution? Probably not! After Crosby they only have Dowd and Sissons down the middle, this team, as big of a juggernaut it is, needs more help down the middle to relieve the pressure off Crosby.
HYUCK, holy hoppin harry and jumpin jacks, that was a long winded ’32 thoughts’, I don’t get paid enough logs for this. Anyways, I hear a river running and I have to go dam it up. Until next time, I hope you enjoyed my debut of ’32 thoughts’ in the mid-season review edition! Hyuck! Stay tuned for VHL trade rumours closer to the deadline! From the Canadian rockies, this beaver is bucked out!
In this mid-season ’32 thoughts’ edition, we’ll take a look from around the league and check in with what each team has been up to and if any rumours are cooking up on the back burner, Hycuk! Nobody better be burning any sticks, I need those to build my dams! This is going to be a special edition because it’ll be the first Lundek article featured on the new website, check it out here
Dustin Mooy The Anaheim Quackerboys, has Dustin finally figured out how to use the sim? The Duckies have flown to top of the west and sit 2nd in their conference, McDavid finally has some more pieces around him, but is it enough? This team still lacks a scoring sniper to play with McJesus, will we see Dustin acquire the final piece by the deadline?
Utah Hockey Club The Desert Dogs are cooing and kayaking along, howling at that moon n’ shit. GM Doogan-Smith had his work cut out for him last season with a lot of high profile re-signings, but the paperwork isn’t as mountainous this season with only depth players to re-sign. So if he’s not pushing papers, what else is he doing over there? Certainly not pushing ahead in the standings! Ha!
Boston Bruins Nothing really Bruin over in Boston. GM Sleepy Healy slept on some solid RFAs Magianpane and Myers to walk them to free agency in the summer. If he doesn’t wake up from his nap soon that team will continue to dismantle itself. Does Healy have a plan?
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo is at the top of the East with the Bolts yet again, to no ones surprise, but are the Sabres going to be taken out to pasture after this season? The team only has two players under the age of 29 on its current roster. With the quality of the veterans beginning to regress, and Scott shooting himself in the foot by signing Rask to that monstrous 4 year deal, it appears the glory days of the Sabres are beginning to wane.
Calgary Flames Big Baller Brand products skyrocketed in Calgary when Bobby Ryan was reacquired! It was revealed by a league source that Flames ownership had put a lot of pressure on the GM, citing that Will O’Leary would have been fired if he didn’t bring Bobby back.
@mbollentin The Canes have been quiet this year, what’s going on over there? The team is slowly fading towards the basement of the league as there is no forecast for any Hurricanes any time soon. Be interesting to see if there’s a gameplan in Carolina!
Chicago Blackhawks Chicago, one of the most active teams in the off-season has been quietly humming along the basement so far this year in a battle for Florida and Nashville for #1 lottery odds. Once we get closer to the deadline I expect a lot of activity to come out of the windy city to accumulate more picks, however it may be a tougher task than last season as the roster doesn’t yield as many assets as last year! I expect Tyson Barrie to be on the move after game 50 (e4)
Zoran The Coloraduh Avalanche, who knows what’s going on over there! You can’t really call them much of an Avalanche these days, maybe a light snow dusting. This team has relied on 1 to 2 stars for too long and now they are tumbling down the standings. There’s some decent pieces there, but the supporting cast is looking very AHL level
Columbus Blue Jackets Most under-achieving team thus far? They are in a playoff spot, but the Blue Jackets are stacked and Trent has built a very respectable roster. They should be neck and neck with Tampa Bay for first in the east, but instead are clinging onto a wildcard spot. Will some line juggling do the trick or will we see more aggressiveness from Minnick at the deadline?
Colorado Avalanche Jussi has vacationed himself into a nice spot, inheriting a juggernaut from his predecessor. Jussi to his credit is steering the franchise into the right direction, however you want to see him put more of his own stamp on the team. Losing Konecny in expansion, giving up Meier to Florida which looks bad now, we’re all kind of waiting for that ‘big’ move from Jussi to separate his team from the rest of the pack.
Where Did Max Go? We haven’t heard from Max in Detroit for awhile. Last we heard he was competing this year, but the standings paint a different picture…
Edmonton Oilers The ‘woot’ boy in Edmonton, has been saying ‘woot’ less and less in gameday threads, a sign of rough times in Edmonton. The team sits 13 pts out of a playoff spot, and Louis has a big decision to make, because his roster and current state of the team has ‘rebuild needed’ written all over it. The veterans are aging and on their last legs with no prospects coming to save the day any time soon
Florida Panthers The putty cats manager Rensby-Wills appears to have started kicking the tires on the trade block in Florida. He was uncharacteristically quiet to start the season. He was too busy in his litter box looking for more 1st round picks. I anticipate him being a big player between game 50 and the trade deadline! Vatrano is on the move according to my sources in the Sunshine state, and it appears that Florida will be acquiring a 1C, the putty cats are tired of their rebuild and are going to be much more aggresive from here on out! (e4)
Los Angeles Kings Welcome back Chris ‘Fiasco’ Floresco, he’s got a major task ahead of himself to overhaul that brutal Kings roster that has been neglected since the day Tom abandoned the franchise for greener seas in Seattle. The league is appreciative of Floresco taking on the task, it’ll be interesting to see his first move!
Minnesota Wild Minnesuhta dude. Duncan has done a respectful job with the Wild. Unfortunately, with Kucherov sidelined all season, it has taken the bite out of what would otherwise be a potent offense. Duncans hands are a bit tied this season with the Kucherov situation. With only $25,000 in cap space and having to re-sign Tavares and Kucherov this year, and no cap relief coming on the books, I expect a major domino going to fall soon!
Montreal Canadiens Radical Rick Lamothe has recently applied for a new job in his hometown, under the achievements section on his resume it read “Once traded Nolan Patrick for Nathan Mackinnon” He was immediately hired and promoted on the spot
Nashville Predators Did anyone expect the Preds to be playing musical chairs for 32nd place this year? I didn’t, until I took a look at the Predators roster and WOOF. Has it always been that bad? Dylan Guenther better pan out because right now he is their only hope.
Chris Groenink How much swagger does the Devils GM have? Just constantly trading off assets to stay cap compliant but still winning cups anyway. Will we see a three-peat? It’s possible. The Devils are 1st in the metro right now
Bryan Hull The Islanders have been the biggest disappointment this season. I fully expected them to battle for top spot in the Metro division, but this Isles team is under performing just as much as the real Islanders. Why aren’t they winning games? This team is a perfect candidate needing a ‘hockey trade’ to get the feathers perked back up on that team
Randy Zamaria Paging Randy. Where is he? Nobody knows. The state of the Rangers is looking grim these days, and on most game days, the GM is never to be seen in the press box
Ottawa Senators Mika has been a fantastic GM so far in Ottawa, building the team slow, but the right way. However, Gourde-Hathaway-Brown is probably the craziest top line I have ever seen in a sim league. Do you think Hathaway just punches the dude in the face to win the face-off?
Philadelphia Flyers Flyers GM apparently was laughed off the phone by Kraken GM after reportedly offering a vending machine full of Fresca for Thatcher Demko.
@brad Dude, where’s Makar? Getting absolutely paid that is. The Penguins recently re-signed the generational defenseman which can be seen as setting a new benchmark for how much premium defensemen are gonna cost on the books. The Penguins are beginning to look scary, they just need a goalie who doesn’t punch holes in his dry wall
San Jose Sharks Crazy Joe in San Jose has been uncharacteristically quiet. Forward Chris Krieder, a pending UFA, is a popular trade target but rumour has it Desmarais may soon be taking over as Chairman of the Twisted Tea Co. and his attention is focused elsewhere.
Seattle Kraken Seattle, with a monopoly on quality goalies, has FOUR of them on the block right now. How big do your sea-nuts got to be to have four starting goalies on your block? Tom Jervis, who apparently is no fan of Fresca, has had many teams kicking the tires on Demko. He’s the biggest piece on the trade board currently and we are getting the sense that Tom currently is holding all the cards. Teams are waiting on Demko before facilitating other deals right now
St. Louis Blues Anyone else miss that Erik Johnson #1 picture the Blues had on their signature for a millennium? Cool story about Erik Johnson, he was the first ever entry draft pick in VHL history, #1, by the Blues in 2006. That picture of Erik Johnson always got me nostalgic from the beginning days of the league. Maybe Johnson is available in Vancouver. With the Blues and Canucks GMs close, maybe an Erik Johnson return to St. Louis is in the cards one day?
Tampa Bay Lightning Word on the street is John Klingberg has been causing some locker room issues in Tampa, and GM Tony Chiu has been looking to offload him. With Suter and Weber coming off the payroll this summer, you’d think Klingberg would help fill the sizable gap left by those two, but Tony is poised to move on from the blueliner. Whatever happens, it’ll be a risky maneuver, the Bolts look like they have a legit shot at the cup, do you risk changing the locker room chemistry?
Toronto Maple Leafs Do you smell that? That’s the smell of desperation coming from the Leafs GM. Mat Fargas’s Leafs have been the VHL definition of mediocre for the last 5+ seasons. With a solid top 6 up front and a solid top 4 on defense, the goaltending keeps holding them back. Another swing and a miss on most recent goaltending gamble, Chris Driedger. If Fargas doesn’t figure out a solution soon, the last thing he will be swinging for will be his final paycheque.
Vancouver Canucks How does Channa turn the Canucks around? The rebuild is going slow in Vancouver, and the prospects in the pipeline, including #4 overall pick from 2019, Alex Turcotte, are not developing well. Rebuilding is one thing, but there doesn’t appear to be any reinforcements coming any time soon. Their next two best players after Huberdeau are Vrana and Ellis, who have been hurt all season, and won’t field very good ratings. It will effect their trade value. With players like Danforth, Boyd, Poganski, Wagner, Ennis, Froden getting regular minutes on the pro team, and Landon Bow as their back-up, there are serious problems there. It’ll be interesting to see how Vancouver navigates out of this, they really need to hit on their two 1st round picks this summer!
Vegas Golden Knights Since joining the VHL, Rowsell has been a solid GM for the Golden Knights! However the team still finds itself out of a playoff spot. Vegas is the only team that can contest for a playoff spot in the west as the top 8 seeds appear to already be determined at the halfway mark of the season. The Knights have a solid team and can push for a playoff spot if they add another big piece up front, they are loaded with youth and picks to make a big splash. Will they do it?
Washington Capitals Like Vegas, Washington is in the same situation. That team is good on paper, but can’t seem to snag a wildcard position. Will Travis Felts make a big move to try and swing into the top 8? Rumour has it he’s been trying to pry Trevor Zegras away from the Stars but Jussi won’t budge, we’ll see how that story develops within’ the coming few weeks… (e2)
Anaheim Ducks Who needs depth when you can just double shift your top line? It’s working for Matt Nielson in Winnipeg. The Ovechkin-Crosby-P.Kane line has probably got to be the best in VHL history. The downside to that is these guys play 25 minutes a night, is that a long term solution? Probably not! After Crosby they only have Dowd and Sissons down the middle, this team, as big of a juggernaut it is, needs more help down the middle to relieve the pressure off Crosby.
HYUCK, holy hoppin harry and jumpin jacks, that was a long winded ’32 thoughts’, I don’t get paid enough logs for this. Anyways, I hear a river running and I have to go dam it up. Until next time, I hope you enjoyed my debut of ’32 thoughts’ in the mid-season review edition! Hyuck! Stay tuned for VHL trade rumours closer to the deadline! From the Canadian rockies, this beaver is bucked out!
